Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Click here to download the digital tribute book. It may take a village, a youth movement, an education program and a camp to raise a Reconstructionist child but when it comes to honoring Rabbi Jeff Eisensat it takes a continent – and five events. And you can be sure that the Reconstructionist child has been touched by Rabbi Jeff personally along the way.  read more »

Is Health Care Reform the Civil Rights Issue of Our Time? Go to: www.WeBelieveTogether.org

Imagine: One morning, you’re rushing down the stairs. At the bottom of the stairway, you see a young woman lying on the floor, bleeding and with a broken arm. As she sits up, you ask where her doctor’s office is located so can help her there. She timidly answers, “No, I can’t go to a doctor. I don’t have health insurance.”  read more »

Following an unanimous vote of approval by the JRF Board, we welcome The Little Minyan of Columbus, Ohio and Kol Haneshamah of Sarasota, Florida, to the JRF community of communities.

Just a year and a half old, Congregation Kol HaNeshama, founded by a small group of year-round and seasonal residents, has already established itself as a creative force in Sarasota, and has now joined JRF as the 106th affiliate. Since its inception it has grown to 38 households, and is operating on a 12-month calendar, including all major holidays.  read more »

Shawn Zevit and Derek Rosenbaum on Greening Conference Call: Derek takes the idea of a "green" call very seriously. In 1990 JRF passed a movement-wide resolution (see attachments below) on the environment and congregational life. Since 2006 we offered conference calls and resources on Sustainable Synagogues and Living a Jewish Life Rooted in Ecological Values.

Read the notes from the 2007 call.  read more »

With the enthusiasm around JRF's Omer Learning Initiative, as well as the solid response of JRF congregations in the Climate Change and Blessing the Sun (Solar Energy) Initiatives, JRF continues to deepen our work with member communities, other religious movements and partner organizations (JCPA, COEJL) in the area of sustainability.

Lior with Rabbi Shawn ZevitAn engrossing, wrenching and tender documentary film, Praying with Lior, is debuting around the world and receiving rave reviews and was the highest grossing independent film its first weekend in New York.

The film tells the story of Lior Liebling, a member of congregation Mishkan Shalom in Philadelphia, whom his community calls "the little rebbe." Lior has Down syndrome, and has spent his life praying with utter abandon. As Lior approaches bar mitzvah, the movie poses difficult questions such as What is disability? And who really talks to God?

Read the New York Times story about the film and
an interview with director Ilana Trachtman on the NY Jewish Film Festival blog.

Praying with Lior show times

JRF has created a fund to respond to the needs of any of our affiliated congregations that have been impacted by the Southern California wildfires, as well as to organizations that are providing relief to victims. No administrative expenses are taken on these tax-deductible donations

To donate to JRF's Wildfires Emergency Fund, please send checks only, made out to JRF with "Wildfires" in the memo line, and mail to JRF's national headquarters at Beit Devora, 101 Greenwood Avenue, Suite 430, Jenkintown, PA 19046.  read more »

Columbia AbuzzWhen I heard that Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs had invited President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad—a notoriously anti-Semitic and anti-Israel figurehead—to speak on campus, my first instinct was to oppose the event vehemently.  read more »

I reasoned that, if Columbia hosted an anti-Semitic figure on campus, Ahmadinjead’s could attempt legitimize his terrifying and historically incorrect viewpoints. Why should one of the most prestigious universities in the nation provide a platform from which a dangerous leader such as Ahmadinejad could deny the Holocaust and spew his advocacy for the destruction of Israel?

This year, the Muslim holiday of Ramadan began on the first night of Rosh Hashana.
The Detroit News reported how Jews and Muslims in the Detroit area are using this rare occurrence to build bridges between their communities.

Read the attached report of a Muslim-Jewish Friday night dinner hosted by members of the Ann Arbor Reconstructionist Havurah.

RRA Executive Director Rabbi Richard HirshReconstructionist Rabbinical Association Executive Director Rabbi Richard Hirsh just published an op-ed piece in the Jewish Forward in which he criticizes tendencies among those attending high holy day services to rate the experience. The article is titled, I’d Give It a 7… It Had a Good Beat, and You Can Daven to It. Here is an excerpt:

What we frequently refer to as the High Holy Days are more accurately described by their Hebrew appellation: Yamim Noraim, the “Days of Awe.” Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are supposed to be significant because of the weighty confrontation with ultimate issues that they embody, especially issues of morality and mortality.

 read more »

The September, 2007 issue is out. In this issue:

• Teens Return from Israel
• Camp JRF Book Shelf
• Special Offers from JRF’s Reconstructionist Press
• Now Read RT Online!
• Make a Difference with Your IRA
• Action in Darfur
• Kol HaKavod!
• Upcoming Events