Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

No'ar Hadash Teens in JerusalemThis summer, JRF sent 35 teens to Israel for the first month-long No'ar Hadash Israel Experience. Following is a note received from the group before their first Shabbat:

Shabbat shalom from Israel. After a very long flight, the No’ar Hadah Israel Experience teens were happy to meet their Israeli staff in Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. We immediately hit the ground running, with a tour of Neot Kedumim, a biblical garden which has been reconstructed, in order to learn what it was like to live on the land in the Biblical period. Here we listened, looked, tasted, touched, and smelled the Biblical period, including crushing our own zatar, making oil lamps, and learning how olive oil and wine were made.

Chesapeake Region of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation

Chesapeake Region is made up of 7 synagogues and Havurot in Baltimore, the Greater Washington area and Northern Virginia. Congregations include Adat Shalom in Bethesda, MD; Beit Tikvah in Baltimore, MD; Columbia Jewish Congregation in Columbia, MD; Kol Ami: Northern Virginia Jewish Community in Arlington, VA; Mishkan Torah in Greenbelt, MD; Oseh Shalom in Laurel, MD; and the Reconstructionist Havurah of Greater Washington.

Our current officers are President: John Riehl and Vice Presidents: George Stone and Rhoda Ratner.

Chesapeake JRF has many programs during the year including a Shabbat celebration either a local Shabbaton, Retreat in a camp or Traveling Scholar program; an Educators Day; a regional social program and an Afternoon of Honor and Celebration highlighting honorees from our region and synagogue.

We have a monthly newsletter that shares information about National JRF, Regional activities and congregational activities.

For more information, contact Jackie Land, Regional Director at jljrf@aol.com or 301-206-3332.

JRF Office LocationFor more than fifty years,the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF) has been a strong voice for progressive Judaism and has played an important role in meeting the needs of the Reconstructionist movement.

JRF is a leader in participatory Judaism and has helped the movement progress from its modest beginnings of four affiliated congregations in 1955 to more than 100 congregations today, representing over 16,000 member households.

The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation serves its affiliates by working with them to build Jewish communities that are democratic,egalitarian, spiritually and intellectually vibrant, and committed to Jewish learning, ethics, and social justice.

Dr. Carl Sheingold, Executive Vice PresidentJRF contributes to the Jewish people by promoting innovation rooted in Jewish tradition and supporting meaningful Jewish life in community.

The JRF was founded in 1955 to represent the Reconstructionist movement nationally and internationally and serves over 100 congregations and havurot across North America.

JRF strengthens its affiliated congregations by providing publications, consulting services, and resources in the areas of education, tikkun olam, governance, fund raising, strategic planning, spiritual community building, and much more. JRF also promotes

Reconstructionist Jewish values to our youth through educational curricula, No’ar Hadash—the Reconstructionist youth movement, and Camp JRF: The Aaron and Marjorie Ziegelman Campus.

• Board of Directors
• JRF Staff

The JRF's central office is:
Beit Devora
101 Greenwood Ave.
Jenkintown, PA 19046
215-885-5601
FAX: 215-885-5603
info@jrf.org

Executive Committee

Robert (Bob) Barkin, President
Adat Shalom, Bethesda, MD

Sandra Goldman, VP
B'nai Havurah, Denver, CO

Joel Shapiro, VP
Society for the Advancement of Judaism, NY, NY

Myrna Sigman, VP
B'nai Vail, Vail, CO

Cindy Shulak-Rome, Secretary
Congregation Dorshei Tzedek, West Newton, MA

Mark Zivin, Treasurer
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL

Daniel Cedarbaum, Immediate Past President
Jewish Reconstructionist Congregation, Evanston, IL

The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation represents a democratic, pluralistic, inclusive, and growing movement, with over 100 member communities in North America and around the world. JRF offers both central and regional services and facilitates networks and lateral relationships among member communities. JRF services fall under a number of categories including Congregational Services, Publications, Movement-wide and Regional Community Building, Education, Youth and Camping, Tikkun Olam, Liturgy and Music, Israel Programming, Web support.

Representation in the Larger World

JRF, in keeping with the movement's resolution on the environment, our commitment as a Jewish People and as stewards of the health and welfare of the planet, has joined the Climate Change Campaign to address the global warming crisis. The campaign is sponsored by the Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life (COEJL) and the Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA), with support from the Religious Action Center (RAC). This is one of those calls to action that can change how North American Jewry responds to the daunting environmental problems confronting us and future generations.

The Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, with the support of the RRA and RRC, is participating in a major effort to bring pressure on the U.S. government to take immediate action to stop the atrocities and impoverishment in the Darfur region of Sudan.

The Save Darfur Coalition is planning a week of prayer and action in September, leading up to an international day of action for Darfur. These events coincide with the opening of the 61st General Assembly of the United Nations in New York City. There will be a rally in New York on Sunday, September 17, 2006 from 2-5PM featuring international leaders and top musical performers united in the effort to stop the genocide in Darfur.

JRF is a member of the coalition (supported by AJWS and JCPA), along with the RRA and is encouraging our member congregations to show strong participation in this effort, as we did last April. JRF will be organizing nationally and regionally again to aid in this effort.

Our Evolving Jewish Journey: Peoplehood and the Quest for Spiritual Community

The JRF Convention is the place to connect with fellow Reconstructionists from congregations and havurot from all over the U.S. and Canada. Learn from educators, rabbis, and leaders from across the spectrum of Reconstructionism. For more information visit the Convention 2006 website at www.jrfconvention.org.

In the fall of 2006, RRC will introduce a distance-learning program.

The first offering will be Our Ancestors’ Search for God:The Many Faces of God in the Bible, taught by Tamar Kamionkowski, Ph.D, RRC’s dean and chair of the Department of Biblical Civilization.

The course will begin October 8 and will contain six sessions. Most of the course will be taught asynchronously, allowing people to participate at times convenient for them. To allow for direct contact with the instructor, there will be some synchronous (real-time) content as well. The cost for the course will be $75 for members of JRF congregations and $150 for others.

A second course, The Call to Leadership: Ancient Models, also taught by Kamionkowski, will be offered in the spring of 2007.

To enroll in either or both courses, apply for course registration online or e-mail Janis Smith at jsmith@rrc.edu.

The 96-page book is designed for use by 5- to 9-year-olds and their families. "Siddur Kol Hano'ar: Voice of Children" includes folklore, stories from Jewish sources and questions posed for young readers in an effort to "capture their innate prayerfulness" and "encourage dialogue" about the meaning of prayer, according to Rabbi Sandy Sasso of Congregation Beth-El Zedek in Indianapolis. Sasso, the first Reconstructionist woman rabbi, co-wrote the book with education consultant Rabbi Jeffrey Schein.

It is a beautiful Siddur and a must for all homes with kids or grandkids. It is available with and without transliteration for use in many different settings.

Published by the Reconstructionist Press, this Siddur is now available through the JRF office and the regional offices. Find out mo