Always rethinking God and the world
Encounter with a group of Jewish "Reconstructionists"
Reconstructionism is considered the most progressive movement in Judaism. Some of its followers have formed a community in Salt Lake City. With a strong sense of community as well as social and ecological commitment.
Salt Lake City, US state of Utah. "Hineh Ma Tov": Spirit Lipovich-Read opened the Shabbat service she led with this song on the first Friday in May. The special thing about it: It took place outdoors in a garden in spring-like weather. And: the congregants belong to a congregation of "Reconstructionists".
“Hineh Ma Tov”: How sweet it is to be together with our congregation. The lyrics couldn't fit better. "Chavurah B'Yachad", the name of the group, translates as "community of togetherness". "Chavurah" stands for a small group of like-minded people who organize services together and discuss their experiences and views.
Reconstructionist Judaism is a secession from Conservative Judaism and emerged in the 1930s in the USA. It is based on the teachings of Mordechai Kaplan, who was working as a rabbi in an Orthodox community in New York at the time. Coming from an orthodox family, his sister was nevertheless brought up as an equal. Kaplan later made equality a cornerstone of his teaching.
He said, why do only men have a coming-of-age ceremony, a Bar Mitzvah? So in 1922, his daughter Judith Kaplan became the first woman who had a Bat Mitzvah.
Says Jack Dolcourt, who co-founded the congregation in Salt Lake City in 1988. Even then, there was only one synagogue in the city. It is still shared by the Conservative and Reform congregations. The Reconstructionist congregation has neither a synagogue nor its own rabbi. The 200 or so members simply cannot afford either. On special occasions, they rent space in the synagogue. Otherwise, they have few points of contact with other faiths, says Dolcourt.
“The main difference is who has the legitimacy to change Judaism. So the Orthodox say: nobody. It's the way it has always been, and that's the way it should be. Conservatives say it is a body of the conservative movement who can decide. The Reform says the individual has the right to make changes. And the Reconstructionists say, it's the Jewish community itself, which has the right to make changes.”
According to the teachings of Mordechai Kaplan, they observe and preserve religious traditions and rites, but do not see them as set in stone. Instead, they reorganize them so that they meet the needs and values of the respective time and generation. The 35-year-old Mattathias likes this pragmatic approach so much that he joined a year and a half ago. “I really like the hands-on aspect. That we do make those decisions communally and that we are very actively involved in the worship process and development. As the Havarah, we have a rabbinical intern who is an advisor. But the services are primarily led by members of the community”.
On this Friday in May, musician Karen Nielson-Anson joins the rest of the group in song. Everyone is sitting on garden chairs around a fire that someone has lit as it slowly gets cool in the garden at sunset. Karen sings "Mi Sheberach". The song of prayer for healing. Those present say the name of a loved one who is ill. During the mourners' Kaddish, members say the name of a person they are mourning. Rituals at every Shabbat service.
Spirit Lipovich-Read, who organized it this time, has been with the group for almost two years. The fact that she herself is 23, but most of the others are 50+, doesn't bother her. “I joined this Chavurah after specifically seeking out the Jewish community which allowed criticism of Israel. It's very difficult to find spaces which even allow disagreement on Zionism, especially in Utah where there are so few Jewish groups. But my Jewishness is important to me and inherently tied to my beliefs on social issues and politics.”
According to the congregation's website, "Our members are Jews by birth or by choice, single or part of a family, interfaith families, and people of all sexual orientations and gender identities."
Betsy Smith is a Jew by choice. She converted in 1982 and joined Jack Dolcourt's group soon after it was founded. Not out of religious conviction, as she freely admits: “I didn't really care, to be honest with you. The only thing that I don't identify with is the orthodox movement because they don't even recognize me as a convert as Jew. It's the people of the group that I really like. But they could be reform, and I would be fine. They could be conservative, and I'd be fine.”
Mattathias is the only one in the group who wears a kippa. His father is Jewish, his mother Christian. He is therefore not considered Jewish by traditionalists. But many reconstructionists do. Founder Mordechai Kaplan went so far as to reject the theology of a supernatural God for himself. He also rejected the concept of the Jews as a "chosen people". Reconstructionist Judaism is still very much religious but it is a movement where the divine is not so important, says Mattathias.
“We are still doing what is essentially religious ritual and it has deep spiritual significance. But where the spirituality is not necessarily focused on an afterlife or another world or on miracles - but on recognizing the beauty of life, of creation, of being able to exist in the present moment, of the world around us all. And of what we see as divine ethical guidance: to love your neighbor, to care for each other, to seek peace and justice in the world.”
A religious movement in which the "divine" is not so important? And members don't necessarily have to believe in a supernatural God or a "God the Father"? According to the congregation, even atheists can live Jewish values, says Betsy Smith. “A lot of the people in the group aren’t really religious in terms of believing in God and that kind of thing. But we were all interested in taking care of the planet and everything on the planet. In Hebrew we call this "Tikkun Olam". We feel that it is our responsibility to make the world a better place.”
This text is a translated transcript of my original radio report in German. Listen here.