Selected Sources for Additional Reading on Judaism
                      Part VI: Reconstructionist Judaism
         [Last Change: $Date: 1995/10/19 15:21:35 $ $Revision: 1.3 $]
                    [Last Post: Sat Feb 14 11:07:04 US/Pacific 2004]

   This message is intended to provide readers of soc.culture.jewish with
   a list of references to allow them to learn more about the current
   practices, past practices, beliefs, and history of the
   Reconstructionist Judaism Movement.
   
   Reconstructionist Judaism is the small "fourth movement" of American
   Judaism. It was founded by the Conservative Rabbi and philosopher
   Mordecai Kaplan. It emphasizes "Judaism as a civilization" (i.e., the
   integration of selected Jewish beliefs with the Jewish people's
   culture and folkways).
   
   Reconstructionist Jews are willing to question conventional answers
   and keep open minds. They believe that a Jew need not and ought not
   sacrifice intellectual integrity for the sake of his/her Jewish
   identity. Reconstructionists are Jews who take the Jewish traditions
   seriously and live Jewish lives even through they don't believe in the
   divine supernatural origin of the Torah. Reconstructionists believe
   that, just a Jewish civilization has adapted to new circumstances
   throughout Jewish history, so must it adapt to late twentieth-century
   North American society. Reconstructionists tend to conduct more
   intimate worship services in which everyone is involved and the
   rabbi--if there is one--does not dominate.
   
   The membership body of the Reconstructionist Movement is the [6]Jewish
   Reconstructionist Federation ([7]http://www.jrf.org/). The association
   of the reconstructionist Rabbis is the Reconstructionist Rabbinical
   Association. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College publishes
   Raayonot as its rabbinical journal.
   
    Where Can I Get The Books
    
     * Many of these books are available through general bookstores or
       Judaica bookstores. A list of links to these may be found in the
       [8]sources section of the [9]General Reading List (if you are
       reading this at [10]www.scjfaq.org, you can simply click on the
       "Sources" button in the header navigation bar).
     * Publications of the Jewish Reconstructionist Foundation, the
       Reconstructionist Press, etc. may be obtained from:
       
    Jewish Reconstructionist Federation
    Beit Devora
    7804 Montgomery Avenue, Suite 9
    Elkins Park, PA 19027-2649
    Phone (215) 782-8500
    Fax (215) 782-8805
    E-mail [11]info@jrf.org
    Reconstructionist Press toll free order line: (877) JRF-PUBS or
    (877) 573-7827
    [12]http://www.jrf.org/pub/cat-main.html
       
   [Amazon Associate] The S.C.J Reading List has established an affiliate
   relationship with Amazon.Com. ([13]http://www.amazon.com/). Now you
   can complete your Reconstructionist Jewish library and support the
   continued development of the Reading Lists at the same time, for many
   books on Reconstructionist Judaism are available through Amazon. For
   those reading this at [14]www.scjfaq.org/rl/jrc-intro.html, you can
   click the link to the left to browse Amazon's selections.
   Alternatively, if you enter Amazon using the URL
   [15]http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/redirect-home?tag=socculturejewi
   sh, the reading lists will get credit for your entry. Additionally,
   when you see the Amazon graphic [16][If you were at www.scjfaq.org,
   the graphic would be here] (or "[Buy at Amazon: http:...]") on an
   entry in the reading list, this indicates that the specific book is
   available for purchase at Amazon. Click on the graphic/link to go to
   Amazon and purchase the book.

   Reproduction of this posting for commercial use is subject to
   restriction. See Part 1 (general) for more details.