Download OurYavneh Challenge - Reconstructionist Rabbinical College

RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE AND
JEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES
In the year 68, the Temple
in Jerusalem was under siege.
Our ancient priestly leadership was in
shambles, and people rightly wondered
whether Judaism would survive.
So what happened?
The Talmud tells us that Rabbi Yohanan
ben Zakkai directed his students to
smuggle him out of Jerusalem in a
coffin. He created a new school at
Yavneh, and sent out a call to every
rabbi and student he knew.
Thus was born the first school
of Rabbinic Judaism. According to
our sages, Yohanan ben Zakkai’s famed
Our Yavneh Challenge
Council of Yavneh would point a way
forward into the future. Crisis had
struck and Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai—
Judaism’s first Reconstructionist—
led the Jewish people toward
a bold solution.
RECONSTRUCTIONIST RABBINICAL COLLEGE AND
JEWISH RECONSTRUCTIONIST COMMUNITIES
1299 Church Road, Wyncote, PA 19095
215.576.0800
www.rrc.edu
In the year 68, the Temple in Jerusalem was under siege. Our ancient priestly
leadership was in shambles, and people rightly wondered whether Judaism would
survive. So what happened? The Talmud tells us that Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakk
directed his students to smuggle him out of Jerusalem in a coffin. He creat
a new school at Yavneh, and sent out a call to every rabbi and student he
knew. Thus was born the first school of Rabbinic Judaism. According to our
sages, Yohanan ben Zakkai’s famed Council of Yavneh would point a way
forward into the future. Crisis had struck and Rabbi Yohanan ben Zakkai—
Judaism’s first Reconstructionist—
led the Jewish people toward
Our Yavneh
Challenge
reimagine
Our Yavneh Challenge seeks donors who make first-time
gifts of $1000 or more to the Reconstructionist movement.
Please join us as we:
• recommit • reconstruct
reimagine judaism for the
Yavneh represents a key crisis-to-success
story in the history of Judaism. It symbolized the
evolution of Judaism from a temple-based to
a scholar-based tradition of interpreting our
21ST century
Support the educational, scholarly, and congregational resources
needed to train dynamic rabbis and future Jewish leaders,
and develop robust Jewish communities.
Torah and creating the Talmud. These earliest
rabbis were a small group with no obvious
power, but they had a vision and they were
mighty. Out of this vision was born their power
and the Jewish people’s future.
Yavneh represents a dynamic inflection
point in Jewish history. Today, Reconstructionist
Judaism addresses major challenges and leads
the way toward a reinvigorated progressive
recommit our resources now
Create and sustain vibrant, multigenerational Reconstructionist
congregations and entrepreneurial rabbis across North America,
and reach out to unaffiliated progressive Jews with social media.
reconstruct a model for contemporary jewish life together
Help build an inclusive, democratic, optimistic community.
Judaism for our time.
Embracing a rich reinterpretation of
tradition, and infusing creativity into our
religious observance and cultural celebration,
Reconstructionism is leading hearts and minds
toward what can be:
Yavneh represented a dramatic rethinking of what it would take
for Judaism to survive in the moment and thrive in the future.
Reconstructionism today is innovative Judaism for our time,
moving boldly and joyously to promote progressive Jewish values
as a transformative force for positive change in the world.
...a Judaism in which inclusion of diverse
Claim your place in Judaism’s future.
voices makes our community stronger,
more loving, and more welcoming.
...a Judaism in which our commitments
to social justice and repairing the world
represent core values in realizing a
meaningful Jewish existence.
Join
Our Yavneh Challenge today.