College News
Below, you’ll find a list of all news and blog posts on the site in reverse chronological order.
Recent News
By Rabbi Shira Stutman, a 2007 graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College
Originally published in The Washington Post on Dec. 11, 2020
Rachel Weiss, a senior rabbi at the Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, said her congregation has created meaningful ways to celebrate the holiday online. Together, they’ll be cooking latkes together, watching movies and lighting candles virtually. “Because we do it on Zoom, we have windows into everyone’s homes and it’s incredibly moving to be able to see candles lit all over,” Weiss said. “It’s like windows into 100 different sanctuaries.”
As most congregations can attest, it was hard enough preparing a virtual experience during the High Holidays this year. But try doing it with a temporary spiritual leader who has been on the job for only a matter of weeks. That was exactly the situation at Temple Beth Sholom in Topeka. Congregation president, Alan Parker, said the experience turned out fantastically thanks in large part to interim rabbi, Moti Rieber, who lives and worships in Overland Park.
“Synagogues are one of the few places that have the potential to meaningfully, rigorously, and generously, build relationships across age, ideology, religiosity — and so many other things that keep people apart,” Weissman said. “We live in a world of isolation, hyper-individualism, and division. Synagogues have the potential to be an antidote, to show up for each other, to learn from each other, to rejoice together, and to grieve together.”
Recently, we were notified by one of our software vendors, Blackbaud, that they experienced a ransomware attack from February 2020 to May 2020.
“This guide offers, I hope, valuable context, distillation of terms, tools, and most importantly, questions that rabbis and educators can ask to engage the ongoing process of integrating trauma awareness into our Jewish communities.” - Rabbi Jessica Rosenberg
He started out small, reading books and going to services more often. But no matter how much his newly excavated faith grew, he said, becoming a rabbi was still the farthest reality in his mind.
In that sense, the digital walkout’s mission is one I fully support. But, of course, effective action is a little more complicated than that.
Then, in early March the world changed forever, and my role at Camp Laurelwood went from incoming ED to Crisis Manager.
When Perice started the job last week, he was still living in Philadelphia. He has met his congregants only once — right before he started the job when he made the 40-minute drive to the congregation for a socially distanced Shabbat service held in the synagogue’s parking lot.
“I experienced curiosity about our presence,” Basior, the rabbi at Reconstructionist congregation Kadima, told The Times of Israel about that first night. “Someone came wanting a blessing. I asked a little about themselves and gave them a blessing. It was pretty ecumenical. They didn’t identify as Jewish and I didn’t ask.”
As the coronavirus pandemic forced nearly all communal life online, RRC students drew on every aspect of their training and RRC’s support to serve in a radically changed environment.
Rabbi Nora Woods received her rabbinic ordination at a private and socially distanced ceremony at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pa., June 2020.
Rabbi Lily Solochek, spiritual leader of Adas Yoshuron Synagogue in Rockland, on June 7 graduated from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College.
With great pride and joy, we introduce the rabbis of the graduating class of 2020/5780.
In May 2020, three of our rabbinic students, Koach Baruch Frazier, Solomon Hoffman and Adam Cerino Jones, gathered video and audio from other members of College community to create this beautiful musical piece.
I definitely want to continue to be with the people who, in my eyes, are neglected by spiritual caretakers — people of color, queer folks, people who are at the margins, disabled folks. How can I best support, particularly spiritually, the people who have for many years been neglected? So wherever that happens to be, that’s where I will be.
By Janine Jankovitz Pastor; Photo: eJewish Philanthropy
Originally published in eJewish Philanthropy on April 1, 2020
If members of your crew seem a bit disappointed that this year will be different than all the others, remind them that this whole scenario is actually kinda fitting: Mitzrayim means “narrow place.” “We’re experiencing narrowing very literally right now,” Cohen says. “What we can take from that is not just a message about our own longing for liberation, but our responsibility to help others who are in places of constriction. In many ways, it’s the right holiday to have this happen.” Look on the bright side!
“Now, I’m not a doctor, epidemiologist, sociologist, or psychologist. I’m a rabbi. I’m someone who does a lot of thinking about how to hold communities in moments of joy, fear, and pain — and, often, how to hold communities experiencing multitudes.”
