Resources for our Communities

Reconstructionist Approach Brochure

This brochure provides a brief overview of the Reconstructionist Movement’s approach to Judaism and can serve as a guide for facilitating conversations about Reconstructionism. To recieve printed copies of this brochure, please email jweinberg@reconstructingjudaism.org with your desired quantity. 

Communications

• Special-Interest Listservs: Our listservs allow people across the movement to communicate directly with others who share specific congregational responsibilities and interests. We offer listservs for educators, presidents, executive directors and others. If you have any questions about listservs, please email Jacob Weinberg at jweinberg@reconstructingjudaism.org. 

• Resources for Community Communicators lists upcoming programs and opportunies, articles, and initiatives that can leadership can use to share in their community newsletters. 

• ​Regular News of the Movement by Email: Twice a month—once for congregational leaders (Reconstructionist Leadership Brief) and once for our entire mailing list (Reconstructing Judaism Today)—we send an email featuring stories about Reconstructionist Judaism, our affiliated communities, the leaders of our movement, and links to information and resources of interest. If you would like to receive these emails or arrange for the members of your congregation to receive them, please contact us at Shalom@ReconstructingJudaism.org. You can browse an archive of back newsletter issues here.

• Public Statements and Positions: Rabbi Deborah Waxman and other movement leaders take public positions and sign onto statements with like-minded organizations. These are listed in our email newsletters, but the latest can be found at https://ReconstructingJudaism.org/positions.

• Reconstructionist Press: The Press offers a wide array of guidebooks for all aspects of Jewish ethics and practice, including everyday spirituality, death and mourning, and tzedakah. It is the home of the award-winning Guide to Jewish Practice series. At Reconstructionist Press you’ll find one-stop shopping for Reconstructionist prayer books, congregational resources, children’s literature and books about our movement’s history, theology and philosophy. Reconstructionist community members receive discounts on all purchases. 

Convention 2022

• We are excited to gather on March 23 – 27, 2022 for our next movement-wide convention, B’Yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together in the Washington, D.C. metro area. Convention will be held in person and virtually. We will learn from experts, scholars, lay leaders, and each other. This will also be an opportunity to reconnect, form new relationships, and deepen your sense of belonging to this community of communities. To view the Convention homepage, visit reconvention2022.org.

• Highlights from Convention 2018 - Rooted and Relevant: Reconstructing Judaism in 2018 was the largest gathering of Reconstructionists in history. Rooted in a love of evolving and growing Torah, some 750 rabbis, lay leaders, young people, elders, teachers and performers displayed the talent and relevance of our movement in these times, strengthening each other and our community of communities. Click this link to review hightlights of that gathering and access learning and resources.

Liturgy and Services

• High Holiday Day Audio Recordings: Anyone leading or helping at High Holiday services will find these downloadable recordings useful. Corresponding page numbers are provided for Kol Haneshamah: Prayerbook for the Days of Awe from the Reconstructionist Press, making it easy to listen and refer to the Hebrew text.

• Reconstructionist Torah Blessings One-Pager

• Digital Versions of Kol Haneshamah Prayer Books — to access digital versions of Kol Haneshama, please reach out to Jacob Weinberg at jweinberg@reconstructingjudaism.org. 

Pandemic Resources 

• Reconstructionist Movement Pandemic Resources - here you can find materials from across the Reconstructionist movement created in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including Recon Connect, Virtual Shabbat Box, Virtual Passover and Shavuot Boxes, and statements and guides on gathering. 

• Havaya@Home - Virtual programming for children and families from Havaya Summer Programs. Wherever you are in the world, Havaya Summer Programs is happy to provide virtual opportunities to gather together, have some fun, and bring the magic of camp into your home.

• Cross-Movement Guide on Reopening Synagogues - 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. Note that the guide does not encourage re-opening or partial re-opening, but rather seeks to offer some useful frameworks, checklists, and templates for how congregations can organize their thoughts, plans, and communications on this important matter.

Initiatives and Affiliate Organizations

• Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations is an initiative of Reconstructing Judaism that seeks to promote the ongoing evolution of the Jewish community by launching collective, communal conversations about the urgent issues of our day. To that end, Evolve brings multiple voices together to listen to one another’s point of view and to interact respectfully. In an era when it has become ever more difficult to remain open to viewpoints that differ from our own, Evolve cultivates covenantal conversations even when we disagree. 

• Podcasts

  • Hashivenu is a podcast about Jewish teachings and practice around resilience, hosted by Rabbi Deborah Waxman. Cultivating resilience in challenging times, both individually and collectively, is an essential path to personal renewal.

  • Evolve: Listen to groundbreaking Jewish conversations on our accompanying podcast for our Evolve inititative. 

• Ritualwell.org: Ritualwell.org is filled with creative Jewish resources for once-in-a-lifetime events and everyday moments. Ritualwell’s resources cover Jewish holidays, everyday holiness, life cycle celebrations, healing, Shabbat and more—through personalized prayers, readings, poetry and rituals that encourage individualized expressions of Jewish life. Join Ritualwell’s online community and share your own rituals. Sign up for emails or like Ritualwell on Facebook. 

• Rabbi Connect is a new initiative coming out of Ritualwell and Reconstructing Judaism where people can connect with a Reconstructionist Rabbi to explore Jewish practices, receive spiritual support, study a particular topic, or create a ritual for an important moment in their lives.

• RRC.edu: Here you can learn more about the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College: this site is home to information on admissions, academics, student life, and more. And on the occasion of RRC’s 50th anniversary, click here to find out more about five decades of training Reconstructionist rabbis. 

Online Learning

• Videos and Resources from Shavuot All Night Learning 2020

• Reconstructing Jewish Communities Learning Module: on the opening night of the Reconstructing Judaism Convention in November of 2018, an extraordinary panel of rabbis reflected on a crucial question: how do we reconstruct Jewish communities in this time and place, to meet tomorrow’s challenges? We’ve divided up the conversation into five sessions, and supplied material for reflection and discussion. We hope you’ll find this conversation as thought-provoking as we did. 

• Resources from the 2020 New York Day of Learning: On Sunday, Jan. 26, 2020,  Reconstructing Judaism and Project Renewal came together to host the 2020 New York Day of Learning: Jewish Response to Homelessness in the New York Area at SAJ-Judaism that Stands for All. With more than 130 people in attendance, the day was full of a sense of community searching for deeper learning and action to help those among us who are homeless.

• Feedback that Works: The Art of Tochecha - Rabbi David Teutsch at the Global Day of Jewish Learning 2019: We will begin with what Rambam (Maimonides) says about the obligation to offer rebuke and what makes such conversations effective, consider some contemporary situations that need our feedback, and talk about how we overcome our internal resistance to addressing wrongdoing.

• Corresponding with Kaplan and the Kaplan Listening Center: As a joint project between the Reconstructing Judaism, the Ira and Judith Kaplan Eisenstein Reconstructionist Archives at RRC, and the Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood, these two online exhibits showcase the thoughts and writings of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, founder of the Jewish Reconstructionist Movement. Corresponding with Kaplan is a collection of Kaplan’s correspondences, featuring letters individually selected and introduced by scholars. The Kaplan Listening Center presents archived audio recordings of Kaplan delivering remarks on a number of relevant topics on Jewish peoplehood.

• Judaism Through a Reconstructionist Lens: This self-paced online learning program teaches the philosophy of Reconstructionist Judaism through a framework of questions. Users can explore the thinking of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan and find out how Reconstructionist Judaism differs from other branches of Judaism. The thoughts of real-world Reconstructionist rabbis and congregants are available in audio clips. The program can be used by individuals or groups.

• Disabilities and Inclusion Minicourse: “Look Into My Eyes: Coming Face to Face With Disability” offers valuable information and guidance for anyone in the Jewish community who seeks to include people of different abilities. It was originally presented as a minicourse at RRC, where it was spearheaded by Rabbi Judith Abrahamson. The course was designed to help rabbis, educators and congregational leaders increase their capacity to work with people of differing abilities in a Jewish setting. The course has been re-created online with six videos and articles that offer insights from Jewish tradition, explorations of the heart and teachings from rabbis who are leaders in serving diverse communities.