Essays, sermons and study guides from the RRA around racial justice.

Evolve Article Index
Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations offers conversation-sparking essays from thought-leading rabbis, lay leaders and creators. Explore the best thinking on pressing, contemporary questions.
This page contains a categorized index of essays that can be found on the Evolve site.
A look at some of the causes of tension and misunderstanding between Jews and Blacks in the United States.
On the impact of slavery and the white Jewish obligations to respond.
Reflections on a visit to the National Memorial of Peace and Justice and to the Legacy Museum in Montgomery, Ala.
Co-written by Rabbi Sandra Lawson and Donna Cephas, this essay examines the assumption that all Jews are white, while touching on a myriad of interrelated issues: conversion, interracial families, adoption, Ashkenazi privilege and political correctness.
In this study guide, Rabbi Bob Gluck outlines the book Racing to Justice by John A. Powell, including major themes, notable quotes and topics for discussion.
From the diaries of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, a reflection on the beauty of stepping outside proscribed lines and being fully oneself.
A synagogue president writes to his community, asking for their support of his transgender family ahead of Election Day.
Might the knowledge gained within Reconstructionist communities and our experience of values-based decision-making prove useful to Yeshivat Chovevei Torah? I believe that it can.
Our responsibility is to assert as legitimate the religious identity of those converting to Judaism and those who transition to a different gender identity. We can learn from our support of each of these groups about how to support the other.
What is it like to live every day outside the confines of “he” and “she”? Difficult, intimidating, powerful—and occasionally, funny.
Living a Jewish life is rich, meaningful and joyful. It is a wonderful way to respond to the violence and lies of antisemitism. And it is healing.
A look at some of the causes of tension and misunderstanding between Jews and Blacks in the United States.
How do we balance raucous joy with global suffering? Is it sometimes impossible to celebrate, even when the Jewish calendar calls for it? Rabbi Amy Eilberg shares about her skipping Purim in 2019 in response to attacks in Pittsburgh and Christchurch.
White supremacists are the greatest danger to the safety of Jews in the United States. The emphasis on antisemitic tropes among progressives is misplaced.
In her new book, Lipstadt details antisemitism on the right and the left. She urges Jews to balance the oy of being Jewish with the joy of being Jewish.
A new interpretation of the story of Lot’s wife: that bearing witness provokes her transformation into the pillar of salt. The question remains: How can we act with compassion and bear witness without becoming paralyzed or fixed?
Drawing from teachings in the Babylonian Talmud, Rabbi David Teutsch teaches that “silence is consent.” For American Jewish communities, keeping silent about injustice emerging in Israel makes Jews complicit in those acts of injustice.
Because we were once slaves, Michael Zimmerman explains, we can feel the suffering of other oppressed groups without having experienced it directly. Seeking justice does not need to be rewarded, as it is a privilege and a right to campaign on behalf of other marginalized communities.
A text sheet and study guide created by Rabbi Deborah Waxman on Rabbi Alex Weissman’s piece, “Halleluyah.”
Maurice Harris argues that liberal Jewish communities have the full right to use tikkun olam as an umbrella term, despite opposition voiced by conservative critics. The spiritual significance of the term is not undervalued, he writes, by the use of it.
Rabbi Fred Scherlinder Dobb outlines the five pillars that serve as a base for the Jewish environmental movement: sufficiency (dayenu), resilience (kehillah), responsibility (akhrayut), justice (tzedek) and hope (tikvah).
The “covenant of salt,” Rena Blumenthal writes, is the agreement that Jews will not only bear witness to suffering and destruction, but preserve memories of pain to teach to future generations.
How do we keep going when the world is full of terror and suffering? A Kol Nidrei sermon exploring some possibilities.
This PowerPoint presentation created by Rabbi Shawn Zevit for his Spirituality and Activism Reconstructionist Learning Network covers everything from “finding a spiritual home” to understanding the deeper roots of tikkun olam, as well as the intersection between prayer and social justice.
Why include all six matriarchs in the Amidah? Why include the matriarchs at all? David Mosenkis looks at the way narratives dominated by a ruling group overpower the essential contributions to Jewish lineage and civilization by non-dominant populations.
From the diaries of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, a reflection on how to define the term “Jew.”
Exploration of the halachah (Jewish law), contemporary environment and theological implications around rituals of affirmation of Jewish identity.
How is Jewish status conferred? In this 2013 document from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the tension between biology and identity is most prominent.
There is special chutzpah in the heart of a Reconstructionist, in relationship to Torah, communal life and the world.
In this speech from the 2017 RRA convention, Rabbi Michael Strassfeld reflects on redemption, responsibility and embodying Torah as Jewish leaders and community members.
Rabbi Nick Renner uses unique examples from his rabbinic career to explore the blessings offered by being Jewish and taking part in Jewish communal life. From weekly rituals to forging community connections, reaching spiritual fulfillment to uncovering de
Why should we thank God for having made us Jewish each day during the morning blessings? Professor David Ebenbach divines possible answers to this question: receiving mitzvot, Jewish community, spirituality or having to wrestle with the challenges brought to us by prayer.
Seven essential Jewish practices that are the most valuable for living a life of connected purpose with a full awareness of its many blessings.
We are heir to a rich assortment of metaphors for God that may resonate more powerfully than the High Holy Day images of king and judge.
Rabbi Marc Margolius affirms three core teachings in the Torah: that each human being is created in the image of the Divine, that human beings must “serve and guard” the earth and that together, we must pursue justice and peace.
The enterprise of Talmud Torah tunes our ear to listen for the Divine voice. It is a lifelong project that connects us to the shared consciousness of the Jewish people as we/they have sought God throughout time.
The Bible’s description of the shuddering of the people at Mount Sinai reflects a deep truth about how moments of revelatory insight can be frightening.
Principles, concepts and methods behind values-based decision-making.
Why must “diaspora” be a term rooted in pain? Rabbi Alissa Wise argues for a redefining of diaspora, in which one’s spiritual and physical home can remain undivided by the fragmented politics and policies of Israel.
Values-based decision-making is a process deeply grounded in Torah and Jewish modalities of conversation and choices.
Rabbi Brian Field depicts the work of Judaism Your Way: bridging gaps, reducing gatekeeping in the Jewish community, and offering inclusive services and experiences for all interested in Jewish involvement.
Download these text studies inspired by the essays in Reimagining Jewish Community, by Rabbi Rachel Weiss, Rabbi Brian Field, and Rabbi Ariana Katz.
Rabbi Rachel Weiss challenges the assumptions of how a synagogue should operate by highlighting multi-generational programming and interfaith activism at Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation (JRC) in Evanston, Ill.
Declarations that everyone is welcome in a community are insufficient for Jews who do not identify as white. Jewishness is not the sole or primary identity for those who are oppressed and endangered because of the color of their skin.
Digital Judaism is fundamental to the Jewish future and not merely an add-on to enhance in-person interaction.
Rabbi Donna Kirshbaum responds to Toba Spitzer’s essay “Israel and Us” by asking, rather than focusing on disparate narratives: Are American Jews instead willing to value pragmatism over “ideological purity” when it comes to finding peace in Israel and Palestine?
One rabbi’s trip to Israel/Palestine in 2018 challenges her ideas about Israel, and offers new insight into the experiences of Israelis and Palestinians.
Adding onto Rabbi Brant Rosen’s response essay, Rabbi Toba Spitzer further defines her use of “narrative” in relation to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the struggle for liberation from trauma and oppression.