Bryan Schwartzman

Associate Director for Strategic Communications, Reconstructing Judaism

Bryan Schwartzman utilizes his background in journalism, media relations and development to advance Reconstructing Judaism’s messaging and storytelling. He oversees content for ReconstructingJudaism.org, writes original features, handles media relations, and hosts the podcast Evolve: Groundbreaking Jewish Conversations.

An award-winning journalist, he spent a decade reporting for the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent and has written for a variety of Jewish publications including the Forward and the Jerusalem Post. Prior to joining Reconstructing Judaism, he was the manager of marketing and communications for the Evans Consulting Group, which specializes in guiding nonprofit fundraising campaigns. He also writes short fiction and has been nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Bryan earned his bachelor of arts in English and Journalism at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and his master’s degree in modern Jewish studies at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.

Person sitting outside on a sunny day, with text overlay about their student status at a rabbinical college.

Meeting the Unknown, Rabbinical Students Grow Spiritually, Help Others Through Clinical Pastoral Education

CPE is a formal, accredited method for training students of all faiths in the art of being a spiritual caregiver. These programs reflect the growing professionalization of the field and are usually offered in healthcare facilities. Chaplains, though, can serve in many settings, including retirement communities, hospices, campuses and prisons, as well in the military and with police and fire departments.

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Rabbi Steve Burnstein, wearing tallit and a kippa, strums his guitar. He appears to be in a classroom as children are looking on.

Reconstructionist Rabbi Serving Israeli Families During Wartime

Originally from Kansas, Rabbi Burnstein has lived in Israel since 1996, except for the years he spent in Philadelphia studying at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. He’s a member of Kibbutz Gezer — halfway between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem — and since 2018 has been the spiritual leader of Kehilat Birkat Shalom. Affiliated with the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism, Birkat Shalom is based on the kibbutz but serves families throughout central Israel.

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A woman with gray hair and purple glasses smiles outdoors, wearing a pink cardigan and a necklace.

RRC’s New Interim Academic Dean is a Beloved Teacher of Jewish Texts and Ideas

Rabbi Mira Wasserman, Ph.D., has been appointed RRC’s interim vice president for academic affairs.

Wasserman has taught Talmud and rabbinic literature for a decade at RRC and loves everything about the seminary, especially her students and colleagues. In the role of interim vice president, Wasserman will lead the college — effectively, she’s the academic dean — and serve as a key member of Reconstructing Judaism’s leadership team. (RRC is part of Reconstructing Judaism.) The vice-presidential oversees the curriculum and student life, as well as supports faculty members in their teaching and research. Assisting students and enabling them to become the best rabbis they can be remains a driving focus, said Wasserman.

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Two people standing and talking; one holds a phone and wears a name badge.

‘Dismantling Racism from the Inside Out’

When it comes to combating systemic racism, everyone has something to learn.

That’s one reason why faculty members at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College are engaging in a year-long process — one rooted in the Jewish practice of Mussar — to confront anti-Black racism in themselves and the college environment.

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Charlton Heston as Moses, arms spread wide, holding his staff as the sky storms.

Reconstructionist Rabbi Featured in Netflix Moses Docudrama Series

When Rabbi Maurice Harris set out to write a book about Moses, he never could have imagined where that work would lead.

Now, more than a decade later, Harris is heavily featured in the new Netflix docudrama, Testament: The Story of Moses. The show, which dropped on March 27, is among the streaming platform’s first forays into religion programing. The three-part hybrid-documentary series explores Moses’ story from Jewish, Christian and Muslim perspectives. It intersperses dramatic scenes with actors and interviews with scholars, academics and theologians.

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The Reconstructionist Network

Serving as central organization of the Reconstructionist movement

Training the next generation of groundbreaking rabbis

Modeling respectful conversations on pressing Jewish issues

Curating original, Jewish rituals, and convening Jewish creatives

The Reconstructionist Network