Identity
Reconstructionism, Chosenness, and the Abrahamic Dialogue
*This article was first published in the ZEEK issue “Reconstructionism: Denominationalism That Works?” (Fall 2010)* The first time I encountered the idea that Jews were a “chosen people,” I learned that this was a mistaken and...
Judaism as a Generation: Kaplan, Levi-Strauss, and Why I Believe in the Jewish Future
by Deborah Glanzberg-Krainin Readers of Mordecai Kaplan, and those familiar with Reconstructionist thinking, will recognize the playful- ness of this essay’s title. Kaplan’s pioneering work, Judaism as a Civilization, challenged...
Distinctiveness and Universalism: How to Remain Jewish if Jewish isn’t Better
*This article was first published in the ZEEK issue “Reconstructionism: Denominationalism That Works?” (Fall 2010)* More than 90 percent of those who identify themselves as Jews in North America today do not accept the Orthodox...
Reunderstanding Jewish Historical Trauma: Moving From the River to the Watershed
In order to heal from the traumatic aspects of Jewish history, we must first understand our trauma differently, in ways that will allow us to heal.
Questioning Easy Narratives: Exploring Adoption
Thirty years ago, as a single woman in my 20s, I had no reason to think that I’d one day adopt....
A Fresh Look at Who We Are and What That Means
The latest Pew study suggests that the Jewish community in the United States will only flourish if we address the interests of unaffiliated young Jews: social justice and a willingness to criticize Israeli policies.
Sefardi Crypto-Jews: Real Jews or Remnants of a Distant Past?
When Jews forced into hiding by the 15th-century Spanish Inquisition now want to affirm their Jewish identity, we should welcome and support them.
Me & Jewish Supremacy
The idea of chosenness is a barrier to a world in which every human being is seen as made in the image of God, worthy of respect and honor.
Edith Stein and Me
Edith Stein was a Jewish woman who converted to Roman Catholicism, joined the Carmelite order and was murdered at Auschwitz. Her story raises questions about who is a Jew.
Mitzvat Ahavat Erev Rav: Loving the Complexity of Our Identities
Identity politics hold an increasingly defining role in the American social and political landscape of the 21st century. Jane Litman explores the complexity of holding Jewish identity in relationship to other identities.
A New Theory of Interfaith Marriage
We need a new theory of interfaith marriage in which the covenant is understood to be between God and people who are Jewishly engaged. What matters is the engaging itself, not whether the person engaging is a Jew or not.
Who is a Jew?
From the diaries of Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan, a reflection on how to define the term “Jew.”
Developing a Jewish Identity: A Mystery
People begin to form a Jewish identity in a myriad of ways.
Embracing What It Means to Be Jewish and…: Patrilineal identity
I was a meticulous rule-follower as a child. My parents still tease me about how I was so...
September Adult Ed Beit Midrash
Rabbi Toba Spitzer dives into the use of metaphors in framing a picture of the Jewish people that is encompassing and defining, drawing on three conceptual metaphors: “covenant,” “narrative” and “tribal.”
Evolve is a project of Reconstructing Judaism
