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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

A curse for a wicked leader

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A prayer to say when the risk of deportation looms

Three women sitting on a couch; two are comforting the third person, who is covering her face with her hand.

Preparing for a hurricane

Stormy clouds gather over a calm beach with turquoise water and white sand.

A poem to encourage Jews to fight for racial justice

A group of people standing in a circle, stacking their hands together in an outdoor setting.

A prayer for Houston after Hurricane Harvey

A green field under a dramatic, cloudy sky with dark storm clouds gathering above.

The El Maley Rakhamim prayer reconstructed to honor the lives lost to racial violence

a person in shadow bent in grief

A piece shared at a vigil for Charlottesville which advocates for continued fight against white supremacy

A person holding a lit candle at a nighttime vigil, surrounded by others with candles.

“can you pour out your love / upon the ones you do not know”

Three women sit close together on a bed, comforting each other with their heads touching, in a softly lit room.

“Who would dare / to demand justice”

A group of people hold a large Justice sign during a protest near a white building.

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