Reconstructing Judaism

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Reconstructing Judaism

Reconstructing Judaism is the central organization of the Reconstructionist movement. We shape Judaism today and help imagine the Jewish future.

06/02/2026

Meet Dr. Tamar Kamionkowski, Professor of Biblical Studies at Reconstructionist Rabbinical College! As Dr. Kamionkowski says, “anyone can learn Hebrew with the right instructor and environment.” Discover what's possible with our new Binyan Certificate in Jewish Learning and Leadership from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College - Legacy Page.

06/01/2026

June is Pride Month, and at Reconstructing Judaism, we don't just celebrate — we recommit.

The Reconstructionist movement has a 100-year history of expanding access to Jewish life and community -- from the first bat mitzvah in the 1920s, to pioneering gender-inclusive liturgy, to being the first rabbinical seminary to admit openly gay and le***an rabbinical students in the 1980s and continuing our work for LGBTQ+ equality today.

Our president, Rabbi Deborah Waxman, Ph.D., has been celebrated as an LGBT icon and we are proud to be a movement where LGBTQ+ Jews don't just belong, they lead.

This month and every month: you are seen, you are celebrated and you are home here.

05/26/2026

Binyan means "building." The new Binyan Certificate in Jewish Learning and Leadership is your invitation to build Hebrew literacy, deepen your engagement with Jewish texts and be part of a growing online learning community.

05/25/2026

On this Memorial Day, we pause to honor the lives of those who served and sacrificed in defense of this country, including the many Jewish men and women who served even when their country didn't always fully see them.

The Jewish tradition teaches zachor — remember. Today we remember not only with gratitude, but with a commitment to build the more just and peaceful world their sacrifice calls us toward.

May their memories be a blessing.

05/22/2026

Shavu’ot is a celebration of revelation, the moment Torah was given at Sinai, and an invitation to ask: What does receiving Torah mean for us today?

As Reconstructionists, we hold these questions close. Torah is not just ancient text; it is a living conversation, renewed by every generation.

This Shavu’ot, we invite you to study, reflect, celebrate and maybe eat some cheesecake!

05/20/2026

Exciting news! Today we are thrilled to announce the selection of Rabbi Elliott Tepperman as the next President and Chief Executive Officer of Reconstructing Judaism.

Rabbi Tepperman comes to this role with decades of service to the Reconstructionist movement, including 24 years as the spiritual leader of Bnai Keshet after graduating from Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2002. He is a rabbi, teacher, community builder and passionate advocate for the kind of Judaism we are all striving to create: one rooted in tradition, open to question and relentlessly committed to a more just world.

Full press release linked in the comments, and be sure to drop a kol hakavod 🎉 to let Rabbi Tepperman know you're excited to see where this journey leads!

05/18/2026

A new opportunity for deepening Jewish learning has arrived.

The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College’s new Binyan Certificate in Jewish Learning and Leadership is designed for those ready to engage with Hebrew, Jewish texts and communal learning at any level.

Whether you are new to Jewish study or returning after time away, Binyan offers a structured, supportive way to begin.

05/14/2026

As we prepare to receive Torah on Shavuot, we refuse to stand idle while our neighbors suffer. In the spirit of our prophets, we gather to pray, cry out and demand ICE out.

ICE OUT: Pre-Shavuot Vigil
📅 Monday, May 18 | 11 a.m.-12 p.m.
📍 Outside ICE Headquarters, 114 N. 8th Street, Philadelphia

This peaceful, prayerful vigil is hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Jewish community — including the Board of Rabbis of Greater Philadelphia, National Council of Jewish Women (NCJW) and Reconstructing Judaism — in partnership with Senator Art Haywood and an interfaith coalition of religious leaders.

Together, we will lift our voices like shofar blasts: to end ICE overreach and the suffering it inflicts on our community.

05/12/2026

The founding campaign for the Rabbi Deborah Waxman Fund for Innovative Leadership closes soon.

If you've been meaning to give — this is the moment.

Founding donors will be recognized as the first believers in this fund: people who saw what Deborah Waxman built, understood what it means for the future of Jewish leadership and decided to invest.

The Rabbi Deborah Waxman Fund will provide critical resources for senior leadership at Reconstructing Judaism during this pivotal transition. It will support leaders who lean into complexity, build trust through relationship and model a Judaism that is bold, ethically serious and alive to the questions of our time.

Gifts of any size are welcome. $18. $180. $1,800. More, if you're able.

What matters is that you're part of it.

05/06/2026

We want to take a moment — just a moment — to celebrate.

What Deborah Waxman built over 13 years at Reconstructing Judaism is genuinely remarkable. She elevated this movement in the broader Jewish world, articulating what a Reconstructionist approach looks like — and why it matters — with clarity, passion and intellectual seriousness.

She modeled something we want to carry forward: that Judaism is big enough to wrestle with the hardest questions. That we can hold difference with grace. That community doesn't require sameness — it requires commitment.

If you've been part of this movement — as a member, a donor, a clergy person, a student, a lay leader — you helped build what she led. And you're part of what comes next.

The Rabbi Deborah Waxman Fund for Innovative Leadership is our collective investment in that future. Thank you for being here.

Address

1299 Church Road
Cheltenham, PA
19095

Website

http://www.reconstructingjudaism.org/

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