The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Reconstructing Judaism are deeply dismayed to learn of the leaked draft opinion of the Supreme Court indicating that Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision guaranteeing the right to an abortion, will be overturned imminently.
Pursuing Justice
Related Resources
Following Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's March 16 speech to Congress, more than 375 Jewish and other faith-based groups and organizations urged President Joe Biden to take immediate steps to welcome refugees from Ukraine. Jewish Federations of North America spearheaded the letter, sent March 18.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association joined more than 130 other faith and civil rights organizations on a letter urging the Senate to pass the Women’s Health Protection Act (WHPA), which would create a new tool for safeguarding access to high-quality abortion care and securing constitutional rights by protecting patients and providers from dangerous political interference. While the bill did not garner enough votes needed to pass this time around, we are proud to have stood with this coalition for reproductive justice and will continue to do so in the weeks, months, and years ahead.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association join countless nations and faith communities around the world in condemning the unprovoked and brutal Russian military invasion of Ukraine.
Reconstructionist congregations are part of the World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ), which is also home to ten Ukrainian synagogues. We hold them, the entire Ukrainian Jewish community, and all the people of Ukraine in our hearts.
Reconstructionists gather for a movement convention, B’Yachad: Reconstructing Judaism Together.
On Sunday Oct. 28, 2018 — one day after the deadliest day in American Jewish history — I mourned with members of Congregation Dor Hadash. The Pittsburgh Reconstructionist congregation met in the Tree of Life building and had lost one of its own, Dr. Jerry Rabinowitz (z”l). Another member, Dan Leger, clung to life. Virtually every member of the congregation had gathered in solidarity. People were understandably raw, numb and devastated. Yet, in their commitment to mutual support, I was reminded of the awesome power of Jewish community to cultivate resilience in the face of pain and threat, including violent antisemitism.
In these polarized times, discourse over how best to confront antisemitism has often been visceral and sometimes taken on hyperbolic tones. At Reconstructing Judaism, we believe there are several steps toward a vigorous and constructive fight against rising antisemitism.
Although Reconstructing Judaism has not been asked to participate in the No Fear rally, and has therefore had no opportunity to participate in its messaging or planning, we endorse it in principle because we are firmly opposed to antisemitism and, in our efforts to foster engaged and substantive Jewish life and in our tikkun olam and public square work, we act continuously to counter it.
The Board of Governors of Reconstructing Judaism has adopted a comprehensive set of commitments to racial justice.
Many people have asked how I feel about the Chavin verdict. Whenever I struggle to find words, I’m grateful for the teachings in the Torah, and this week is no exception.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association applaud Tuesday’s guilty verdict in the murder of George Floyd as an important step toward basic accountability for racial violence in America. We join our allies around the world in taking a moment to breathe - a basic human right denied to George Floyd and countless others. For far too long, impunity has been the norm for actors of state-sanctioned violence against Black and Brown people, a pillar of the American racial caste system that has its roots in slavery and the lynchings of the Jim Crow era.
Reconstructing Judaism joined a wide-ranging group of Jewish communal organizations in sending a letter to Congressional leadership urging support of and solidarity with Asian American and Pacific Islander communities.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Associations were among 79 national Jewish organizations urging members of Congress to pass the For The People Act (H.R.1/S.1) in order to enhance fairness, integrity and transparancy in our elections, create a democracy that values all voices, and build a more just society.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association mourn the devastating loss of life Tuesday in Atlanta, Georgia. Our hearts are filled with sorrow as we learn of the targeting of Asian American women. We stand with Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) members of our Jewish community and with the broader AAPI community in grief and solidarity for those lost
On November 8, 2020, we participated in the Global Day of Jewish Learning sponsored by Limmud-NA. The day's theme was "Human Dignity". Rabbis Sarra Lev and Micah Weiss presented lectures -- videos are includedhere.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association joined with other members of the Jewish Rohingya Justice Network in condemning the military’s coup in Burma (Myanmar), its brutal crackdown on peaceful protests, and the unjust and arbitrary detention and arrest of democratic leaders, activists, and protestors.
From its very beginnings, the Jewish story is full of journeys. When it comes to racial justice work, the Reconstructionist movement is in the midst of a profound journey.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association strongly oppose the plan of Keren Kayemet L'Israel / Jewish National Fund (KKL-JNF) to expand Jewish settlements by purchasing private land in the West Bank. We join our friends and colleagues in the Reform movement, the Masorti (Conservative) movement, Liberal Judaism (UK), the Reform Movement in Israel, the World Union for Progressive Judaism, and many others in the global Jewish community in speaking out against this plan.
As organizations that care deeply about the State of Israel and about the wellbeing of the Jewish people, we are deeply committed to the struggle against antisemitism. We are thus obligated to share our concerns about ways in which the effort to combat antisemitism is being misused and exploited to instead suppress legitimate free speech, criticism of Israeli government actions, and advocacy for Palestinian rights. In particular, the effort to enshrine in domestic law and institutional policy the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, with its accompanying “contemporary examples,” risks wrongly equating what may be legitimate activities with antisemitism.
We must act now in defense of democracy and in support of a vibrant, principled America that values all voices and that protects all minorities. We must insist that perpetrators of this insurrection — from those who instigated to those who acted — be held accountable. We must work to ensure that the Biden administration works with Congress to enact meaningful reforms in support of racial justice and voting rights, and to combat the white nationalist movement. American democracy is a great, unfolding experiment that requires attention and effort. Let us renew our commitment to the work of furthering it.
Jewish experience offers a valuable entryway into the study of race. Jewish identities and experience complicate conceptions that are overly simplistic or that lack nuance. Jewish history illuminates both the difficulty and the imperative of grappling with race and racism. To deepen our understanding of race, we have organized a series of online talks that will bring leading scholars of race, religion and Jewish life to a broad public.
We are alarmed by the recent set of moves by the government of Israel to initiate settlement projects and take other provocative and harmful actions in East Jerusalem and the West Bank, including home demolitions and forced evictions, which further damage the possibility of a negotiated future two-state solution.
Many American Jews considering voting to be a mitzvah, a commandment. It is essential that every vote is counted so that every voice is heard and so that our full-throated democracy can flourish.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association joined an amicus brief to the Supreme Court opposing the claim of some religious social services providers to be exempt from nondiscrimination law.
Reconstructing Judaism joined a letter signed by over 500 faith leaders and organizations, urging a national moratorium on water, electricity, and broadband shutoffs in light of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association were among more than 500 Jewish organizations from across the racial and political spectrum; from different streams of Judaism; whose members trace their lineage from countries around the world; speaking with one voice to say that Black Lives Matter.
Reconstructing Judaism is fully committed to building an anti-racist Jewish community. We state firmly and unequivocally that Black Lives Matter, and that working tirelessly to demonstrate that Black Lives Matter is a Jewish value. As leaders of Reconstructing Judaism, the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement, we commit ourselves to the Community Obligations articulated by Not Free to Desist.
Reconstructionist leaders were among 800 Jewish clergy from across the Jewish spectrum signing a letter in support of the fundamental right to peaceful protest.
The murder of George Floyd is a blatant display of the systemic racism built into the fabric of American society. To our black and brown siblings: your lives matter. We support non-violent protest to build a more just and equitable world for all people. Let our anger and our love lift us up into a better tomorrow.
Reconstructing Judaism's 2020 New York Day of Learning: Jewish Response to Homelessness, combined deep learning and practical action to help those among us who are homeless.
We urge every Reconstructionist community to stand with Dor Hadash and HIAS this coming March by participating in National Refugee Shabbat. In this way, we act on our values and gain strength from each other to create the world in which we want to live.
“One who destroys one life destroys the entire world. One who saves one life saves an entire world.” This dictum has new meaning to me since my congregation, Temple Beth Hatfiloh (TBH), welcomed our guest into physical sanctuary, making the commitment to provide housing and shelter for an asylum seeker who is at risk of deportation.
Reconstructionist Congregation Dor Hadash has responded to the antisemitic, anti-immigrant attack last year by doubling down on its commitment to help refugees, immigrants and asylum seekers. “We who are still alive have an obligation to honor the memory of those who are no longer with us by doing acts of loving kindness, doing socially conscious things to make the world a better place. That’s how Dor Hadash operates,” said Dan Leger, the Dor Hadash member injured in the shooting. “We pray with our feet, we pray with our votes,” he continued. “We might open a prayer book once in a while — some of us might do it more often than others — but we are an acutely socially responsible group of people who feels that the way we honor being Jewish and being connected with the Divine is by actively trying to make the world a safer, better, more wholesome place to live in.”
We ask the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit to re-hear and reverse a ruling that found that staff at an Illinois prison did not violate the Constitution when they forced female inmates to engage in a deeply humiliating and dehumanizing strip search as part of a training exercise. The ruling "opens the door to other violation of prisoners' First Amendement religious freedom rights and protections."
Rooted in the Jewish textual tradition and lived experience, Reconstructionist communities are aiding immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers through direct service, education and advocacy.
Looking for ways your community can get involved in immigration issues, directly assist a family, or advocate for systematic change? This resource offer a number of concrete steps your community can take.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assocation were among seventeen Jewish organizations writing to the Consumer Protection Finance Bureau in opposition to an administration proposal to rescind protections against predatory lending.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Assocation were among 15 national Jewish organizations writing Congress in support of the Equality Act (H.R. 5). Driven by our Jewish values, we are committed to supporting laws that protect the civil rights and individual liberties of all people. The Equality Act is a significant step forward for the LGBTQ community, and we urge Congress to swiftly pass this important bill.
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association were signatories to a letter objecting to the Tennessee legislature's proposed legislation that would allow federally funded foster care and adoption agencies to practice taxpayer-funded religious discrimination against potential adoptive and foster parents.
Rabbi Elliott Tepperman's vision of a synagogue: a community that sustains itself through prayer and Torah, while also "trying to be a powerful force for making change in the world.”
