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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

“I will teach you the melody of my Echa, together we will sit on the ground and mourn for the peace of Jerusalem.”
a person sits on a rock in the desert
what does ethereal mean / when is the pool open for lap swimming / what’s happening in the middle east
a person's finger is touching a search bar's magnifying glass icon against a gray background
“We do not want to choose whose child will live and whose will die.”
two children playing in a pond
“We turn to our avodah, / Our Holy Service…”
new mexico desert
“In truth, / I just want them home…”
the contrast of darrk and light on a building made of Jerusalme stone
“And I believe her, / as I march with her colors. / Next time she’ll march with mine…”
The author and her friend march together
“And I wish / The fields of Israel’s kalaniot — red poppies — / Were all that were needed to generate peace”
a field of red poppies
“When did the word ‘love’ become a trigger?”
sunset
“The ones who say Zionism is a dirty word, / The ones who choose death on your account, / They only see the ‘ism.'”
View of the negev desert with a small tree
“Please one who receives, crack me open so all I do is open…”
a person stands on a beach with arms open wide

The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

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Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

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The Reconstructionist Network