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Communal Tragedy

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

Lesléa Newman uses the sestina form to capture her grief.
a shadowy image of a lone tree by a stream
“Only one thing have we shown: we will destroy this world if you let it…”
a field with clouds waving across the sky above it
“Sometimes I want to weep for the loss of so many…”
brown skinned woman with dark hair sitting at desk looking at computer screen where an array of faces are shown as on a Zoom screen
A powerful poem, remembering those whose lives were lost on October 7th
a single leaf on the ground
“My heart / is cracked / into more pieces / than I thought possible…”
a person walking towards trees, a leaf in the foreground
Rabbi David Mark offers a teaching following the deaths of six hostages killed in Gaza.
a white rose set against a black background
“For the length of a medical visit my imagination roamed the wreckage of another’s mind and hers, mine…” 
silver stethoscpe
“they are far / unreachable / underground…”
an empty desert landscape
“My mikveh is gone and swallowed up in this dark place. Where can I find peace?”
Appalachian Mountains (1)
“We will weep through as many nights as we must…”
tents camped in the desert

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