RRC / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities has undergone some internal restructuring and staffing changes, and we are excited to share an update with you. 
 
For the past several years, we had a department of Community Engagement, which was responsible for providing resources and services for affiliated congregations and for the wider world through a variety of mechanisms, including the work of an Affiliate Support team, Ritualwell.org and Jewishrecon.org, learning networks, the Reconstructionist Press and several other initiatives. Community Engagement was led by Alan Halpern, who moved on from this position over the summer. We thank Alan for his service and wish him the best of luck in all his future endeavors.
 
Rather than continuing to group this wide range of initiatives under a single umbrella, we are dismantling Community Engagement as an integrated department while retaining all of the specific functions and programs previously housed in that department. Affiliate Support will now function as a distinct department led by Tresa Grauer, Ph.D., who was promoted to assistant vice president for Affiliate Support. We are thrilled to welcome Rabbi Maurice Harris, RRC ‘03, to RRC / Jewish Reconstructionist Communities staff this summer as associate director of Affiliate Support. The Affiliate Support team also includes longtime staff members Jackie Land, associate director, and Rabbi Joel Alpert, RRC ’76, director of rabbinic placement. Stay tuned for more information soon about Affiliate Support’s exciting plans for the coming year!
 
Cyd Weissman, who previously served as the director of Reconstructionist Learning Networks, has been promoted to assistant vice president for Innovation and Impact. Innovation and Impact will now function as its own department, and it will include the ever-growing learning networks, Ritualwell.org and several other outreach and engagement initiatives. The departments of Affiliate Support and Innovation and Impact will work in close collaboration and will be supervised by Rabbi Amber Powers, RRC ‘02, a longtime RRC academic administrator who is moving into the newly created position of executive vice president. Amber will work closely with Tresa, Cyd and their teams, our lay partners, and the RRA, to ensure that we are effectively advancing a Reconstructionist approach both within affiliated communities and beyond them.  Rory Schonning will continue to provide support for the departments of Affiliate Support and Innovation and Impact. 

Contact information for all of the members of our team can be found here.

Photography courtesy of Bruce Jennings, Kol HaLev

The People vs… Kol HaLev’s Biblical Mock Trials

In a previous issue of Reconstructionism Today (RT), we gave a shout out to Kol HaLev, Cleveland’s Reconstructionist Jewish Community, who put Moses on trial last April for crimes against the Egyptians. We’re happy to have an in-depth article coming out in RT soon.
 
We wanted to give you a behind the scenes look into the planning of this event, including the successes and challenges.
 
If you’ve ever walked the programming tightrope, you know the struggle well. How do you offer engaging programs that draw in large crowds and are cost neutral or revenue positive? It’s a constant balancing act and a necessary frustration as congregations seek new ways to bring in revenue while satisfying and exciting current members.
 
At the 2010 Jewish Reconstructionist Federation (JRF) Convention, Kol HaLev’s Rabbi Steve Segar, then-President Greg Selker, and marketing chair Halle Barnett (now Immediate Past President) attended a workshop led by University Synagogue’s Rabbi Arnie Rachlis, RRC ’75, which focused on creative fundraising and programming. Barnett had just completed a formal brand study that sought to capture the Kol HaLev member experience and provide tools for more effectively articulating what differentiates Kol HaLev from other communities. Designed as a touchstone for decision-making, particularly for outreach efforts, the study enabled a different kind of conversation about “how we do what we do” to create the particular Kol HaLev experience.
 
In search of a new “how,” the trio had a “lightbulb moment” when hearing Rabbi Rachlis’ description of University Synagogue’s successful annual biblical mock trial events, in which a controversial character from the Bible is put on trial. They thought about creating a similar event with Kol HaLev’s unique perspective, capabilities and needs in mind, embodying and promoting both the deeply co-creative spirit that pervades Kol HaLev and the Reconstructionist ideal of grappling with Torah in new ways. Not to mention, this even could be an opportunity to raise funds in a new way and from new sources.
 
“A forum like this allows us to ask big questions that may not get answered, but still need to be asked.” Barnett says. “It’s a very Reconstructionist thing to do.”
 
The next year was devoted to asking hard questions and planning by a creative, pragmatic committee of 10.  A community member donated the seed money that allowed them to get started on their pilot event, with King David as the defendant. They solicited donors and collaborated with Cleveland-Marshall College of Law, Cleveland Jewish News, and the local NPR station—which recorded the trial and broadcast it later for a wider audience.
 
To manage complex ticketing, the committee chose www.arts-people.com after getting the signup fee waived. The committee organized a free bible study a couple weeks before the trial in order to acquaint and engage the community with King David’s story.
 
The pilot mock trial took place in Cleveland-Marshall College of Law’s (C|M|Law) moot courtroom. The committee recruited renowned local legal professionals to act as the prosecutor, defense attorney and judge. Charges and compelling arguments against King David, which comprised the first hour of the event, were crafted with the guidance of Rabbi Steve and Kol HaLev member and C|M|Law professor Alan Weinstein crafted . 
 
The audience acted as the jury—using paper ballots to vote “guilty” or “not guilty.” While the votes were tallied, the court room transformed into an interfaith discussion on the social and ethical implications of the King David’s legacy, led by a panel of local scholars and religious leaders, including Rabbi Steve. At the end of the night, everyone learned the “fate” of the accused.
 
As hoped, the event was well-received, entertaining, thought-provoking, profitable – and an important learning experience. In subsequent years, the team used feedback from Kol HaLev and broader community to select defendants whose stories were better known but still challenging enough to spark a lively debate. Year Two Eve, matriarch of Eden, was tried on charges of theft and sedition, and engaged the community in a conversation about gender roles and choice. This past year, Moses was tried for his role in the slaying of Egypt’s first born sons, as the program explored the notion of religion as a tool of, or excuse for, violence. Other past defendants include Abraham, and Joseph’s brothers for selling Joseph into slavery. “Though the characters are well-known, these stories have ramifications that have shaped attitudes and cultures for centuries, and the implications continue in our own day,” offers Rabbi Steve.
 
The congregation and planning committee continue to grapple with balance. The program should be engaging but not so entertaining that it loses its educational substance. It should appeal to congregants and the wider community; the complexity of the logistics must be manageable by a volunteer corps and appropriately weighed against the benefits, both spiritual and material. And prices must be affordable, but the event must also turn a significant profit.
 
The mock trial phenomenon seems to have caught the imagination of many within and beyond the Reconstructionist movement. As communities continue to produce this kind of program, each with its own flavor, Barnett urges strategic thinking. “This kind of undertaking has a lot of moving parts. With your community’s values front and center, consider your goals and be honest about your capabilities, without stars in your eyes,” she shares. “We all want to reach with creative intent and stretch ourselves, to create a special experience for the community. We also need to be highly realistic in order to create something sustainable.”
 
You can listen to the recordings of Kol HaLev’s first five mock trials on Kol HaLev’s website or follow The People vs. - Kol HaLev Mock Trials Facebook page.

We’re planning the first Reconstructionist Birthright Israel trip for young adults age 21-26 (planned dates: December 18-29, 2016). Hike, learn, sing and connect with the land, people, history and culture.

Please help us spread the word!

Find out more information at www.campjrf.org/birthright.