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  1. Why We Need Process Theology

    What is “process theology”? Rabbi Toba Spitzer argues that it offers ways to think and talk about God that make sense in a modern scientific framework, that resonate with Jewish texts and traditions, and that promote wise and ethical behavior. 

    This article originally appeared in CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly, Winter 2012. Copyright by Central Conference of American Rabbis. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/document/why-we-need-process-theology

    Posted on: 2016/11/18 - 8:21am

  2. For the Sake of the World: Toba Spitzer on peoplehood and mission

    Originally delivered at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, Rosh Hashanah 5764

    Where do we first hear about Rosh Hashanah? In the Torah, in the book of Leviticus, we read:

    Adonai spoke to Moses, saying: Speak to the Israelites, saying: In the seventh month, on the first day of the month, shall be for you a day a rest, a memorial proclaimed with the blast of the shofar, a holy assembly. (23:23).

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/sermon/sake-world

    Posted on: 2016/11/29 - 1:38pm

  3. New Approach to Shabbat Practice (Schwartz)

    Congregation B'nai Israel in Willimantic, Connecticut underwent a long communal Reconstructionist process to decide on congregational rules for Shabbat practice. This newsletter article documents that process, and explains the values weighed and the eventual outcome that was reached. This document can serve as an exemplar for Values Based Decision Making on other topics as well. 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/document/new-approach-rules-shaping-shabbat-practice

    Posted on: 2016/12/01 - 1:41pm

  4. Toba Spitzer on Process Theology

    Originally delivered on Yom Kippur 5770 at Congregation Dorshei Tzedek

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/sermon/changing-equation-reflection-god

    Posted on: 2016/11/29 - 1:32pm

  5. Maoz Tzur from original Recon siddur

    This revision of a familiar Hanukkah song was published in the 1945 Reconstructionist siddur. The original text was amended to address ethical concerns raised by Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan - specifically, the first verse is changed so that instead of anticipating God “preparing the slaughter of the blaspheming foe,” we look forward to the end of slaughter and the stilling of the sound of battle. See attached for the Hebrew and (non-literal, but poetic) translation.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/document/revised-maoz-tzur-early-reconstructionist-siddur

    Posted on: 2016/11/17 - 2:54pm

  6. What's God Have to Do With It?

    A High Holiday Sermon delivered by by Rabbi Sid Schwarz at Adat Shalom Reconstructionist Congregation, Bethesda, MD
    Yom Kippur 2007

    Some of you will remember the old Art Linkletter show. His signature piece on the show was his interviews with children which he later compiled in a book called Kids Say the Darndest Things. I thought of this when I recently picked up a book entitled, Children’s Letters to God. Here are a few excerpts:

    “Dear God:

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/sermon/whats-god-have-do-it

    Posted on: 2016/05/06 - 10:32am

  7. Being Part of the Universe

    Let us begin by remembering that the spiritual always points toward the unity of things, not their division. Judaism tries to help us to work from a higher perspective. To celebrate the creation of the world, as we do on Rosh Hashanah, is to see ourselves as an integral part of all that is and not to see ourselves as the measure of all things. The egotistical, self-centered part of our mind, “the evil urge” if you will, always leads us to experience our separateness from the natural world.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/sermon/being-part-universe

    Posted on: 2016/05/06 - 12:54pm

  8. Yigdal Reconstructionist Text Study

    Yigdal, one of the most beloved of the medieval piyyutim (liturgical poems), appears as an opening hymn in the daily morning service. Yigdal summarizes the thirteen principles of the Jewish faith as formulated by Moses Maimonides (RaMBaM; late 12th century C.E.) in his Mishnah commentary on Sanhedrin 10:1.
     
    Reconstructionists often proudly assert that when we pray with a Reconstructionist siddur, we feel that we can 'say what we mean and mean what we say,' because our liturgical language reflects Reconstructionist theology.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/document/yigdal-reconstructionist-examination

    Posted on: 2016/11/30 - 2:00pm

  9. The Reconstructionist Revolution (PEARL call, Jane Litman)

    In this hour-long conference call, Rabbi Jane Litman presents an overview of the revolutionary ideas that underlie the first century of Reconstructionist Judaism.

    Selected quotes follow. The entire call transcript is available at the bottom of this page. 

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/spoken-audio/reconstructionist-revolution-foundational-ideas

    Posted on: 2016/11/30 - 6:51pm

  10. Bronstein teaching call - Hasidic lens on Parashat Bo

    Today I want to share with you some of what I think are the most astounding, and provocative, and informative Jewish messages that we have available to us as Reconstructionists, as Jews in general today. But they come from a place that you might never think to look: the 18th-century and 19th-century Hasidic commentaries on the Torah.

    https://archive.reconstructingjudaism.org/spoken-audio/hasidic-lens-parashat-bo

    Posted on: 2016/12/01 - 5:11pm

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