Reconstructing Jewish Communities: A Learning Module

On the opening night of the Reconstructing Judaism Convention in November of 2018, an extraordinary panel of rabbis reflected on a crucial question: how do we reconstruct Jewish communities in this time and place, to meet tomorrow’s challenges? We’re pleased to offer you an online learning module that we’ve created based on this panel session: “Reconstructing Jewish Communities: A Learning Module.”

This online resource is designed for self-paced study or group discussions. For guidance on ways to use this learning module in your congregation, please contact Rabbi Maurice Harris in the Department for Thriving Communities at MHarris@ReconstructingJudaism.org.

Tikkun Olam

How Your Community Can Help Immigrants, Refugees and Asylum Seekers

Reconstructionist affiliates and rabbis are diving in, finding myriad ways to aid immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers while advocating for a more just and sustainable immigration system. To learn more about the concrete ways that Reconstructionist communities can aid immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers, read this article.

• Our joint statement with the RRA on Immigration,
• An op-ed co-authored by Rabbi Deborah Waxman, president of Reconstructing Judaism,
• A joint letter we signed to Mike Pompeo on refugee resettlement
• And a powerful speech by Rabbi Elyse Wechterman at a Tisha B’Av vigil in Philadelphia

Free Webinar:

A Year with Mordecai Kaplan: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion

Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations - Invite Your Community Members to Participate

If anyone in your community has considered becoming a rabbi, encourage them to attend our Institute for Prospective Rabbinical Students, where they can experience the RRC community firsthand by attending classes, davenning with us, and meeting our students and faculty. The Institute is free; travel subsidies and home hospitality are available upon request. Participation is by application and invitation only.

Click here for more information or contact Rabbi Melissa Heller, Director of Admissions and Recruitment, at MHeller@RRC.edu or 215-876-0800, ext. 123.

New Resources

The following resources may be relevant to your work and the work of the other leaders of your community:

• “We’ll Cross That Bridge When We Get to It”: A Study of Interfaith Couples 
• How to Add Video to Your Email Campaign
• 15 Social Media Habits to Boost your Organization’s Marketing
• The Look on his Face was the Data We Needed: Equality in Hiring

Help amplify Reconstructionist values in the world by sharing our News Professionals Resource Page with any journalists you might know. The page helps them tap into movement expertise at Reconstructing Judaism.

Stay connected to the Reconstructionist movement

Encourage your members to stay connected to the greater Reconstructionist community by subscribing to our email newsletters through this link: http://bit.ly/ReconEmail.

If you missed an issue of Leadership Brief or Reconstructing Judaism Today, visit ReconstructingJudaism.org/newsletters to see the archive of past issues.

Free Webinar - A Year with Mordecai Kaplan: Wisdom on the Weekly Torah Portion
4 – 5 p.m.
Sept. 10
See event listing above for details.

Evolve Webinar: “Voice, Water, Place: New/Old Ways of Understanding God”
8 p.m.
Sept. 10
See event listing above for details.

Social, Emotional and Spiritual Learning in Jewish Education Conference
Oct. 24
9 a.m. – 3 p.m.
Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion
New York

Explore how educators can adopt a coaching approach—where skills, teamwork, and positive motivation take center stage—to integrating social, emotional, and spiritual learning (SESL), positive character growth, and Jewish learning at this conference produced by Reconstructing Judaism, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, Jewish Theological Seminary and Social Emotional Learning Alliance for the United States.

Click here for more information or contact Dr. Evie Rotstein, Director of the New York School of Education, at (212) 824-2208 or erotstein@huc.edu.

Institute for Prospective Rabbinical Students
Nov. 13-15
See event listing above for details. 

Save the Date! Convention 2022
March 23–27, 2022

Please mark your calendars for the next Reconstructing Judaism convention, which will be held in partnership with the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association and Havaya Summer Programs.

Convention will take place March 23-27, 2022, at the Hilton McLean Tysons Corner, in McLean, Va., just outside of Washington D.C. Join us to learn, pray, sing, dance, eat and network with other Reconstructionists from all over the world. More information to follow!

Jewish Baby Boomers Are ‘Rewiring,’ Not Retiring — Through Synagogue Life

Leave the Haters to Hate; Why We Love Being Jewish

Tree of Life Congregations Oppose Death Penalty for Pittsburgh Synagogue Mass Shooter

St. Louis Jewish voices on president’s ‘disloyalty’ comment

Some Pittsburgh Jews upset by decision to seek death penalty in synagogue attack

Netanyahu And Trump Are Xenophobic Tyrants. We Must Resist Them - Together.

For Jewish groups in Philly protesting Trump’s treatment of migrants, the spiritual is political

Truck drives into row of Jewish protesters at ICE detention center in Rhode Island

Brief Asking Federal Court to Reverse Ruling Allowing Strip Searches of Female Inmates As Training Exercise
Jewish Rohingya Justice Network Letter to Under Secretary Mandelker
Statement on Violence Against Jewish Protesters at ICE Detention Center
Statement on Israeli Government Decision to Bar Entry to Reps. Omar and Tlaib
Statement on El Paso and Dayton Attacks
Joint Letter on Refugee Policy

Click here for our previous statements.