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Communal Tragedy

Memorial wall with photos and plaques honoring Yitzhak Rabin at Tel Aviv assassination site.

As individuals, we all know pain and loss. It is the rare person who escapes sorrow. But when one of us hurts, others are there to offer comfort. Communal tragedy is different. When something bad happens to us as a community—whether that is a school, a town, a people, or a country—we struggle to figure out how to tend to our own wounds while taking care of each other. Drawing on compassion, empathy, justice, and love, we can bring out the best in each other, and perhaps, find a theology of hope in the midst of despair.

Latest Rituals

“For more than a year now, / you’ve been with me everywhere…”
Corner of a stone building with two windows, featuring a textured, sunlit facade.
“Peace does not look like a dove / or a palm branch in the Old City…” 
A white dove flying among trees with yellow leaves in the background.
“May the One who makes peace in the heavens / Bring peace to us, to our children, / To our communities, And to this broken world.”
Two people hugging each other tightly in a room, both with eyes closed.
“Your story is not over; your life is larger than this. / We’re listening.”
three women embracing, shot from behind, two holding sprigs of babys breath
“bullets have shattered / the land of make believe…”
Close-up of a single dandelion seed head against a blurred background.
“The world is a narrow bridge, we sing in response /  But we are not afraid.” 
Rabbi Haviva dressed in white sits with protestors
“may we atone our sins / and learn to embrace life, and each other, once again…”
a river with rocks in it flows towards a mountain
“When I open my mouth no sound comes out..”
a person in shadow bent in grief
“May the souls so callously severed from their bodies find shelter, refuge, in the hidden space beneath Your wings.”
three autumn leaves
This poem is dedicated to Eden Yerushalmi & Carmel Gat.
a breeze goes through blades of grass against a blue sky

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

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The Reconstructionist Network