We’re thrilled to announce that we are planning the first ever Reconstructionist Birthright Israel trip (planned dates: December 18-29, 2016) for young adults age 21-26. Participants will hike, learn, sing and connect with the land, people, history and culture. There are only 40 spots available, and they will fill fast! Learn more at www.campjrf.org/birthright, and be sure to share this exciting opportunity with members of your community.

How are we making this possible? We set out to find unique ways to connect our communities with Israel, and so we’ve partnered with Israel Experts—an Israel-based organization that will not only help individuals and congregations organize trips to the country, but can also provide Israel education to communities in North America.
 
Israel Experts takes pride in its ability to take visitors “beyond the obvious;” the organization provides more than visits to historic sites such as the Western Wall. Visitors can see areas where the Israeli-Jewish Renaissance is in full bloom or experience fact-finding tours between Israel and Palestine.
  
For more information about Israel Experts, visit the website.

Last year, we gave our annual report a new twist with a video that explains what the Reconstructionist Movement is. The video won the MarCom Gold Award in the e-annual report category; the Silver Award for redesign/rebrand by the Summit International Awards; Gold Quill Merit Award for digital communication from the International Association of Business Communicators; and the Bronze Anvil Award for annual reports from the Public Relations Society of America. 
 
Not to be outdone, in this year’s video we’re highlighting what Reconstructionists do in the greater world. Through the work of our rabbis, leaders, children and communities, we’re making Judaism relevant in the 21^st century.

Feel free to use this video on your website, social media or other marketing materials: https://youtu.be/_F-GsR73gJE.

If you have any questions, contact Victoria Guentter at vguentter@rrc.edu or 215.576.0800; ext. 133.

There have been many transitions during Marcel Infeld’s tenure as president of Kol Ami: The Northern Virginia Reconstructionist Community. But despite his many duties and challenges, Marcel has never missed a beat when it comes to teaching his adult Jewish education courses.
 
Infeld is a Holocaust survivor who grew up in a strict Hasidic community and lived in Israel before immigrating to the U.S. in 1951. While he sees himself as more of a secular Jew now, his love for tradition is something he shares with his students.
 
This September, he will wrap up a four-year Bible study in which participants have read all 24 books of the Tanakh, also known as the Hebrew Bible.
 
Infeld tried to teach this Tanakh course many times since 1970, but he could not find a method that was both meaningful and efficient. “The Tanakh is ancient literature, our literature,” he says. “Every educated Jew and non-Jew should be familiar with it.”
 
After maintaining a strong attendance for a monthly Torah study class, his students wanted more. Seeing an opportunity, he began to work on a new method of teaching a larger course.
 
Adapting a study model similar to the Orthodox Daf Yomi (a practice where students gather to read one page from the Talmud daily in a cycle that takes seven years), Infeld spent a year creating a syllabus and calendar that would cover all three major sections of the Bible – Torah, Prophets and Writings - over the course of a few years. The class meets monthly for an hour and a half, discussing the 15-25 chapters they read in between classes. The class starts promptly at 5 p.m. and even continues throughout the summer. “We don’t have time to waste,” he laughs.
 
Between the disciplined schedule and the opportunity to learn materials not covered in even the Orthodox Yeshivah, Infeld is happy to say that the course engages 20 percent of Kol Ami’s members (10 students) and has maintained its size the entire time.
 
Last summer, the class finished studying Nevi’im (the Prophets) and celebrated with a special siyum, similar to the Simchat Torah celebration. This September, the class will celebrate the end of Ketuvim (the Writings) with another siyum, which Rabbi Deborah Waxman, RRC / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities’ president, looks forward to attending.