Hello–

I am looking forward to joining Bet Havarim for the Yamim Nora'im, the "Days of Awe." Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur are truly awe-filled. The traditional liturgy moves us from joyful celebration of the creation of the world to profound humility at our own limitations to abiding hopefulness at the possibility of renewal and redemption. I am honored to spend this time with you, to pray together, to teach and to learn from you.

I have given much thought about how, as a Reconstructionist rabbi, I can support the members of Bet Havarim—as well as newcomers learning about the havurah—during the High Holidays. To communicate the ideological framework that will undergird our services together, I was asked to give a little background about what is Reconstructionism.

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When I am asked to give a short explanation of Reconstructionism, I usually respond with these two sentences: Reconstructionism is the only denomination of Judaism to emerge on American soil. Founded by Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan in the 1920s and 1930s, Reconstructionism understands Judaism to be the evolving religious civilization of the Jewish people. When I have a little more time (like right now), I "unpack" the four main ideas embedded in that second sentence.

The JEWISH RELIGION is the element of Judaism that many people are most familiar with: Judaism is the rituals, practices and systems of belief for many Jews. However, this understanding leaves out those Jews who define themselves primarily as "cultural" or "ethnic" Jews. Reconstructionism emphasizes PEOPLEHOOD, that is, the idea that Judaism is made up of the people who identify as Jews—however many ways they identify—as much as it is made up of ideas and practices. The Jewish people has been the one abiding continuity of Jewish history, and it is the Jewish people who have created Judaism, not vice versa. This diversity continues to this day, and it is a source of strength for Jewish life.

The concept of EVOLUTION is central to a Reconstructionist understanding of Judaism. Unlike our ancestors who lived in the ages before the Enlightenment, we Jews today are conversant with such concepts as evolution and sociological transformation, and this consciousness can shape our understanding of Jewish history and influence our thinking about the Jewish present and future. Looking back, we can see how first Israelite and then Jewish culture were affected by contact with their host societies as well as by internal developments. There was no single "monolithic" or "authentic" Judaism: in the Middle Ages, for example, the lives of the Jews of Spain looked far different from the lives of their relatives in Germany, Yemen, Palestine, and Poland. Looking to the future, we can gain comfort from the awareness of the rich multiplicity of Jewish life. We can also feel empowered to self-consciously implement necessary changes in Judaism, just as our forebears un-self-consciously responded to such momentous developments as the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE (occasioning the rise of rabbinic Judaism) or the elimination of polygamy in Christian Europe (prompting a rabbinic precedent outlawing its practice in Ashkenazi Judaism in the eleventh century CE). In other words, this evolution continues to our day, and we are the ones shaping what it means to be Jewish. This responsibility is both weighty and, we hope, fulfilling.

One source for such change may emerge out of the American civilization. This is the last piece of the puzzle. Reconstructionism understands Judaism to be a CIVILIZATION: a religion, for sure, but also a wide range of cultural expressions—food, dance, literature, arts, humor—as well as political expressions, a system of laws and ethics, norms of communal behavior. Unlike the Jews of Israel, American Jews live in (at least) two civilizations, one Jewish and one American. Reconstructionist Jews choose to build bridges between the Jewish civilization and the American civilization, to the mutual enrichment of both. Reconstructionists struggle with how best to apply to Jewish life the egalitarian and democratic principles that we value in American society. We question how Jewish concepts of tikkun olam (social justice) and communal responsibility can be brought to bear on the central issues of American life.

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What I most love about being a Reconstructionist rabbi is how the ideology I just outlined above gets translated into community practice. In my work for the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College, I am privileged to visit many of the 100+ Reconstructionist congregations across North America. These are communities that are egalitarian in religious and communal practice, with a high degree of lay participation and leadership. Some congregations are defined foremost by their commitment to tikkun olam work; others are passionate about lifelong learning; still others are comprised of spiritual seekers. All of them are characterized by members who seek to build warm and inclusive communities and who feel an empowered connection to Jewish tradition.

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May the month of Elul be a time of spiritual preparation for you. I appreciate this opportunity to give you some background about where I come from, and I look forward to joining you on the first of Tishrei, September 26, 2003, to greet the New Year.