Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations

Creating Sacred Community: Leadership and Connection with Rabbi Megan Doherty - Reconstructing Judaism Rabbi Megan Doherty, Chief Executive Officer of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, will speak with Rabbi Jacob Staub about her experiences building community in a variety of settings and how she intends to contribute to that process in her new role as leader of the association of Reconstructionist rabbis. Read her comments in the recent symposium

🕊️ TOMORROW: Rabbi Megan Doherty (new RRA CEO) + Rabbi Jacob Staub discussing the future of Reconstructionist Judaism

📅 Monday, Aug 25 @ 1 p.m. EDT

Topics:
✨ shared values
✨ ethics in practice
✨ defining Judaism for new generations

FREE interactive conversation: https://loom.ly/6qXM8NA

🧵 The "apathetic young Jews" narrative might be completely wrong

Matthew Boxer's research: Young adults aren't disengaged from Israel—they're engaging with profound moral complexity.

Same story as 1994 Baby Boomers, different generation.

📖 Full analysis: https://loom.ly/1WYtxck

🎧 NEW EPISODE: Matthew Boxer's research that's changing everything

Survey of 1,800 North American Jews reveals:
→ "95% Zionist" stat is misleading
→ Why discourse is so toxic
→ What we're getting wrong about Jewish opinion

"We think our views are obviously correct"
Listen: https://loom.ly/gbjFfXg

⏰ 24 hours until the episode that changes everything.

Matthew Boxer's research revealing what North American Jews actually think about Israel drops tomorrow.

Spoiler: Everything you think you know might be wrong.

🔔 Subscribe now: https://loom.ly/lCwYdP0

"Our discourse is toxic because we think it's obvious that our own views are absolutely correct."

Matthew Boxer has been called an antisemite for asking Jews about Israel.

🎧 Episode THIS THURSDAY, July 24: https://loom.ly/gbjFfXg

🔔 Subscribe so you don't miss it

I’m Right, You’re Wrong: What Data Reveals About North American Jewish Opinion on Israel, Zionism and Anti-Zionism - Evolve Get a sneak peek at our July 24 episode with Matthew Boxer. His survey of 1,800 North American Jews reveals surprising truths about Jewish opinion on Israel.

📊 New study reveals gaps in Jewish opinion polling

Matthew Boxer surveyed 1,800 North American Jews about Israel, then asked them to explain their reasoning.

Result: What we think answers mean ≠ what people actually believe.

Full methodology: https://loom.ly/k4VGKq8

I’m Right, You’re Wrong: What Data Reveals About North American Jewish Opinion on Israel, Zionism and Anti-Zionism - Evolve Get a sneak peek at our July 24 episode with Matthew Boxer. His survey of 1,800 North American Jews reveals surprising truths about Jewish opinion on Israel.

🧵 Matthew Boxer surveyed 1,800 North American Jews. The "95% Zionist" stat is misleading, and emotional attachment to Israel doesn't predict political views.

🎧 Preview an extended preview clip from our podcast + see his research + subscribe: https://loom.ly/gbjFfXg

Episode drops July 24.

Rabbi Maurice Harris shares a piece of fiction, "This Is How We Did It," that imagines public actions to affirm the sanctity of all bodies: https://loom.ly/M1a9xp8

Collective Liberation Is Our Work: Diversity in the Jewish Community - Reconstructing Judaism https://vimeo.com/1093155576In this can't-miss Evolve web conversation, Deitra Reiser, Ph.D., explores the meaning and importance of pursuing diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, and belonging in Jewish spaces. She eloquently defends Jewish investment in DEI initiatives at a time when such efforts face growing governmental hostility. Pressing forward, Reiser asserts, is ultimately about pursuing collective liberation. Read the

In this can’t miss Evolve web conversation, Deitra Reiser, Ph.D., defends Jewish DEI investment despite growing governmental hostility, asserting it's about pursuing collective liberation.

https://loom.ly/nPeZqr0

Dear U.S. Reparations Movement: Australia Is Not a Role Model - Evolve It is not enough to honestly acknowledge the harms of the past and take responsibility for them; we must confront the harms of the present, too.

In Dear US Reparations Movement: Australia Is Not a Role Model, Raphael Morris reminds us that enslaved people are entitled to reparations & explains that Australia is no closer to a meaningful reparations program than the US: https://loom.ly/vksO1L8

Characteristics of a Healthy Covenantal Community - Evolve It is a moment of tectonic shift in the ever-evolving expression and experience of Jewish life.

As part of Evolve’s Talmudic conversation on Jewish community, Rabbi Shawn Zevitt examines how Jewish communities can positively respond to this fractious moment.

https://loom.ly/bz68_JY

Rabbi Katie Mizrahi reflects on Rabbi Deborah Waxman's essay "Covenantal Community and Classical Reconstructionism" published on Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations.

Read here: https://loom.ly/IHOsV08

Rabbi Isabel de Koninck responds to Rabbi Waxman's exploration of how modern Jews handle authority stating, "One challenge of living Jewishly in the post-Enlightenment world is being ever mindful of when and to whom we cede authority in our lives."

https://loom.ly/IHOsV08

Collective Liberation Is Our Work: Diversity in the Jewish Community - Evolve Many of us are living in fear that our loved ones will be targeted by racism or genderism or sexism or ableism.

🧵 Dr. Deitra Reiser's new essay argues that Jewish institutions must prioritize inclusion regardless of broader DEI debates - ensuring all Jews find welcoming homes in our communal spaces, now and for future generations. Read here: https://loom.ly/RGVA8Zo

What if we stopped arguing and started agreeing—on purpose?

@rabbielyse.bsky.social created a covenant when her daughter moved back home—complete with a signing ceremony! Now when issues arise, they have a framework instead of frustration.

What do you think of this?

Read more: loom.ly/PFXoxXo

📣 In our powerful conversation with activist Roan Boucher, we uncover how Christian nationalism serves as the driving force behind anti-trans legislation sweeping across America.

Listen now at loom.ly/VSydmHM and join this groundbreaking Jewish conversation.

Composing a New Liturgy Connected to Our Deepest Concerns - Evolve For many people, the liturgy seems disconnected from their concerns, hopes, dreams and challenges.

"We need to rest in unknowing."

R' Michael Strassfeld is reimagining Jewish liturgy for today's world. No more obligation, instead creating prayer that connects with our actual lives.

Join his conversation w/ R' Staub on May 14.

Read & Register: evolve.reconstructingjudaism.org/composing-a-...

Jewish tradition emphasizes welcoming the stranger, but what happens when government policies make that nearly impossible? Rabbi James Greene, CEO of JFS of Western Mass, shares how his organization supports refugees — despite legal & financial obstacles. Listen here: loom.ly/P-dzEvE

In a conversation both deeply personal & grounded in history and sociology, Ilana Kaufman, CEO of the Jews of Color Initiative, shares her mission and why the work has been so challenging in a post-Oct 7 world in the latest episode of Evolve's podcast. loom.ly/8rYe5A4

🌿 NEW PODCAST EPISODE 🌿

“Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out.” The idea is deceptively simple & strongly rooted in Jewish tradition. With funding from the Wabash Center Inc., @rabbisandra.bsky.social & Rabbi Alex Weissman decided to try this approach at RRC.

Listen here: loom.ly/p2O-6c4

In our latest episode of Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations, we welcome Myra Sack, an all-american athlete who turned her love for sport into a platform for social change, into our virtual studio to talk about Traumatic Loss and Living with Grief.

loom.ly/N2saXuw