The rise in antisemitism is a real and growing threat, but the prospect of defining Judaism as a nationality is deeply problematic. The Reconstructionist notion of peoplehood sheds light on the weighty issues at stake.

If we are serious about building Jewish community, what could be more important than educating, nurturing and supporting Jewish leaders — rabbis — who will partner with us, teach us, learn with us, and both ground us in our tradition and inspire us to reach for new meaning?

The Talmud tells us that God created repentance (teshuvah) before creating the physical world. As Billy Joel once sang, “we’re only human, we’re supposed to make mistakes.” It’s how we respond to mistakes, how we grow, that matters. This video explores the twin themes of teshuvah and gratitude (hakarat hatov.) Our tradition offers us practices that cultivate self-reflection and humility, relationship and repair. We hope these words offer some comfort and guidance as you undergo your own process of teshuvah and, in meaningful relationships with others, make Godliness present in the world.

Jonathan Markowitz recounts his narrow escape from the World Trade Center on 9/11, and reflects on God, Judaism and humanity in light of his experience.

Rabbi Deborah Waxman reflects on the ways in which Reconstructing Judaism is strengthening the ways in which we support and connect Jewish communities traumatized by the recent surge in antisemitic attacks.

Rabbi Maurice Harris shares the moving story of welcoming new Jews through conversion —on a Reconstructionist beit din in the Netherlands. 

Synagogues are a means, not an end in themselves. But thriving synagogues contribute to Judaism’s goal: to create healthy individuals, thriving communities, flourishing Jewish life, interconnected human life and a sustainable planet.