Reconstructionist News – Page 6 – Reconstructing Judaism

Re-imagining Shabbat

July 31, 2020

Zoom Shabbat minyan has done little for me. I’ve tried it repeatedly. But I find praying or learning via Zoom more work-like than spirit-filled. So for pandemic Shabbat enrichment, I regularly access Reconstructing Judaism’s Virtual Shabbat Box (VSB). Every Thursday, with contactless delivery, the VSB arrives in my inbox. I click to find a variety of ways to engage while sitting on my sofa. Essays, videos, poetry, podcasts are weekly offered in the VSB and a welcomed part of my re-imagined Shabbat experience.

Cross-Movement Resource Guide Published on Re-Opening Synagogue Buildings

June 30, 2020

This past month, a working group made up of staff at the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements collaborated, with major support from the Secure Community Network, on putting together a “Guide to the Considerations about Re-Opening Synagogue Buildings.” The document offers synagogues some guidance and suggested methodical steps for decision-making and implementation of re-opening plans.

Reconstructing Judaism is Not Free to Desist

June 19, 2020

Reconstructing Judaism is fully committed to building an anti-racist Jewish community. We state firmly and unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, and that working tirelessly to demonstrate that Black Lives Matter is a Jewish value. As leaders of Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement, we commit ourselves to the Community Obligations articulated by Not Free to Desist.

2020 Annual Report

June 8, 2020

In unprecedented times, Reconstructing Judaism stepped up to provide Jewish connections to meaning and community that so many people found they needed.

Navigating the Coronavirus: Jewish Values to Guide Institutions and Individuals Now

June 4, 2020

At the Center for Jewish Ethics, we have created Jewish Values and the Coronavirus, a guide to help frame values-based decision making in this time of pandemic. This web-based resource collects and curates sources from the Torah and rabbinic texts alongside insights from leading ethical thinkers from across the Jewish world and beyond.

Annexation Endangers the Security and Democracy of Israel

May 21, 2020

Recontructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association are signatories to the following appeal from J-Link, an international network of progressive Jewish organizations fromIsrael, the United States, Canada, Europe, Latin America, South Africa, and Australia.

Whizin Prize Essay Explores the Place of Obligation in Modern Jewish Thought

May 21, 2020

The Center for Jewish Ethics, affiliated with the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, sponsors an annual essay contest to encourage innovative thinking on contemporary Jewish ethics. This year’s Whizin Prize has been awarded to an essay by Daniel Mackler, titled “Phenomenology of Hiyuv Out of the Sources of Ethics: Joseph Soloveitchik and Mara Benjamin.” The essay is a scholarly exploration of the religious experience of obligation, bringing together a traditional and a feminist perspective.

The False Choice Between Safety and the Economy

May 7, 2020

In its unsigned editorial on May 5, “The False Choice Between Safety and the Economy”, The New York Jewish Week points to the “Reopening Our Institutions” document produced by Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association. The editorial highlights the Reconstructionist movement’s values-based approach to questions pertaining to reopening religious institutions, and championed our movement’s focus on pikuakh nefesh (saving lives) above all other concerns.

With synagogues shuttered, Virtual Shabbat Box offers introspection, inspiration

March 20, 2020

In this time of mounting uncertainty, in which the coronavirus (COVID-19) is disrupting normal life and bringing it to a near standstill,  Reconstructing Judaism is offering a “Virtual Shabbat Box” filled with essays, meditations and other resources that can be downloaded for Shabbat.

News

Re-imagining Shabbat

Cross-Movement Resource Guide Published on Re-Opening Synagogue Buildings

Reconstructing Judaism is Not Free to Desist

2020 Annual Report

Navigating the Coronavirus: Jewish Values to Guide Institutions and Individuals Now

Annexation Endangers the Security and Democracy of Israel

Whizin Prize Essay Explores the Place of Obligation in Modern Jewish Thought

The False Choice Between Safety and the Economy

With synagogues shuttered, Virtual Shabbat Box offers introspection, inspiration

Join the conversation

The Reconstructionist Network

Read & Rite

Havaya Summer Programs

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Placement Office

Reconstructionist Educators of North America