What is Reconstructionist Judaism?
Reconstructionist Judaism is a progressive, contemporary approach to Jewish life that integrates a deep respect for traditional Judaism with the insights and ideas of contemporary social, intellectual, and spiritual life.
Judaism as the Culture of the Jewish People
For Reconstructionists, Judaism is more than Jewish religion—Judaism is the cultural legacy of the Jewish people. Religion is central; Jewish spiritual insights and religious teachings give meaning and purpose to our lives. Yet our creativity as expressed through art, music and drama, languages and literature, and our relationship with the land of Israel itself is also an integral part of Jewish culture. Each of these aspects provides a gateway into the Jewish experience that can enrich and inspire us.
Community as Cornerstone
While deeply connected to the historical experience of the Jewish people, we find a profound sense of belonging in our contemporary communities. This connection often leads to increased ritual observance and experimentation with the rhythms of Jewish life. We find meaning in rediscovering the richness of traditional ritual and creating new observances that respond to our contemporary communal and personal cycles.
Reconstructionist communities are characterized by their respect for such core values as democratic process, pluralism, and accessibility. In this way, they create participatory, inclusive, egalitarian communities committed to exploring Jewish life with dedication, warmth, and enthusiasm.
Patterns of Practice
"Torah" means "teaching." In Jewish tradition, Talmud Torah, the study of Torah, is a lifelong obligation and opportunity. Reconstructionists are committed to a serious engagement with the texts and teachings, as well as the art, literature, and music of tradition. But we are not passive recipients; we are instead challenged to enter the conversation of the generations, to hear voices other than our own and to add our own voices as well.
Reconstructionist Judaism is respectful of traditional Jewish observances but also open to new interpretations and forms of religious expression. As Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan (1881-1983), the founder of Reconstructionism, taught, tradition has "a vote, but not a veto." Reconstructionists share a commitment to making Judaism their own by finding in it joy, meaning, and ideas they can believe in. Unlike Orthodox and Conservative Judaism, Reconstructionism does not view inherited Jewish law (halachah) as binding. We continue to turn to Jewish law for guidance, if not always for governance. We recognize that in the contemporary world, individuals and communities make their own choices with regard to religious practice and ritual observance.
Where Reform Judaism emphasizes individual autonomy, Reconstructionism emphasizes the importance of religious community in shaping individual patterns of observance. Belonging to a community leads us to take seriously the patterns of observance within that community; our choices don't exist independently but are made in response to our community as we participate in it. Reconstructionism thus retains a warmly traditional (and fully egalitarian) approach to Jewish religious practice.
Spiritual Seeking
Reconstructionists hold diverse ideas about God, but we share an emphasis on Godliness—those hopes, beliefs, and values within us that impel us to work for a better world, that give us strength and solace in times of need, that challenge us to grow, and that deepen our joy in moments of celebration.
Reconstructionist prayer books speak of God beyond the gender concepts of male/female and beyond the traditional metaphor of "king of the universe." For example, in our prayer books God is addressed as, among other things, "The Healer," "The Teacher," "The Comforter," and "The Presence." We are engaged in the spiritual adventure of discovering the many attributes of the one God.
Ethics and Values
Reconstructionist communities emphasize acts of social justice alongside prayer and study as an essential part of their spiritual practice. Reconstructionist Judaism affirms that religion can and must be a powerful force for promoting communal discussion about ethics and values. The Torah tradition itself is a deep and wide resource for this project. We know that generations of Jews have sharpened and distilled the ethical insights of Judaism as a result of their encounters with other cultures and traditions, and so it is in our time.
The Reconstructionist Movement
The Reconstructionist movement has two components:
- a rabbinical college and synagogue network—Reconstructing Judaism
- an association of rabbis—the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA)
For More Information
We recommend Exploring Judaism: A Reconstructionist Approach by Rabbis Rebecca T. Alpert and Jacob J. Staub. Revised in 2000, this book and many others are available through the Reconstructionist Press.
Getting in Touch
Reconstructing Judaism and the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
1299 Church Road
Wyncote , PA 19095
215-576-0800
www.reconstructingjudaism.org
www.rrc.edu
info@rrc.edu
Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association
1299 Church Road
Wyncote, PA 19095
215-576-5210
www.therra.org
info@therra.org