Reconstructionism

n.
The branch of Judaism founded in the United States in the 20th century that regards Judaism as a religious civilization and questions the doctrine that the Jews are God's chosen people.

Reconstructionist Re'con·struc'tion·ist adj. & n.

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An American Jewish movement and philosophy created by Mordecai Kaplan With the aim of reshaping and revitalizing Judaism. In view of his growing conviction that Judaism was not meeting the challenges of modernity or the needs of contemporary Jewry, and that the Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox movements were not offering viable solutions to problems, Kaplan began to formulate a program for the reconstruction of Judaism. Since, in his opinion, modern Jews no longer believed in salvation in the afterlife, Judaism needed to offer a means of achieving salvation in this world. He rejected supernaturalism and authoritarianism in favor of democracy.

Reconstructionism is based on the concept that Judaism is an evolving religious civilization. As such, it has a unique language, history, culture, body of customs and folkways, social organization, and attachment to the Land of Israel, imbued by a religious core. As an authentic religion and culture, Judaism has always been dynamic and evolving; during each successive period of Jewish history, Judaism has developed, changed, and adapted to its environment without losing its basic identity or continuity.

God, Torah, and Israel form a conceptual triangle, with each element having equal importance for Jewish existence. God is "the power that makes for salvation," the highest possible fulfillment of human beings; God is that complex of forces within the individual and in the universe that makes this "salvation" possible. Torah, which includes both the Hebrew Bible and rabbinic literature, is the creation of the Jewish people and its search for the Divine. It is the record of their experience. The Commandments (mitsvot) preserved within the Torah are actually the customs and folkways of the Jewish people. As such, they can be changed and are subject to the insights and values of every generation.

Israel, which is both Land and People, is central to Jewish existence. For Judaism to reach its ultimate height, Israel and the Diaspora must be in constant interaction.

Reconstructionism formally became a movement with the founding of the Society for the Advancement of Judaism (SAJ) in New York in 1922. The SAJ synagogue center was the practical application of Kaplan's theoretical model. The founding principles included: working toward freedom of thought in interpreting tradition; developing the synagogue as a Jewish center; democratizing Jewish institutional life; and encouraging the rebuilding of Erets Israel. Currently, the Reconstructionist movement has its headquarters on the campus of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Wyncote, Pennsylvania, in the United States. The College was founded in 1967. Its curriculum is constructed so as to enable the students to view Judaism as an evolving religious civilization. From its inception, it opened its doors equally to men and women. Affiliated congregations are organized in the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations and Ḥavurot (see ḥavurah).

Though one of the smallest Jewish movements in America, Reconstructionism exerts an influence well beyond its size. Many of its ideas and concepts have become normative in the life of American Jews: the synagogue center, the Ḥavurah, and the Bat Mitzvah ceremony, for example, which Kaplan developed.

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