On Giving Tuesday 2020, Reconstructing Judaism shared a live day of online learning. Here are videos of those sessions.
Community Learning
Related Resources
The Recon Connect Beit Midrash invites you to learn Torah from our notable rabbis at Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
Tara Saltzman, director of lifelong learning at Congregation Beth Evergreen in Denver, reflects on the ups and downs her congregation has experienced on the road to becoming more environmentally friendly.
Sarah Brammer-Shlay and Donna Cephas, both recipients of the 2019 Auerbach Entrepreneurial Grant program, offer new visions for understanding community and difficult conversations through their innovative projects.
Reconstructing Judaism's support of entrepreneurship gives rabbinical students and recent graduates the funding, supervision and mentorship to turn ideas into reality. “For me, the big story is that Jews remain seekers of meaning and community. What our Auerbach grants do is create new portals for Jewish community and meaning,” said Cyd Weissman, Reconstructing Judaism’s vice president for Innovation and Impact.
As more and more places of worship become vulnerable to hate crimes and gun violence and we increase security measures, young people are particularly traumatized. One congregation has created a mental health and resilience curriculum for its students.
Learn more about Reconstructionist Educators of North America, a vital resource for professional development, mentorship and connection for Jewish educators in Reconstructionist communities.
This manual will help you use all three volumes of A Guide to Jewish Practice to boost your adult and teen education programming in meaningful ways.
The 2018 Chesapeake Day of Learning addressed difficult conversations in progressive Jewish communities.
In our second session of Reconstructing for Tomorrow, we were led in a discussion about the spiritual and tangible ways we can integrate ecological values into our Jewish lives.
In our third session with author Abigail Pogrebin, we talked about taking an "Elijah moment" at our Passover celebrations: enacting change in the world in an effective and fulfilling way.
In our followup to the 2016-17 Innovators Incubator, our new Rev Your Engines session focused on the development of a close-knit, supportive network of participants facing similar challenges in their start-up endeavors. From teen focused programming to a havurot for baby boomers, we looked into the support and development resources available to these community leaders.
In our second session with author Abigail Pogrebin, we talked about "embracing the other" in our holiday celebrations and reinterpreting the Hannukah story to embrace this idea.
In our first session with author Abigail Pogrebin, we began with a question: How can we make the holidays 'urgent' in today's busy world. We shared observations about the Judaism practiced by our Hebrew schools, families, and synagogue communities.
Highlights from all six sessions of the Innovations Incubator
Highlights from Innovations Incubator session on "Getting What You Need from Boards & Governance" with Tobi Rubin
Highlights from Innovations Incubator session on "Keeping Your Entrepreneurial Edge Sharp" with Rabbi Hayim Herring
In this classic article, Rabbi Julie Greenberg explores successful mixed-age classrooms in Jewish schools.
This lesson helps children and adults delve into the meaning and feeling of the Hashkiveinu prayer.
Fuller Aleynu prayer for Siddur Kol Hano'ar
Highlights from Innovations Incubator session on "Jewish Megatrends: Priming the Pump of Jewish Innovation" with Rabbi Sid Schwarz
A classroom activity framing the Counting of the Omer in the content of the Four Children of the Passover seder.
Summarized discussion among Reconstructionist educators on childrens' High Holiday services
An email discussion between educators about teaching Hanukkah and the implications of different approaches.
This is the PDF version of the 2016-2017 catalog for the Reconstructionist Learning Networks.
D'VAR TORAH
Exodus 19:1-20:23
Rabbi Jeffrey Schein has created this suite of educational resources on Jewish peoplehood, under the auspices of the Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood.
D'VAR TORAH
Leviticus 22:26-23:44
This is a hands-on, team activity for the week before Sukkot that allows students to build sukkot according to instructions given in the Mishnah.
Jewish values and practical strategies for improving classroom discipline in supplemental religious schools
D'VAR TORAH
Genesis 1:1-6:8
This lesson about the Garden of Eden encourages students to generate their own midrash. It models an approach that can be applied to other Torah texts.
A play and activities on the life and values of Zionist pioneer Theodor Herzl
D'VAR TORAH
Genesis 32:4-36:43
Text study and discussion questions on the reunion of Jacob and Esau after decades of separation
D'VAR TORAH
Genesis 18:1-22:24
A brief "crowdsourced" text study on the Binding of Isaac. Who was being tested, and how?
This manual provides practical suggestions and tools for lesson planning and classroom management. It includes excellent resources for bringing a "multiple intelligences" awareness into classrooms.
The TEL (Teens: Experience and Learning) post-b’nai mitzvah program focuses on the values of spiritual peoplehood that form the cornerstones of Reconstructionist Jewish education. Each curriculum focuses on a different value. Hiddur Mitzvah is a Hebrew expression meaning "beautification of a mitzvah," which we here interpret as creativity in its broadest sense.
The TEL (Teens: Experience and Learning) post-b’nai mitzvah program focuses on the values of spiritual peoplehood that form the cornerstones of Reconstructionist Jewish education. Each curriculum focuses on a different value. Tikkun Olam is a Hebrew expression broadly meaning "reparing the world."
The TEL (Teens: Experience and Learning) post-b’nai mitzvah program focuses on the values of spiritual peoplehood that form the cornerstones of Reconstructionist Jewish education. Each curriculum focuses on a different value. Derekh Eretz is a Hebrew expression broadly meaning "treatment of others."
This lesson, for use with Siddur Kol Ha'Noar, helps acquaint children and adults with the idea and practice of Shabbat.
The upbeat, jazzy Israeli song Shabbat Ba'boker is a Shabbat song with no reference to ritual or practice. But in a way that only an Israeli song can express, it communicates a deep sense of how joyous the Sabbath can be.
D'VAR TORAH
Leviticus 16:1-34; 18: 1-30
Yom Kippur is probably the most challenging holiday to explain meaningfully on a child's level. Rabbi Devorah Bartnoff, z"l, offers goals and techniques for teaching and experiencing Yom Kippur.
