Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

Join Rabbi Joel Alpert, Director of the Reconstructionist Placement Office, for a conversation about the Reconstructionist placement process. From filing for placement to interviewing to entering into negotiations, this session will walk step-by-step through the Reconstructionist Placement Guidelines, providing answers to your most practical questions.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

In the fast paced and ever-changing world of technology and marketing, congregations must be innovative in order to effectively reach out to their congregants. Using best practices and new models for engagement, this workshop will highlight exciting models for sharing the ongoing life of your congregation, enhancing your website and newsletter, and using both to mobilize members to be active in the community.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

Whether you are moving into an existing facility, adding an addition, or starting from the ground up, building a new synagogue can be both challenging and exhilarating. Issues of location, finances, communal commitment, and values are critical to building a truly Reconstructionist community; explore these issues, and more, with three congregations that have had successful building projects in the past decade.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

Planning a fundraising event can be nerve-wracking: What will be successful? How much will members contribute? Who will organize the details? Will members resist being asked for additional funds? What is a reasonable scope for our event? Alleviate your nerves – and those of your congregation – by exploring answers to these questions, and more.

This session will be offered in-person for congregational leaders in driving distance of the JRF offices at Beit Devora (Jenkintown, PA).

Click here to register for this and other PEARL sessions.

Rabbi Alan Lew, a leader in the budding Jewish meditation movement, will be visiting Ann Arbor from April 4-6, 2008. All are invited to partake in this weekend of pre-Passover spiritual preparation. The weekend will include several talks, text study, and experiential components to take place at several Jewish venues around Ann Arbor, MI.Alan Lew 2/08

Erev Shabbat will begin with a Shabbat Dinner at 6 pm, followed by Shabbat Services including a sermon by Rabbi Lew. On Shabbat morning services will be based on a traditional model but will include considerably less text, and considerably more chanting and silence. Saturday afternoon themes of discussion will be “The Four Cups of Freedom; Four Aspects of Spiritual Liberation,” and “Leave-Taking; The Biblical Pre-Requisite to Spiritual Liberation.” The afternoon program will conclude at Beth Israel Congregation with a seudah sh’lisheet (third meal).

Sunday morning will be devoted to a meditation workshop based on his most recent book, Be Still And Get Going. "It will be an examination of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus from Egypt)," says Lew, "the seminal moment of Biblical leave-taking, and the extraordinary Five-Step program for transformation that we find there."

RABBI DAVID TEUTSCH AS SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE AT DOR HADASH
APRIL 4-6, 2008

LIVING A JEWISH LIFE: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND MORAL CHALLENGE

Rabbi David Teutsch serves as Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, where he has been a professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization since 1997. For 25 years, he has been active as a private consultant for Jewish organizations nationwide.
He is the author of numerous books, including Spritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy (2005), and several volumes in the series, A Guide to Jewish Practice, on the topics of Bioethics, the Ethics of Speech, Kashrut and Tzedaka. An additional volume, on Economic Justice and Organizational Ethics, is forthcoming.

Rabbi Teutsch is also the author of a forthcoming textbook on Jewish Leadership and Not-for-Profit Management. He served as editor of the Daily and High Holy Day prayer books published by the Reconstructionist Press (1996 and 1999).

Rabbi Teutsch received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and was ordained by Hebrew Union College in New York.

THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IS AS FOLLOWS:

CONGREGATION TO COMMUNITY: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Rabbi Teutsch has played a central role in shaping the Reconstructionist movement. He will tell his personal story in a way that will explore key episodes in the development of the movement and its philosophy and practice.

Shabbat Service, Friday, April 4, 7:00 pm. Oneg reception following.

Rabbi Alan Lew, a leader in the budding Jewish meditation movement, will be visiting Ann Arbor from April 4-6, 2008. All are invited to partake in this weekend of pre-Passover spiritual preparation. The weekend will include several talks, text study, and experiential components to take place at several Jewish venues around Ann Arbor, MI.Alan Lew 2/08

Erev Shabbat will begin with a Shabbat Dinner at 6 pm, followed by Shabbat Services including a sermon by Rabbi Lew. On Shabbat morning services will be based on a traditional model but will include considerably less text, and considerably more chanting and silence. Saturday afternoon themes of discussion will be “The Four Cups of Freedom; Four Aspects of Spiritual Liberation,” and “Leave-Taking; The Biblical Pre-Requisite to Spiritual Liberation.” The afternoon program will conclude at Beth Israel Congregation with a seudah sh’lisheet (third meal).

Sunday morning will be devoted to a meditation workshop based on his most recent book, Be Still And Get Going. "It will be an examination of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus from Egypt)," says Lew, "the seminal moment of Biblical leave-taking, and the extraordinary Five-Step program for transformation that we find there."

RABBI DAVID TEUTSCH AS SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE AT DOR HADASH
APRIL 4-6, 2008

LIVING A JEWISH LIFE: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND MORAL CHALLENGE

Rabbi David Teutsch serves as Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, where he has been a professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization since 1997. For 25 years, he has been active as a private consultant for Jewish organizations nationwide.
He is the author of numerous books, including Spritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy (2005), and several volumes in the series, A Guide to Jewish Practice, on the topics of Bioethics, the Ethics of Speech, Kashrut and Tzedaka. An additional volume, on Economic Justice and Organizational Ethics, is forthcoming.

Rabbi Teutsch is also the author of a forthcoming textbook on Jewish Leadership and Not-for-Profit Management. He served as editor of the Daily and High Holy Day prayer books published by the Reconstructionist Press (1996 and 1999).

Rabbi Teutsch received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and was ordained by Hebrew Union College in New York.

THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IS AS FOLLOWS:

CONGREGATION TO COMMUNITY: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Rabbi Teutsch has played a central role in shaping the Reconstructionist movement. He will tell his personal story in a way that will explore key episodes in the development of the movement and its philosophy and practice.

Shabbat Service, Friday, April 4, 7:00 pm. Oneg reception following.

Rabbi Alan Lew, a leader in the budding Jewish meditation movement, will be visiting Ann Arbor from April 4-6, 2008. All are invited to partake in this weekend of pre-Passover spiritual preparation. The weekend will include several talks, text study, and experiential components to take place at several Jewish venues around Ann Arbor, MI.Alan Lew 2/08

Erev Shabbat will begin with a Shabbat Dinner at 6 pm, followed by Shabbat Services including a sermon by Rabbi Lew. On Shabbat morning services will be based on a traditional model but will include considerably less text, and considerably more chanting and silence. Saturday afternoon themes of discussion will be “The Four Cups of Freedom; Four Aspects of Spiritual Liberation,” and “Leave-Taking; The Biblical Pre-Requisite to Spiritual Liberation.” The afternoon program will conclude at Beth Israel Congregation with a seudah sh’lisheet (third meal).

Sunday morning will be devoted to a meditation workshop based on his most recent book, Be Still And Get Going. "It will be an examination of Yetziat Mitzraim (the Exodus from Egypt)," says Lew, "the seminal moment of Biblical leave-taking, and the extraordinary Five-Step program for transformation that we find there."

RABBI DAVID TEUTSCH AS SCHOLAR-IN-RESIDENCE AT DOR HADASH
APRIL 4-6, 2008

LIVING A JEWISH LIFE: SPIRITUAL JOURNEY AND MORAL CHALLENGE

Rabbi David Teutsch serves as Director of the Center for Jewish Ethics at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, where he has been a professor of Contemporary Jewish Civilization since 1997. For 25 years, he has been active as a private consultant for Jewish organizations nationwide.
He is the author of numerous books, including Spritual Community: The Power to Restore Hope, Commitment and Joy (2005), and several volumes in the series, A Guide to Jewish Practice, on the topics of Bioethics, the Ethics of Speech, Kashrut and Tzedaka. An additional volume, on Economic Justice and Organizational Ethics, is forthcoming.

Rabbi Teutsch is also the author of a forthcoming textbook on Jewish Leadership and Not-for-Profit Management. He served as editor of the Daily and High Holy Day prayer books published by the Reconstructionist Press (1996 and 1999).

Rabbi Teutsch received his Ph.D. from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and was ordained by Hebrew Union College in New York.

THE SCHEDULE OF EVENTS IS AS FOLLOWS:

CONGREGATION TO COMMUNITY: A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY
Rabbi Teutsch has played a central role in shaping the Reconstructionist movement. He will tell his personal story in a way that will explore key episodes in the development of the movement and its philosophy and practice.

Shabbat Service, Friday, April 4, 7:00 pm. Oneg reception following.

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This year, the New York-New Jersey Region of JRF is taking its annual Evening of Celebration to the stage.

We are planning a wonderful evening at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre where we'll be among the first groups to see South Pacific! The Evening of Celebration will honor "Those Who Bring Joy and Creativity to Our Congregations" in the NY/NJ Region.

Mazel Tov to our Honorees:

This year, the New York-New Jersey Region of JRF is taking its annual Evening of Celebration to the stage.
We are planning a wonderful evening at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theatre where we'll be among the first groups to see South Pacific! The Evening of Celebration will honor Those Who Bring Joy and Creativity to Our Congregations.

Mark your calendar for Tuesday, April 8th, for it will be "some enchanted evening"!

NY-NJ Evening of Celebration: Honoring Those Who Bring Joy and Creativity to our Congregations
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
Lincoln Center Theatre
Curtain 7:00 pm Honoring & Dessert Reception to follow.

The Evening of Celebration supports and sustains the growth of the Reconstructionist movement and its congregations throughout North America.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

It’s hard to know where you are going if you don’t first know where you are. Strategic planning cannot take place without first undertaking strategic thinking: what are the mission, vision, and values of our community? Explore ways to think about these key issues, models for creating cohesive statements that respond to them, and challenges and opportunities of doing this work in a smaller congregation.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join other 8th - 12th graders from JRF congregations across North America for a weekend filled with fun, experiential Jewish learning, singing and dancing, hanging out, and being part of our exciting growing youth movement. For more information - including a registration form - visit www.noarhadash.org.

Butzel Conference CenterNeed a break? Want to re-energize your Shabbat practice? Could your family use some time to relax and be playful together? Come celebrate Shabbat with members of Reconstructionist congregations throughout the Midwest at the JRF Midwest Region Shabbaton.

This gathering for singles and families is conveniently located at the Butzel Conference Center in Ortonville, MI, just an hour's drive from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing.

The Butzel Conference Center is located on 1,300 acres of beautiful woodland overlooking a scenic lake with hiking, basketball, tennis, mini golf and more.

Register before March 28th and get the Early Bird Rate!

Help spread the word - please download and post the two-sided event flyer and schedule.

Join other 8th - 12th graders from JRF congregations across North America for a weekend filled with fun, experiential Jewish learning, singing and dancing, hanging out, and being part of our exciting growing youth movement. For more information - including a registration form - visit www.noarhadash.org.

Butzel Conference CenterNeed a break? Want to re-energize your Shabbat practice? Could your family use some time to relax and be playful together? Come celebrate Shabbat with members of Reconstructionist congregations throughout the Midwest at the JRF Midwest Region Shabbaton.

This gathering for singles and families is conveniently located at the Butzel Conference Center in Ortonville, MI, just an hour's drive from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing.

The Butzel Conference Center is located on 1,300 acres of beautiful woodland overlooking a scenic lake with hiking, basketball, tennis, mini golf and more.

Register before March 28th and get the Early Bird Rate!

Help spread the word - please download and post the two-sided event flyer and schedule.

Join other 8th - 12th graders from JRF congregations across North America for a weekend filled with fun, experiential Jewish learning, singing and dancing, hanging out, and being part of our exciting growing youth movement. For more information - including a registration form - visit www.noarhadash.org.

Butzel Conference CenterNeed a break? Want to re-energize your Shabbat practice? Could your family use some time to relax and be playful together? Come celebrate Shabbat with members of Reconstructionist congregations throughout the Midwest at the JRF Midwest Region Shabbaton.

This gathering for singles and families is conveniently located at the Butzel Conference Center in Ortonville, MI, just an hour's drive from Detroit, Ann Arbor, and Lansing.

The Butzel Conference Center is located on 1,300 acres of beautiful woodland overlooking a scenic lake with hiking, basketball, tennis, mini golf and more.

Register before March 28th and get the Early Bird Rate!

Help spread the word - please download and post the two-sided event flyer and schedule.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

The congregation is not a business, it’s a system. Understanding how the system works is central to the process of evaluation, whether it be of program or of the rabbi-congregation relationship. Using systems theory as a basis for discussion, examples of successful goal setting, liaison structures, and evaluation processes will be highlighted.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

We can’t lead in a vacuum – the work of leadership is done within a larger system. Whether you are on the board, a member of a committee, part of the executive committee, or a staff member, working within a well-defined governance structure can help to clarify roles and responsibilities. This session will highlight effective models for structuring and managing the congregational board.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

In the fast paced and ever-changing world of technology and marketing, congregations must be innovative in order to effectively reach out to their congregants. Using best practices and new models for engagement, this workshop will highlight exciting models for sharing the ongoing life of your congregation, enhancing your website and newsletter, and using both to mobilize members to be active in the community.

This session will be offered in-person for congregational leaders in driving distance of the JRF offices at Beit Devora (Jenkintown, PA).

Click here to register for this and other PEARL sessions.

WHO'S THE SCHOLAR: Rabbi Richard Hirsh, author of The Rabbi-Congregation Relationship: A Vision for the 21st Century
and Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

WHERE: All events will take place at Keddem Congregation, 3900 Fabian Way, Palo Alto.

HOW TO REGISTER: Some events require pre-registration; please register by May 1st by contacting us at: 650-494-6400, or by sending e-mail to s-in-r@keddem.org. You are welcome to attend any individual service, meal or talk without attending others on the same day.

SPECIAL THANKS: This event was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Victor Fuchs.

PROGRAM:

FRIDAY, MAY 16

“If Reconstructionist Judaism Was the Answer, What Was the Question?”

Rabbi Hirsh places Kaplan in his context, the goal being to see what can be extracted from that setting that remains relevant today, in an age of diminishing ideologies and denominationalism.

Service: 6:30-7:15 PM

Dinner: 7:30-8:30 PM (Reservations are required for dinner)

Talk: 8:30

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Torah study 9:00-10:00 AM

Rabbi Hirsh will lead Torah study on the portion of the week

“Meet Me at the Corner of Heart and Mind”

What would Judaism look like if we reconstructed it through an artistic/aesthetic lens of art, poetry, music, theatre, rather than through the prisms of philosophy, theology and sociology?

Service: 10:00 AM

Lunch: 12:00 noon (No charge, but reservations are appreciated)

Talk: 12:45 PM

WHO'S THE SCHOLAR: Rabbi Richard Hirsh, author of The Rabbi-Congregation Relationship: A Vision for the 21st Century
and Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

WHERE: All events will take place at Keddem Congregation, 3900 Fabian Way, Palo Alto.

HOW TO REGISTER: Some events require pre-registration; please register by May 1st by contacting us at: 650-494-6400, or by sending e-mail to s-in-r@keddem.org. You are welcome to attend any individual service, meal or talk without attending others on the same day.

SPECIAL THANKS: This event was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Victor Fuchs.

PROGRAM:

FRIDAY, MAY 16

“If Reconstructionist Judaism Was the Answer, What Was the Question?”

Rabbi Hirsh places Kaplan in his context, the goal being to see what can be extracted from that setting that remains relevant today, in an age of diminishing ideologies and denominationalism.

Service: 6:30-7:15 PM

Dinner: 7:30-8:30 PM (Reservations are required for dinner)

Talk: 8:30

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Torah study 9:00-10:00 AM

Rabbi Hirsh will lead Torah study on the portion of the week

“Meet Me at the Corner of Heart and Mind”

What would Judaism look like if we reconstructed it through an artistic/aesthetic lens of art, poetry, music, theatre, rather than through the prisms of philosophy, theology and sociology?

Service: 10:00 AM

Lunch: 12:00 noon (No charge, but reservations are appreciated)

Talk: 12:45 PM

WHO'S THE SCHOLAR: Rabbi Richard Hirsh, author of The Rabbi-Congregation Relationship: A Vision for the 21st Century
and Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

WHERE: All events will take place at Keddem Congregation, 3900 Fabian Way, Palo Alto.

HOW TO REGISTER: Some events require pre-registration; please register by May 1st by contacting us at: 650-494-6400, or by sending e-mail to s-in-r@keddem.org. You are welcome to attend any individual service, meal or talk without attending others on the same day.

SPECIAL THANKS: This event was made possible by a generous donation from Dr. Victor Fuchs.

PROGRAM:

FRIDAY, MAY 16

“If Reconstructionist Judaism Was the Answer, What Was the Question?”

Rabbi Hirsh places Kaplan in his context, the goal being to see what can be extracted from that setting that remains relevant today, in an age of diminishing ideologies and denominationalism.

Service: 6:30-7:15 PM

Dinner: 7:30-8:30 PM (Reservations are required for dinner)

Talk: 8:30

SATURDAY, MAY 17

Torah study 9:00-10:00 AM

Rabbi Hirsh will lead Torah study on the portion of the week

“Meet Me at the Corner of Heart and Mind”

What would Judaism look like if we reconstructed it through an artistic/aesthetic lens of art, poetry, music, theatre, rather than through the prisms of philosophy, theology and sociology?

Service: 10:00 AM

Lunch: 12:00 noon (No charge, but reservations are appreciated)

Talk: 12:45 PM

Join us for PEARL: Providing Education and Resources for Leadership.

Determining values that underlie congregational life can provide the framework for a viable approach to engaging and vibrant Judaism. Values-based decision making (VBDM) and similar processes can help to make your congregation uniquely Reconstructionist – this workshop will present models of how.

Click here to register for this and other PEARL tele-conference sessions.

Register Online Now
The Salute To Israel Parade, the single largest gathering in the world in support of Israel, will celebrate the milestone 60th Anniversary of the State of Israel on June 1 on Fifth Avenue in New York City.

The 42nd JRF convention will be held, for the first time, in Boston, MA.

The 42nd JRF convention will be held, for the first time, in Boston, MA.

The 42nd JRF convention will be held, for the first time, in Boston, MA.

The 42nd JRF convention will be held, for the first time, in Boston, MA.