Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

JRF Guide to the Process of Affiliation

FAQ's on Reconstructionist Approaches to Jewish ideas and Practices

Benefits and Responsiblities of the Covenant of Membership

Articles, audio resources and additional materials about Reconstructionism

Beth Hatfiloh, Olympia, WA affiliation story

New Affiliate Stories 2009

Rabbi Shawn Zevit, Director of OutreachDeciding to affiliate with a major Jewish movement may well be one of the most challenging, energizing and exciting processes your community undertakes.

Indeed, the affiliation process is a worthwhile venture for any community that cares about its future, since it provides opportunities for your community to develop a clearer understanding of its mission, identity, and role in the larger Jewish community. The process of affiliation is a valuable way to remind your community of its collective vision and the spiritual legacy it wishes to leave for generations to come.

Discussing affiliation with a movement can be enormously rewarding, allowing all involved to have a better understanding of the values and norms of their community. The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation believes that it is essential to have a carefully developed process for sensitive discussion and decision-making, and one that is deeply rooted in Jewish tradition and contemporary thought. Judaism welcomes study, discussion, and respectful disagreement.

The decision-making process provides an opportunity to strengthen a community through creating a frank and honest exchange among members of the community. When Jewish values inform decisions, the quality of life is deepened for both the community and its individual members. The decision-making model the Reconstructionist movement has used in doing its sacred work—and the one we urge communities to use in the affiliation process—is based on the following four Jewish values-based paradigms:

• Understanding affiliation as a covenant of Jewish life between members of a community, its communal self and the Reconstructionist Movement
• Study and research into the history of the larger Jewish community, current movements and their resources
• Reflection on values and analysis of the impact of each possible decision on members of the community
• Democratic and inclusive process, maximizing the number of participants.

The Reconstructionist movement affirms the value of local autonomy. Even when communities utilize similar decision-making models, the results may differ. Each community must make its own decisions based on their unique situation and priorities. At the same time, this need not be done in isolation, and the JRF offers support in helping your community move toward these pivotal decisions.

"We are pouring over the Guide to Affiliation in preparation for our congregational meeting… The JRF application comes as a breath of fresh air. You actually want congregations to examine alternatives, think deeply about this decision, discuss what it means to be Jewish in the modern world, and commit to long term plans! A machaiah, my long-departed grandfather would have called it….Whatever course Ner Tamid chooses, just reading your application packet has gone a long way towards re-kindling my faith in organizational Judaism." Gary Singer, President Congregation Ner Tamid

Why affiliate?

"Hillel said: Do not separate yourself from the community." Pirkei Avot, chapter 2:5

"One cannot be a Jew without actively belonging to the Jewish people." Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan

"We agreed that several principles should guide our work. First, we all pledged to keep our minds open and put personal preferences aside, to act for the common good. Second, we were determined to involve as many members in the study as possible, in meaningful and non-adversarial ways, so that the outcome would truly represent the will of the community." Temple Beth Hatfiloh, Olympia, WA

Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, the founder of Reconstructionism, described Judaism as the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people. As Jews, belonging to a Jewish community is a core traditional value, an inherent responsibility of being a member of the Jewish people. Supporting the institutions of the Jewish community is crucial to maintaining its vitality and strength.

These organizations, such as JRF, provide prayer books, the training and placement for rabbis, educational texts, youth and camping programs, consulting services and many other resources that we often take for granted. By belonging, we move from being passive receivers of these contributions to Jewish life, to reciprocating this effort and having a voice in their creation.
The growth of Jewish communities is due in large part to the work and accumulated expertise of these organizations, but they can only thrive by the support and input of individual communities.

"We did not know whether, in the end, we would have a preference to offer. Our judgment that Reconstructionism is the best choice is a result of (1) our study of the various movements' philosophy, practices, and current direction; (2) our dealings with the movements, their representatives, and congregations; and (3) responses of our members as they've learned about the movements in light of their own values and hopes for the community." Affiliation Report, Temple Beth Hatfiloh, Olympia, WA

JRF offers personalized support to your congregation in the process of exploring affiliation and in integrating into the Reconstructionist Movement once this occurs. Our Brit Kehillah, the complete JRF guide to affiliation, is available by contacting the Department of Outreach directly. Feel free to explore our website, listen to our audio resources, and purchase and read our publications to gain a better understanding of the Reconstructionist Movement and what JRF can offer your community.

"JRF will be thrilled if we decide to affiliate with them. As they see it, each new congregation affects the entire movement." Temple Beth Israel, Eugene, OR

Other Questions addressed in the JRF Guide to Affiliation include:

• Which movement is right for my community?
• How do we begin this process?
• How do we bring the issue of affiliation into my community?
• Steps of affiliation
• Your community's process of application for membership
• The JRF Process of approving new member communities

…I want to emphasize again how important it is that…we affiliate with a movement.

• It's important because of the support we'll receive from a national movement in developing our programs for both children and adults.
• It's important because of the support we'll receive in our governance and in raising the money it takes to run the shul fairly and effectively.
• It's important because it will recharge our batteries and help us develop and maintain leadership.
• It's important because without it we are too isolated.
• It's important because without affiliation it will be much harder to get a good rabbi when the time comes
• And finally, it's important because it's the right thing to do; to contribute to wider Jewish life by supporting those activities that we can't do on our own: training rabbis, developing curricula and teaching materials, being involved in the political arena, and so much more."

Rabbi Jeremy Schwartz, Temple Bnai Israel, Willimantic, CT (JRF 2002)

Our hope in supporting you in the process of affiliation is to enrich the spirit of your community, deepen your community's Jewish identity, and perhaps most importantly, rekindle the pride and joy that initially drove your community to join together in sacred service.

I look forward to speaking to you in person,

Rabbi Shawn Israel Zevit
Senior Consultant, Director of Outreach & External Affiliations
101 Greenwood Ave.
Jenkintown, PA
215-885-5601 ext. 24
216-591-1886 (Cleveland office)
SZevit@jrf.org