Israel – Reconstructing Judaism

Text on brick background: “All of the People Israel are Responsible for One Another”: Reconstructionist values on relationships.

‘All of Israel is Responsible for One Another’ Reconstructionist Convening Models Covenantal Community

December 18, 2024

More than 600 people gathered for a packed, Dec. 15 virtual convening exploring “the depth and breadth of Reconstructionist engagement with Israel.” During a time of fractious debate and incivility, the convening modeled “covenantal community,” a Reconstructionist approach to conversation, deep listening and prioritizing relationships — especially in discussion about this most emotional and contentious of issues.

A shofar rests on an open book, symbolizing Jewish tradition and spirituality.

A Prayer in this Time of Crisis

October 1, 2024

On hearing the news of Iran’s attack on Israel as we approach Erev Rosh Hashanah, Rabbi Maurice Harris wrote the following prayer.

Rabbi Steve Burnstein, wearing tallit and a kippa, strums his guitar. He appears to be in a classroom as children are looking on.

Reconstructionist Rabbi Serving Israeli Families During Wartime

September 26, 2024

Originally from Kansas, Rabbi Burnstein has lived in Israel since 1996, except for the years he spent in Philadelphia studying at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He’s a member of Kibbutz Gezer — halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem — and since 2018 has been the spiritual leader of Kehilat Birkat Shalom. Affiliated with the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, Birkat Shalom is based on the kibbutz but serves families throughout central Israel.

This combination of six undated photos shows hostages, from top left, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Ori Danino, Eden Yerushalmi; from bottom left, Almog Sarusi, Alexander Lobanov, and Carmel Gat. (The Hostages Families Forum via AP)

Cracked Open: An Elul Message from Rabbi Deborah Waxman

September 6, 2024

The month of Elul began earlier this week, accompanied by the dreadful news of the murders of six Israeli hostages, along with another stalemate blocking a meaningful path toward ceasefire and whatever rebuilding must follow. We are shattered. We are hardened.

A woman holds a multilingual protest sign during a nighttime street demonstration.

RRC Faculty Arrives in Israel for Study Tour to Enhance Rabbinic Education

July 3, 2024

Members of RRC’s faculty are taking part in a study tour as an expression of the college’s commitment to Israel education as a core component of the rabbinical school curriculum.

A diverse group of people gathers in a synagogue, some holding a Torah scroll, in a brightly lit room.

I run the Reconstructionist movement. We believe in Israel’s right to exist but reject litmus tests on Zionism

May 23, 2024

Where does the Reconstructionist movement and its seminary, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, stand on Israel and Zionism? Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., powerfully makes clear the Reconstructionist approach in this piece in the Forward.

In response to Iran’s attack on Israel

April 14, 2024

Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) are deeply alarmed by yesterday’s large-scale attack launched by Iran on Israel involving a barrage of hundreds of missiles and drones.

Reconstructing Judaism joins Progressive Israel Network organizations in Letter to Biden

March 5, 2024

Reconstructing Judaism joins multiple organizations affiliated with the Progressive Israel Network in signing on to a public letter to President Biden at this critical moment in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.

The front door of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill.

Talking About Israel During Wartime? Here’s One Reconstructionist Model

December 7, 2023

Members of Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation in Evanston, Ill. — one of the movement’s oldest congregations, and one where the conversation about Israel had long proved polarizing — have shown that such respectful engagement is possible, maybe even necessary.

Over the past two months, the congregation has leaned into Reconstructionist values by emphasizing the community’s voice over the rabbi’s and embracing complexity and nuance. Following a process that lasted for about three weeks, entailing thousands of emails, two board meetings and feedback from more than 200 members, the congregation adopted a statement steeped in Jewish values, that declared “All parties must stop the killing to create the conditions for lasting peace.”

News

‘All of Israel is Responsible for One Another’ Reconstructionist Convening Models Covenantal Community

A Prayer in this Time of Crisis

Reconstructionist Rabbi Serving Israeli Families During Wartime

Cracked Open: An Elul Message from Rabbi Deborah Waxman

RRC Faculty Arrives in Israel for Study Tour to Enhance Rabbinic Education

I run the Reconstructionist movement. We believe in Israel’s right to exist but reject litmus tests on Zionism

In response to Iran’s attack on Israel

Reconstructing Judaism joins Progressive Israel Network organizations in Letter to Biden

Talking About Israel During Wartime? Here’s One Reconstructionist Model

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