When COVID-19 hit, synagogues closed their physical doors, pivoting their presence online. Responding to the tensions and conflicts arising from this challenge, Rabbi Nathan Weiner (RRC ‘16) offers a covenental approach guiding synagogue leaders and congregants to navigate these difficult times with integrity, understanding, and generosity of spirit.
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman’s vision of a synagogue: a community that sustains itself through prayer and Torah, while also “trying to be a powerful force for making change in the world.”
The Joint Israel Commission gathered in person at the Reconstructing Judaism convention. Rabbi Maurice Harris reports on their activities and next steps.
What ideas are Jewish communities exploring to reach unengaged and under-engaged populations in new ways and spaces? What conversations are taking place about how to fund such ideas? How can communities gain the confidence to try, and possibly fail, in order to implement the next idea? These questions will be front-and-center during the closing program of “Rooted and Relevant: Reconstructing Judaism in 2018,” the Reconstructionist movement’s first convention in nearly a decade.
As we continue to develop new ways to build community across time and distance, we must also continue to find ways to “be there” for one another.
Judaism as an “evolving civilization” has been a Reconstructionist catchphrase for decades. But as board chair Seth Rosen writes, a deeper understanding of evolutionary biology gives fresh insight on the path ahead.
Reconstructing Judaism: Who we are and what we do.
Best practices in responding to congregational inquiries.
Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement
Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis
Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues
Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives
