Open Letter to 45th President on his Retirement
Read the letter from Dan Leger published in the
Pittsburgh Post Gazette, 1/20/21
Congregation Dor Hadash Condemns the Violent Insurrection at the US Capitol
Congregation Dor Hadash condemns both violent insurrection at the United States Capitol on January 6th and the elected officials who incited this attack on our democracy. We, as Jews, are well aware of the danger posed to all minorities by racist and antisemitic extremists. We, therefore, also condemn the white supremacism and antisemitism deeply embodied in this attack. We were appalled that some of the insurrectionists carried the Confederate flag. We are deeply thankful for those law enforcement officers who kept our elected representatives and their staffs safe. At the same time, we recognize that this violent and seditious mob was treated very differently than were peaceful Black Lives Matter protesters this past year. We decry the double standard with which law enforcement treats white supremacists and call for equal justice under the law.
Pirkei Avot teaches: It is not your duty to finish the work; neither are you free to desist from it. American democracy is a great, unfolding experiment that requires attention and effort. Let us renew our commitment to the work of furthering it.
Who We Are
Congregation Dor Hadash is Pittsburgh’s only Reconstructionist Jewish Congregation. We are inclusive, egalitarian, and member-led. We are an active, socially engaged, community-oriented congregation, and we are passionate about repairing the world (tikkun olam). We are proud of our history of advocating for our vision of a shared society in which diversity is celebrated. Through community and social action, we strive to tear down the walls that divide us while seeking to build a more just, thriving, and inclusive world for all of us.
Reconstructionist Judaism is a politically and religiously progressive Jewish movement that approaches both life and Judaism with a deep consideration of the past and a desire to create and share new ways of being Jewish and practicing our faith in the present. Reconstructionists often say that the past has a vote but not a veto.
Learn more about our philosophy and movementFrom Rabbi Deborah Waxman, President of Reconstructing Judaism, and Seth Rosen, Chair of Reconstructing Judaism’s Board of Governors:
For models of how to enact resilience, we look to the members of Dor Hadash, the vibrant lay-led Reconstructionist congregation in Pittsburgh that was meeting in the Tree of Life synagogue building on Shabbat morning of Oct. 27, 2018. As the lay and professional leaders of the national Reconstructionist movement, we have been privileged to witness their extraordinary efforts to mourn, recover and rebuild their community in the aftermath of the unimaginable. Even as we have endeavored to support and amplify those efforts over the past two years, we have learned from their example and asked ourselves how we would react if, heaven forbid, we were forced to stand in their shoes. The members of Dor Hadash never asked to be our role models. We have no doubt that they would have given anything not to be. Nonetheless, we have learned from them and continue to do so.
- "Rabbi Deborah Waxman and Seth Rosen: Mourning, recovering and rebuilding. Two years after the Tree of Life shooting, a community’s response to hate,"
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 27, 2020.
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