Uncategorized – Page 2 – Reconstructing Judaism

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.

Jewish Exponent: Reconstructing Judaism Grows Opportunities for Black and Jewish Community-building

February 15, 2023

The pilgrimage is part of Reconstructing Judaism’s intention to build community for Black Jews both within the organization and in the greater Jewish community. On Feb. 9, the Weitzman National Museum of American Jewish History hosted “Deconstructing Racism to Reconstruct Judaism: The Story of a Pilgrimage Down South,” a panel outlining the event’s significance.

Rachel Robinson, wearing a blue blazer, poses in front of trees outside the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.

Helping Reconstructing Judaism Thrive Is Far More Than a Job for the Organization’s Newest Vice President, It’s a Mission

November 14, 2022

Rachel Swartz Robinson, Reconstructing Judaism’s new vice president for development and philanthropic advisor, knows firsthand the impact that a Reconstructionist approach can have on a family. As it happens, Reconstructionist rabbis were present at two of the most important moments of her life: her wedding and her son’s naming ceremony.

Person speaking at a panel, wearing colorful beads and holding a microphone near a blue water bottle.

Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Other Black Jewish Leaders Respond to Kanye West

November 4, 2022

Kanye is saying some of the worst antisemitic things that are even hard for people who have right-leaning politics to swallow.

None of this is really surprising if you go back through Kanye’s problematic comments, or his relationship with Donald Trump and Candace Owens. It looks to me like he’s having a breakdown. I don’t think it’s just mental illness —

Ethnonationalism is a grave threat to democracy

November 3, 2022

The Hebrew word for “voice” is kol. Powerfully, it is also the word for “vote.” This election season, we must all raise our voices as loudly as we possibly can to defend democracy and vote for candidates who do so.

Close-up of an open Torah scroll with a person's hand and yad

Simchat Torah: Returning to the Torah, Again and Again

October 12, 2022

On Simchat Torah we celebrate the Torah. We celebrate reaching the end, reciting the last words in Deuteronomy, which we follow by turning back to the beginning and reciting the first words in Genesis.

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors

September 28, 2022

One of the centerpieces of the Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur liturgy is the “Avinu Malkeinu” prayer — Our Father, Our King. It’s a desperate and emotional appeal for forgiveness, set to powerful melodies over the centuries.

Jackie Land poses with her husband, Eric, at a Reconstructing Judaism event.

One Educator’s Passion for Reconstructionist Judaism, 44 Years and Counting

September 15, 2022

For Jackie Land, a lifelong educator, that passion is fueled by the Reconstructionist commitment to egalitarianism and democracy: how each community makes decisions for itself on how best to live Reconstructionist values.

Standing in solidarity with the Rohingya People

August 18, 2022

As founding members of the Jewish Rohingya Justice Network, Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association joined a letter to Secretary Anthony Blinken expressing ongoing solidarity with the Rohingya people, five years after the Burmese military waged a genocidal campaign that resultedin mass displacement, death, sexual violence, and other atrocities.

cover of there are still woods by hila ratzabi

Parallel Lines: A Poet’s Journey into Expression, Judaism and Community

August 18, 2022

“It is clear at Ritualwell how values from the Reconstructionist movement are expressed in the creativity of inviting people to create their own rituals,” she says. “It’s empowering to write one’s own prayers and to create spaces for people who never had a voice in Judaism. To me, that inclusive spirit is very much the place that I wanted to be in as a Jew and as a writer, and I think that’s what we are doing at Ritualwell.”

News

Jewish Exponent: Reconstructing Judaism Grows Opportunities for Black and Jewish Community-building

Helping Reconstructing Judaism Thrive Is Far More Than a Job for the Organization’s Newest Vice President, It’s a Mission

Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Other Black Jewish Leaders Respond to Kanye West

Ethnonationalism is a grave threat to democracy

Simchat Torah: Returning to the Torah, Again and Again

High Holiday prayers not working for you? Try remixing metaphors

One Educator’s Passion for Reconstructionist Judaism, 44 Years and Counting

Standing in solidarity with the Rohingya People

Parallel Lines: A Poet’s Journey into Expression, Judaism and Community

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