Bryan Schwartzman

Assistant Director of Media and Development Communications, Reconstructing Judaism

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. 

Harris, who serves as Reconstructing Judaism’s associate director for Thriving Communities and Israel Affairs specialist, is one of four rabbis featured. He first appears onscreen a few minutes into the first episode, pointing out that the Torah never reveals Moses’ original Hebrew name since it is thought to be Egyptian. Throughout the series, Harris is one of the main voices providing context to the narrative. 

How did this all happen? 

Back in 2012, Harris published Moses: A Stranger Among Us with Wipf and Stock, a small, Oregon-based publishing house focused on biblical studies and theology. From a Reconstructionist perspective, Harris examines some of Moses’ lesser-known episodes and attributes to derive ethical and spiritual guidance for our times. Ironically, he was seeking to expand people’s understanding of Moses beyond the mental images they might have from the ubiquity of films such as “The Ten Commandments” and “The Prince of Egypt.” 

In the years since, his book has sold roughly 1,000 copies. (He’s since published two other books.) Among those who read it was a producer working on a then-unnamed documentary about Moses. They first spoke about four years ago: Harris said he’d be game to participate as long as the series featured multiple religious viewpoints and featured actors who looked and sounded like they came to from the Middle East and North Africa. 

Rabbi Maurice Harris is the author of Moses: A Stranger Among Us

He was reassured on both counts, and two years later, sat for hours of interviews at a rented studio outside Philadelphia. In the week since the series debuted on Netflix, Harris has seen a jump in sales for his book.  

“Overall, I’m really pleased with how it turned out,” said the 2003 Reconstructionist Rabbinical College graduate. “They kept their word, presenting a broad range of experts from all three Abrahamic religions.” 

He hopes that the series will remind people of the intimate connections between Judaism, Christianity and Islam. 

Charlton Heston as Moses, arms spread wide, holding his staff as the sky storms.
Charlton Heston as Moses in The Ten Commandments

“I think the series can help challenge prejudices people in all three faith communities sometimes have about the others. It does so by giving a platform to a group of warm, knowledgeable and friendly experts from all three religions,” he said. “I hope it will break down some of the suspicion and bad feelings that people have.”  

Read JTA’s coverage of the Netflix series.

Learn a little more of Rabbi Maurice Harris’ story, and that of other RRC grads, here.

Hear Rabbi Maurice Harris and Rabbi Deborah Waxman on a 2023 Evolve podcast interview. 

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

Reconstructionist Rabbi Featured in Netflix Moses Docudrama Series

April 4, 2024

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.

Read More »
Participants in a grief retreat sit in a circle inside a yurt

The Auerbach Launch Grant: An Invitation to Experiment and Create

April 3, 2024

Rabbi Nicole Fix (RRC ’23) is using avant-garde musical theater to bring the Talmud to the stage — and sound a warning on the dangers of present-day extremism. Chloe Zelkha, a fourth-year RRC student, is building community for young adults grieving the loss of a parent, partner, sibling or close friend.

While the two projects might at first glance sound dissimilar, they share much in common. Both engage with young Jewish adults who may lack

Read More »
Lila Corwin Berman

Power to Which People? American Jewish Philanthropy & Democracy

March 4, 2024

The fellowship is meant to honor of the work of two retired faculty member: Rabbi Mordechai Liebling, RRC ‘85, who started RRC’s social justice organizing program, and Rabbi Nancy Fuchs Kreimer, Ph.D., RRC ‘82, who pioneered the college’s approach to multifaith studies.

As part of the fellowship, Plevan also will be taking part in a March 20 panel discussion, “Democracy and Judaism: Does One Need the Other to Thrive?”, organized by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, the Kaplan Center for Jewish Peoplehood and A More Perfect Union: Jewish Partnership for Democracy (register here.) Democracy comes up in many of Plevan’s classes at RRC, particularly a course examining democracy and Jewish sources. He said to expect fall programming in advance of the 2024 elections.

Taken together, the fellowship will explore and champion how Reconstructionism teaches that participatory democracy is vital for religious flourishing.

“For many people, religious pluralism means keeping religion outside of the public realm,” said Plevan. “That wasn’t Kaplan’s view at all. He taught that what a thriving democracy needs is having different kinds of peoples and traditions and ideas contributing to public life.”

Read More »
Rabbi Marissa Elana James demonstrates in the snow in Center City Philadelphia carrying a sign that reads "no more harassment at work."

Course Spotlight: Rabbis in Social Movements

December 6, 2023

When Rabbi Alex Weissman applied to rabbinical school in 2011, he estimates that there were just a handful of rabbis working at social-justice organizations. Fast-forward a dozen years and that number now exceeds several dozen — too many for Weissman to name.

Why the dramatic shift? Many advocacy organizations now recognize the role that clergy can play in helping activists maintain spiritual and emotional health. (Burnout is all too common among people trying to fix a broken world.) Additionally, many progressive organizations have sought to reclaim the moral, prophetic voice, refusing to surrender the religious label to political and cultural conservatives, says Weissman.

Read More »
glasses in front of a computer screen with code

‘What It Means to Be Human in an Algorithmized World’

July 11, 2022

Legal scholar, philosopher and policy analyst Nathalie Smuha spends a lot of time thinking, writing and advising about artificial intelligence. Namely, Smuha believes that society’s increasing reliance on algorithms presents pressing legal and moral questions — and governments, corporations and citizens are not paying enough attention.

Read More »

Six Years Removed from Policy Shift, Rabbis with Non-Jewish Partners Continue to Embody Reconstructionist Values, Even as Challenges Persist

February 9, 2022

Rabbis Donna Cephas, Sandra Lawson and Michael Hess Webber each took very different paths to becoming Reconstructionist rabbis. Despite disparate journeys, the three religious leaders have continuously demonstrated dedication, creativity and an ability to inspire others. Their stories share an additional element: their paths to the rabbinate were once blocked because their partners are not Jewish.

Read More »

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

Read & Rite

One-stop shop for progressive Jewish books and ritual objects

Havaya Summer Programs

Overnight summer camp and teen Israel experience

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Professional association of Reconstructionist rabbis

Placement Office

Placement resources for rabbis and congregations

Reconstructionist Educators of North America

Professional group for people leading schools in Reconstructionist congregations

The Reconstructionist Network

Reconstructing Judaism logo

Read & Rite

One-stop shop for progressive Jewish books and ritual objects

Placement Office

Placement resources for rabbis and congregations

Havaya Summer Programs

Overnight summer camp and teen Israel experience

Reconstructionist Educators of North America

Professional group for people leading schools in Reconstructionist congregations

Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association

Professional association of Reconstructionist rabbis