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  1. Preparing for a Child

    In the year 741 B.C.E., a prince, Hezekiah, was born to the royal family of Judah. The Prophet Isaiah was excited and inspired. Those were bleak times. King Ahaz, Hezekiah’s father, was paying tribute to the Assyrian emperor in order to avoid invasion and destruction. He was fighting with the northern kingdom of Israel and with Syria. Listen to Isaiah:

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/news/preparing-child

    Posted on: 2014/02/01 - 12:00am

  2. Toddlers Turn On to Torah

    How can you delight two- and three-year-olds with chanting Torah in ancient melodies called trope? How do you pull them into the storyline, and get them to call out questions and jump out of their seats at the end of each section to shout Hazak! Hazak! Venithazek! (Be strong! Be strong! And may we be strengthened), as if it were a chorus from the latest Disney blockbuster? Rabbi Marisa Elana James did just that as a rabbinical student during her year as director of programming at a congregation in New York City.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/news/toddlers-turn-torah

    Posted on: 2000/01/01 - 12:00am

  3. Illness and Connection - DT SCR Metzora

    It was one of those difficult weeks where nearly every day I received a phone call about either a sudden death in the community, or someone who had just discovered one form of cancer or another and was struggling with the “Why me?” question and the fear of death staring them in the face. It was also a week where I was reminded nearly every day of why Judaism places so much emphasis on the power of community as the foundation of our religious identity. 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/illness-and-connection

    Posted on: 2017/04/24 - 4:39pm

  4. Finding Healing in Separation DT Metzora

    This week's parashah is Metzora. In this parashah we continue the laws concerning the person with tzara'at (skin afflictions). We were informed in the last parashah, Tazria, that the person suffering from skin afflictions (commonly but inaccurately translated as leprosy) is to be kept separated from the camp until the priest has determined that s/he is healed. The person is considered ritually impure and in danger of contaminating the camp both physically and spiritually. The Torah does not distinguish physical illness as separate from the religious realm.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/finding-healing-separation

    Posted on: 2017/04/24 - 3:34pm

  5. Life, Death and Holiness -- DT Acharei Mot / Kedoshim SCR

    This piece was written in 2002, during the second Intifidah. While the circumstances in question have changed, the teaching that emerged from them remains relevant today. 

    Tears and hope, fears and resolve, profound sadness and fierce determination – that is the mood in Israel this week. How ironic that this week’s double Torah portion is called “Akharey Mot/Kedoshim”, which translates as “After death — Holiness.” 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/life-death-and-holiness

    Posted on: 2002/05/01 - 12:00am

  6. Birth of Humility - Tazria DT SCR

    This week is one of the least popular bar or bat mitzvah portions in all the Torah. It is filled with laws for how to recognize and treat leprosy when it is found on one’s body, one’s clothes or in one’s home. Most kids are a bit squeamish about skin diseases, so they search for anything else in the portion that they might talk about. 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/birth-humility

    Posted on: 2017/04/24 - 4:36pm

  7. Tamar and Judah DT Vayeshev

    There is so much wonderful meat for discussion in the Joseph story that it is easy to skip or skim the story of Judah and Tamar — or of Tamar and Judah — to get back to the next installment of Joseph in Egypt. Even when read with care, it is not an easy story. Briefly, Judah, fresh from telling Jacob that Joseph has been killed, marries a Canaanite woman and has three sons, the eldest of whom, Er, marries Tamar. Er is killed by God for some unstated fault.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/tamar-and-judah

    Posted on: 2017/04/21 - 12:11pm

  8. When the Call Comes, Will Your Congregation Be Ready?

    “Do you have any resources about how to deal with guests, calls and emails from people who are interested in becoming a member or are curious about our congregation?”

    It’s a smart question.

    In an age when people avoid religious institutions, an email or phone call from a prospective member is an opportunity that synagogues cannot afford to lose. But, too often, congregations drop the ball.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/news/when-call-comes-will-your-congregation-be-ready

    Posted on: 2017/04/19 - 10:23am

  9. Strange Fire DT Shemini Steve Nathan

    Instead of a traditional d'var Torah on Parashat Shemini, I chose to write an original midrash about Nadav and Avihu. These two sons of Aaron the High Priest, after seeing Divine fire come down from heaven and devour the first sacrifice made in the newly-dedicated Mishkan (Sanctuary), decide to take matters into their own hands. They bring a “strange fire” before God, that God had not commanded them, and their punishment was to then be devoured by Divine fire.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/dvar-torah/strange-fire-midrash

    Posted on: 2017/04/17 - 11:47pm

  10. Reconstructionist Radio: The Passover Seder

    This audio program, recorded in 1998, offers an overview of the structure, development and religious meanings of the haggadah and the Passover seder with Rabbis Joy Levitt and Richard Hirsh. It includes a special behind-the-scenes look at the Reconstructionist haggadah, A Night of Questions, and its accompanying music CD. This is an episode of Heart, Mind and Spirit: Reconstructionist Radio hosted by Rabbi Shawn Zevit. 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/spoken-audio/reconstructionist-radio-passover-seder

    Posted on: 2017/04/05 - 4:18pm

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