Gathering Together
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.
Posted on August 6, 2018 by
Seth Rosen
Drawing Comfort from Community
Belonging connects us to something larger than our own individual experience. I belong to the Jewish people because claiming this connection enters me into a millennia-old conversation and joins me into community both vertical—all those who came before me and all those who follow—and horizontal—the Jews of today, in all our diversity.
Posted on July 2, 2018 by
Rabbi
Deborah Waxman
Ph.D.
Reclaiming Judaism After Centuries Underground
The small Italian village of Serrastretta has a hidden past: among its population are many families of anusim, hidden Jews whose ancestors were forced to convert to Catholicism during the Inquisition. Now, many locals are exploring their roots, thanks to new Reconstructionist affiliate Sinagoga Ner Tamid del Sud. While many are satisfied to understand the origins of mysterious family customs and learn about their ancestral heritage, some choose to fully embrace Judaism through conversion. Through a unique document of “Reclaiming Jewish Status”, this community has reconstructed standard conversion as a reclaiming of stolen Jewishness.
Posted on June 14, 2018 by
Rabbi
Michael Fessler
Why Belong?
Why belong to the Jewish people? Why belong to a synagogue? Why belong to the Reconstructionist movement? These are some of the most important questions that I am asked and that I, along with all of us at Reconstructing Judaism, strive to answer powerfully and convincingly.
Posted on April 9, 2018 by
Rabbi
Deborah Waxman
Ph.D.
To Read More...
Further resources on embracing the stranger within.
Posted on August 18, 2017 by
Further Resources
Educating Future Jews: Jewish-Americans or American Jews?
Should children receiving conflicting, non-Jewish, religious education be allowed to enroll in a synagogue school? This question is at core about the differences between how the individual is seen by the community, his status, and how the individual sees herself, her identity
Posted on March 29, 2017 by
Rabbi
Sarah Rubin
Exploration of God Beliefs: A Teen Program
This pilot program for Jewish teen education provides several activities for exploring and sharing beliefs about God.
Posted on November 30, 2016 by
Rabbi
Jeffrey Schein
For The Sake Of The World
Rabbi Toba Spitzer grapples wtih the traditional notion of Jewish chosenness, arguing that our Torah is integral to the maintenance and perfection of this world—even as we acknowledge that other people’s teachings, other people’s truths, are also a path to redemption. It matters that Judaism survives—not just for our own sake, but because it’s good for the world, and because we have unique work to do.
Posted on November 29, 2016 by
Rabbi
Toba Spitzer
"Peoplehood" Reconsidered
Reconstructionism has long held the notion of Jewish Peoplehood as a central organizing principle. But does it mean the same thing that it used to? How can “Peoplehood” itself be reconstructed to remain relevant today?
Posted on November 22, 2016 by
Rabbi
Toba Spitzer
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