Rabbi Richard Hirsh: Reconstructionist Faith and Belief

Rabbi Hirsh, RRC '81, briefly explains the Reconstructionist ideas of belonging, behaving and believing; he then explores more deeply what faith and belief mean in Reconstructionist Judaism. Hirsh is executive director of the RRA.

[@henrybrill4354]

Thank you for this video. My mom mom side of the family was originally Orthodox, followed strict rules, and were kosher. When my grandma was dating my grandpa she changed our family believes to Reconstructionist. My family survived the pogroms in Poland, and the invasion of Poland in 1939 and 1941.

[@adambroadside791]

I am half Jewish, on my fathers side. My mother is Christian. I wish I understood this side of Judaism when I was 17.

[@canugrok1]

Thanks, kiddo.

[@marcschimsky5673]

Rabbi Hirsh has opened up a whole new understanding of my heritage, my tradition and my faith. This is powerful!

[@fowlwinds]

Rabbi Hirsh was our rabbi, at Beth Tikvah, when we first moved to Marlton, NJ. I was 7 and he made Judaism sound so interesting and engaging. But, he left us. Now, at 5 I had really heard the story of exodus, and rejected it with an expletive. I imagine that if I had had the benefit of Rabbi Hirsh’s teachings, I might be an actively participating Jew. I have a knee jerk response to the word ‘god’, and struggle to work around it. Rabbi Hirsh, how I miss you.

[@roldyclark]

Wow. I’m from Marlton! Small world

[@madrigalad]

Great video!!! Thanks!!!

[@TheTruthseekerman]

I thank Spandoza would agree with much of this.

[@marcioguerr482]

Great video! But at the end, the link is broken.

[@ReconstructingJudaism]

Thanks for watching! Sorry about the broken link - this video is a few years old and we've updated our website since this came out. If you're interested in learning more about a Reconstructionist approach to Judaism, please visit our new homepage: www.reconstructingjudaism.org.

[@british-israelforever3846]

great video!

[@AbrahamsBridges]

Hi. Do reconstructionists believe the written Torah consistently stays the same throughout the ages? Or do they believe God and His written law evolve through the ages?

[@cyansloth1763]

When i realized the torah was manmade- I had been basically raised Orthodox and it broke me to realize all deities are mythological. This might give me something. But it is so hard when it's all so painful still. I have always been dedicated to truth. How could we continue to to propagate stories that are false. They ancient hebrews didn't even know the names of the kemetic gods.

[@bencatechi4293]

The role of any person, regardless of religion, is to make the world a better place for each other. As he said, the power of these stories has never been that they were “true.” Even for someone who believes they are true, the real power comes from how the story makes them act. That’s what gives God power. God gets power by impacting the lives of countless generations of Jews. God lives within us all, not as a mystical spirit inside us, but as the cumulated power of his story

[@p1966kful]

I find it easier to say “God” is a metaphor

[@nnn-ce3wj]

deities were most likely aliens, read the ancient texts literally