A couple of times each month, Jewish Brandeis students from a diverse mix of Jewish denominations and cultural traditions come together for a special Friday night service. On March 7, the guest list included a few new faces.
On Friday, students from colleges across the country congregated with Brandeis students in Hassenfeld Conference Center for the beginning of a three-day "ShabBROton" hosted by the Brandeis Reconstructionist Organization.
This is the fifth "ShaBROton" that BRO, has hosted. The title is a clever spin on the Hebrew word "shabbaton," a term employed to describe a celebration or educational event that takes place during the Jewish Sabbath. The majority of the attendees who were not Brandeis students were alumni of Camp JRF.
Reconstructionism is a Jewish religious movement born in the 1950s that celebrates an ever-evolving, critical interpretation of the Torah and a contemporary approach to Jewish cultural life. The movement was born out of the ideas of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan. Although Kaplan himself was rooted in the modern Orthodox Jewish community, Reconstructionism today is more closely associated with Reform and Conservative Judaism.
To someone unfamiliar with Reconstructionist Judaism, the common ideas behind the movement might be difficult to identify. After all, one of the core tenants of Reconstructionism is its flexibility. "The fun thing about Reconstructionism is that the basis of it is that we question everything ... it looks different for a lot of different people," said Aliza Heeren '16, the current president of BRO.
Further describing Reconstructionism's place in the Brandeis community, Heeren explained that people often try to categorize it as a low-level form of observance or associate it with the Reform movement. "We don't fit on a level because the whole point of it is that you think for yourself and find what you connect with and that's what you observe," Heeren said.
For Lily Siegel '14, the former president of BRO, Reconstructionism means making Judaism relevant to our time. "[Reconstructionism] grapples with old traditions and how we can take old traditions and see them in the modern day," she said.
According to Siegel, a small Reconstructionist chavurah or fellowship, existed at Brandeis a few decades ago, but died out for a number of years until a collection of Brandeis students who attended Camp JRF, which stands for Jewish Reconstructionist Federation, revived Reconstructionism on campus in 2009.
BRO is one of four recognized religious groups under the Brandeis Hillel chapter. What started as a small group of passionate students who held monthly services has swelled into a much larger community. "We could never get a minyan week after week I first got here," said Siegel. "Now we get 40 or 50 people every time." This interest has allowed BRO to begin holding Shabbat services twice a month as of last spring.
Although BRO's services are similar to those of other denominations of Judaism, there are a number of differences.
They are the only group on campus that uses a Reconstructionist siddur, or Jewish prayer book. While the book contains many of the same prayers as other Siddurim, certain words and phrases have been changed to reflect Reconstructionism's values.
At each service, acoustic guitar accompanies many of their prayers. "I like it because it's a way that I can pray the way I want to," Siegel said.
Quirky traditions prevail throughout the service as well. During the prayer "Yismechu" at the service last Friday, attendees partnered up and clapped together with the rhythm of the music.
During the prayer "Lecha Dodi" attendees rose out of their chairs to dance around the room, holding hands in a kind of conga line.
Another unique aspect of service came during a period of individual silent prayer. Attendees were encouraged to wander around the room and find a their own prayer space that made them feel comfortable.
The theme of the convention was a cross between a "BRO-mitzvah" (Bar/Bat mitzvah) and mitzvot or moral deeds.
The weekend consisted of song sessions and dancing, yoga and relaxation, an outdoor poetry reading, Zumba and a discussion of American and Jewish identity.
Following lunch, Alan Brody, a student at the University of Virginia, led a session about Israeli soldiers and Ghanaian war music. Students learned the cultural significance and words of two Ghanaian battle songs.
Unlike other Jewish religious groups on campus, BRO does not have a large core group of people who come to every service, which is something they are proud of. "People who come who have never been to a prayer service with guitar before-they end up having a really great time," said Siegel.
In explaining the inclusionary nature of BRO, Heeren compared Reconstructionist Judaism to a ladder. While the other denominations of Judaism are the rungs of the ladder, Reconstructionism can more accurately be described as the poles, uniting Jews from all different religious backgrounds.
Heeren herself experimented with many different services on campus but as soon as she went to her first BRO Shabbat, she knew she was in the right place. "If I'm going to services I don't want to just sit there and read the words-I want to feel something," Heeren explained."You walk into the room Friday night and everyone's singing and they're into it and they're dancing ... they're feeling it more than just the words -it's a spiritual experience."
Editor's Note: Josh Horowitz '14 is a photography editor of the Justice and helped organize the Brandeis Reconstructionist Organization convention.