Let’s tackle big questions together in the New Year.
The Jewish New Year is here, and we’re kicking it off with a dynamic lineup that has something for everyone. Whether you’re looking to connect with community, develop your leadership skills, explore your calling to the rabbinate or join us at our upcoming convention, this is your invitation to be part of something meaningful.
Ready to jump in? Our signature approach of Learning, Doing, Reconstructing means you’ll study with brilliant minds, engage in hands-on experiences, and help reimagine Jewish life for today’s world. Come as you are — curious, questioning and ready to grow.
From intimate writing workshops to groundbreaking conversations about antisemitism, from leadership intensives to creative celebrations of Jewish joy—we’re tackling the questions that matter most. Join thinkers, creators, and change makers from across the Jewish community as we learn, laugh and build together.
Community Events
On Being Jewish Now: A Reading & Writing Experience
Wednesday, September 17 @ 12 p.m. EDT
Since October 7, our world has shifted in ways that touch every part of our lives. Many of us are asking: How do we navigate—and even flourish—in this moment? Where can we turn for wisdom, connection, and hope? In her new anthology, On Being Jewish Now, writer, podcaster, and publisher Zibby Owens brings together leading Jewish voices in a heartfelt, humorous, and deeply moving collection of essays. Join Zibby in conversation with Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer of Ritualwell as they explore what it means to be Jewish right now—how our questions, traditions, worries, and hopes shape our lives and connect us to one another. You’ll be invited into a guided generative writing session to reflect on your own relationship to Jewishness in this moment.
Discovering Jewish Joy: A Ritualwell Community Gathering
October 29, 2025, 12-1:30 p.m. EDT
Join the Ritualwell community for a special event celebrating Manna Songs: Stories of Jewish Culture & Heritage, a new anthology filled with 32 moving essays that lift up the theme of Jewish joy. This gathering is an invitation to connect—to Jewish culture, to your own wellsprings of joy, and to a supportive creative community. You’ll hear powerful excerpts from selected contributors, followed by a meaningful conversation about how joy can be a spiritual and cultural practice—especially in challenging times. Then, you’ll be guided through a generative writing prompt designed to help you reflect on your personal experiences of joy, and how they relate to your Jewish identity and story. Come to be inspired. Come to write. Come to feel joy.
Antisemitism: Understanding Our Contemporary Moment
Wednesdays, November 5, 12, 19 @ 8-9:30 p.m. EST
We are witnessing a resurgence of antisemitism across the political spectrum that, for many Jews, has strained relationships, communities, and political alliances. Yet the way we speak about antisemitism often fails to capture the multiple identities we hold as Jews, particularly racial identity. What does antisemitism look like today and historically? How can we speak about it accurately and compassionately, leaving space for nuance and the ways our different Jewish identities shape how we experience antisemitism? And what might we do about it individually and collectively?
RRC Institute for Prospective Rabbinical Students
Sunday, November 9 – Monday, November 10
Thinking about becoming a rabbi? Join the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College on Sunday, November 9 and Monday, November 10 from the comfort of your home to learn, pray, and engage with current students, alumni and faculty.
Rekindling Light and Joy Through Writing & Art
Thursdays, December 4, 11 & 18 @ 1-2:30 p.m. EST
“Remember: Joy is not merely incidental to your spiritual quest. It is vital.” – Reb Nachman
In times of personal and collective darkness, how do you maintain inspiration and revive your creative spirit? One thing is clear: you don’t have to navigate this journey alone. Join poet and painter Cathleen Cohen, alongside Ritualwell’s Gabrielle Kaplan-Mayer, an essayist and memoirist, to delve into Jewish texts, poetry, and creative exercises. Together, they will guide you in exploring ways to rediscover joy and rejuvenate your creative passion in honor of Hanukkah, helping you enter the winter season with a sense of inner light. Whether you’re new to creative expression or an experienced writer or artist, this workshop presents a chance to uncover new creative techniques and pathways that will strengthen meaningful connections in your life and inspire joy as a spiritual practice.
10 Rules for Writing With Etgar Keret
Sunday, January 11 @ 1 p.m. EST
Join us for an exclusive gathering with acclaimed Israeli writer Etgar Keret, beloved for his wildly imaginative short stories, wit, and deep humanity. In this special session for the Ritualwell community, Keret will share his “10 Rules for Writers”—hard-earned wisdom that’s as funny and surprising as his fiction. Drawing on decades of literary success, Keret will explore how to nurture creativity, embrace imperfection, and find your truest voice on the page. Whether you’re an experienced author, a devoted reader, or just beginning to write, this event will spark new ways of thinking about storytelling and the art of connection through words. Come ready to be inspired, laugh, and see writing—and the Jewish literary imagination—in a whole new light.
Leadership Development Events
These events are for community leadership. Please be on the lookout for registration information in your emails from Reconstructing Judaism. If you need more information, please reach out to your community’s liason in the thriving communities department.
Thriving Communities of Practice
Kick-off after High Holidays
The Thriving Communities of Practice (TCoPs) bring leaders together to learn and support one another in sustaining vibrant Jewish life—from innovating ritual to navigating growth and resource challenges. Rooted in connection and collaboration, each TCoP is an opportunity for communal learning and shared experiences. Thriving Communities hosts monthly Leadership Calls with expert-led skill-building and best practice sharing, plus regular calls for educators, executive directors, racial justice leaders, and presidents. The Leadership Resource Library offers guides, sample documents, and toolkits on governance, strategy, and operations.
Resetting the Table, Strengthening our Communities
Winter-Spring 2026 • Applications open Fall 2025
October 7, 2023 and its aftermath have challenged Jewish organizations of all sizes and orientations, straining relationships among community members and dividing friendship circles and families as well. What tools are available to us as leaders to help community members lean into difficult conversations with curiosity and empathy in a heated and polarized moment? Join the Thriving Communities team and expert trainers from Resetting the Table in winter-spring 2026 to build frameworks and skills to address this critical need. Applications for congregational teams will open in fall 2025.
Building New Fundraising Skills
Details Coming Soon
Rabbi Maurice Harris, Associate Director for Thriving Communities, will introduce new resources that provide instruction and useful context for various types of fundraising. Together we’ll explore how to raise small to medium amounts of money in a short time, how to increase planned gifts to your synagogue, and how to create colorful annual reports to attract new members and increase your revenue from donations.
Leadership Calls & Leadership Resource Library
Thriving Communities hosts monthly Leadership Calls with expert-led skill-building and best practice sharing, plus regular calls for educators, executive directors, racial justice leaders, and presidents. The Leadership Resource Library offers guides, sample documents, and toolkits on governance, strategy, and operations.
