Ethics and Values – Reconstructing Judaism

Power to Which People? American Jewish Philanthropy & Democracy

March 4, 2024

Philanthropy and private giving are a vital part of American democracy and deeply ingrained in Jewish communal life. Historian Lila Corwin Berman, Ph.D., has, through her scholarship, shed light on the history of Jewish philanthropy while raising questions about how it is practiced. Who benefits from philanthropy? Who gets to decide how dollars are spent? Do good intentions lead to good results? Does philanthropy advance democracy?

People singing and playing instruments with the text Rising Tides, Rising Voices at the bottom.

Songs for the Jewish Climate Movement

January 17, 2024

Several Reconstructionist Rabbinical College graduates and others affiliated with the movement are featured in “Rising Tides, Riding Voices: Songs for the Jewish Climate Movement.”

Two women with a child who is blowing out a birthday candle.

Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives

December 21, 2023

Considering adopting a child? Pursuing parenthood through artificial insemination or surrogacy? Interested in using a Jewish framework to think through the myriad ethical questions each path presents?

Then be sure to register for the upcoming online learning series, “Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives.” The five live sessions, which will be shared on Zoom, begin on Sunday, Jan. 14, at 4:30 p.m. EST, concluding Sunday, March 10, at 4:30 p.m. EST. (See schedule and register here.) The series also includes an array of pre-recorded sessions.

Demonstrators at a Black Lives Matter march

‘Race, Religion and American Jews’: A Wide-Ranging Project Reaches Beyond the Academy, Inviting Conversation

April 18, 2023

As a Black Jewish woman and mother of two biracial sons, Buffie Longmire-Avital has felt compelled to apply some of those same research methods to Jewish households. Yet she lacked the time, funding and support.

2023 Climate Action Plan

March 9, 2023

In 2022, Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association signed on as a founding partner to the Jewish Climate Leadership Coalition, along with twenty other national and international umbrella organizations of Jewish life.

Participants in a recent Reconstructionist pilgrimage for Jews of African descent visit the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala, which retells American history from chattel slavery to mass incarceration. The museum also honors those who have resisted systematic racism and white supremacy.

Reconstructionist Movement Calls for Reparations and Teshuvah

January 22, 2023

The Reconstructionist movement has adopted a Resolution on Reparations, making a commitment to “supporting and advocating for institutional, local and federal legislation and policies that specifically address the need for reparations.”

The resolution is a call for communal and national teshuvah, an opportunity for repentance, utilizing a Jewish framework to speak with moral authority on an issue of profound importance to American society and global efforts for justice.

Jewish Rohingya Justice Network Statement on Genocide Prevention Day

December 9, 2022

Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association have signed on to Jewish Rohingya Justice Network’s Statement on Genocide Prevention Day.

glasses in front of a computer screen with code

‘What It Means to Be Human in an Algorithmized World’

July 8, 2022

Legal scholar, philosopher and policy analyst Nathalie Smuha spends a lot of time thinking, writing and advising about artificial intelligence. Namely, Smuha believes that society’s increasing reliance on algorithms presents pressing legal and moral questions — and governments, corporations and citizens are not paying enough attention.

Reconstructing Judaism Joins More than 375 Interfaith Groups Urging Biden to Expedite Refugee Efforts

March 22, 2022

Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky’s March 16 speech to Congress, more than 375 Jewish and other faith-based groups and organizations urged President Joe Biden to take immediate steps to welcome refugees from Ukraine. Jewish Federations of North America spearheaded the letter, sent March 18.

News

Power to Which People? American Jewish Philanthropy & Democracy

Songs for the Jewish Climate Movement

Growing Today’s Jewish Families: New Spiritual and Ethical Perspectives

‘Race, Religion and American Jews’: A Wide-Ranging Project Reaches Beyond the Academy, Inviting Conversation

2023 Climate Action Plan

Reconstructionist Movement Calls for Reparations and Teshuvah

Jewish Rohingya Justice Network Statement on Genocide Prevention Day

‘What It Means to Be Human in an Algorithmized World’

Reconstructing Judaism Joins More than 375 Interfaith Groups Urging Biden to Expedite Refugee Efforts

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