about Am Haskalah
Link to JRF web site Affiliated with
the Jewish
Reconstructionist
Federation


Rabbi

Nehama Benmosche

President

Sue Wolper

Vice President

Julie Mackey
Didi Yunginger

Treasurer

Izzy Studzienko

Recording Secretary

Barbara Katz

Corresponding Secretary

Anita Goldman

Past President

David Smith

Board Members

Janet Glassman
Janice Kay
Jeffrey Frank
Madeleine Langman
Paula Tahler
Adrian Shanker
Scott Berman
Ken Fifer

Voice Mail

610-435-3775
Leave a message and we will return your call (we may pick up only once or twice a week, please be patient)

JCC Front Desk

610-435-3571
Talk to Gail or Norma, who have a schedule of our events.

Email

http://listserv.shamash.org/
archives/ahpa.html
. Click on AHPA, then click on "Join or leave the list." You will receive email updates of upcoming events.

Donations

Please mail all donations to
Am Haskalah c/o
Ignacy Studzienko
Treasurer
911 Hawthorn Road
Allentown, PA 18103-4677

about Am Haskalah

A recent graduate of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (RRC), Rabba Nehama Benmosche’s services are marked by musical creativity and participatory prayer. She brings ten years of experience in Jewish education to her position, including work as a teacher and curriculum specialist with interfaith families, children, and adults.

Rabba NehamaWhile at RRC, she served as a rabbinic intern at West End Synagogue in NYC; a cantorial soloist at Congregation Beth Israel of Woodbury, NJ, and the Reform Temple of Suffern, NY; a student rabbi at Congregation Kol HaNeshama of Sarasota, FL; and a chaplain intern at the Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia. She is currently pursuing a Doctor of Education degree at the Jewish Theological Seminary.

Rabba Nehama has lived and studied in Israel and officiated at Jewish communities in Minsk, Belarus and Dubrovnik, Croatia. She lives in Philadelphia with her partner Jacob, an RRC student, and their son, Eliyashu, who was adopted from Ethiopia in 2009.



about Am Haskalah

Congregation Am Haskalah offers a creative, participatory approach to Judaism, blending tradition with innovation. We believe the past has a vote but not a veto.

I knew from my first service that this is where we belonged — that here was a group of Jews who cared deeply about their religion and about each other. (Cary Oshins)

Am Haskalah welcomes members from diverse life situations, backgrounds, political and religious perspectives. Each person brings to the community unique talents and needs. Individuals choose levels of involvement with which they feel comfortable.

For me, Am Haskalah is wonderfully diverse, creative and traditional — all at the same time. (Gale Maleskey)

Members of Am Haskalah are not mere observers, but have the opportunity to participate actively at the very center of Jewish communal life. Reconstructionism, based on the ideas of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan, is for both intellectuals and mysticists and for both those who see Judaism as a religious community or a community that goes beyond religion. Kaplan understood Judaism to be an "evolving religious civilization."

It's a gift to feel so connected to Jewish tradition and learning while at the same time be firmly committed to diversity. (Jenni Levy)

Our services and activities • are generally held at the Allentown Jewish Community Center, 722 North 22nd St in Allentown. Please check our updated calendar for room locations for various events.

about Reconstructionism

Reconstructionists define Judaism as more than a religion. For us it is a civilization encompassing history, literature, art and music, land and language.

Our religious tradition is the reflection of our ancestors' search for meaning, purpose and value. In our own search, we are egalitarian, participatory, and open to varying viewpoints.

Belonging to the Jewish people comes before behaving or believing; through our shared past and through our communal experience of worship, study and celebration, we affirm our sense of belonging.

We are respectful of traditional Jewish practice but also open to new interpretation and forms of religious expression; tradition has "a vote but not a veto."

Our diverse views of God share an emphasis on godliness rather than the supernatural. We value that power in the universe which infuses all creation with a sense of transcendence and impels us to improve the world and ourselves.

We believe we are involved in the evolution of Judaism right now, and are responsible for shaping the spiritual and cultural legacy we will leave to future generations.

Perhaps you are a Reconstructionist — and just don't know it.

Check out the Reconstructionist Movement's web site at www.jrf.org for more information!