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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

“May the windows of our prayers / move us into the world of vision…”
a giant sunflower looms against the blue sky
“And I wish I had special wipers / that could wipe away the tears, the pain, the anger…”
a car driving at dusk
“Keep faith / with the brightness / of all things good…”
a person stands looking into the light
“The community I loved, / in the Diaspora, / my home…” is being torn apart by this war.
the desert in Israel
“Bring peace to the anger in the world…”
rocks on the ocean
“Stop our hearts from breaking / put the broken pieces together again.”
a leaf that looks like a broken heart
“It’s easy to see that / HaShem is asking for a lot”.
Sea of Galilee
“for us, / for the children, /  and for the children’s children…”
children in silhouette playing on the rocks
“may the day arrive / when every life is a treasure…”
green grass, trees and a stream

The Reconstructionist Network

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Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

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The Reconstructionist Network