• Belonging to a democratic Jewish community in a post-Halakhic age
• The Reconstructionist vision of the Jewish future
  
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Belonging to a democratic Jewish community in a post-Halakhic age
If halakhah is defined as the Jewish process of celebrating, creating and transmitting tradition, Reconstructionist Jewish communities would certainly fit within the framework of halakhah.

But if halakhah has the meaning of a rigid body of law, changeable only under very rarefied circumstances, most Jewish people, including Reconstructionists, no longer accept its binding authority. While Reconstructionists are lovers of tradition and support community celebration of the Jewish sacred year and life-cycle events, we also believe that the face of the Jewish community is changing and that individuals have the right to adapt Jewish tradition to new circumstances.

Reconstructionist communities challenge Jews to participate fully in our shared Jewish civilization. From building a sukkah to appreciating Jewish music, from caring for the Jewish young and old to leading Torah study - community members should experience Jewish civilization in our day as fully as they experience secular civilization.

Judaism will continue to be a dynamic civilization only if we choose to participate, create and transmit vitality to future generations. Reconstructionist rabbis work in partnership with committed lay people to formulate guidelines that serve as Jewish touchstones for our times. These guidelines are presented and democratically considered in Reconstructionist communities as standards for enhancing the Jewish life of the individual and the community rather than as binding laws.

The Reconstructionist vision of the Jewish future
We Reconstructionists envision a maximalist liberal Judaism. This means Jewish life that is engaged in study, worship and action and yet is completely supportive of a Jew's full participation in secular life.

We hope for a Judaism that serves as a rich source of spiritual self-expression and moral challenge in the way we conduct our lives.

We dream of a Jewish people that will overcome divisions and realize its commitment to the single goal of transforming the world into one where all people are respected as bearers of the divine image.

We picture an Israel at peace and a Jewish people, in both Israel and the Diaspora, that will have the dedication, knowledge, and prosperity to develop an ever richer tradition to hand down to future generations.

Like all Jews, Reconstructionists are firm believers in the future. It is our dedication to the future, characterized by commitment and creativity, by the faithful heart joined to the open mind, that makes us proud of the Reconstructionist contribution to the ever-evolving heritage of the Jewish people.

  Information courtesy of the Jewish Reconstructionist Federation.