Elyse Wechterman

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May 24, 2020, 8:18 AM

Who counts? And who counts?

Today, we begin a new book of the Torah ,BaMidbar, in English called Numbers. Numbers (Bamidbar) 1:1 -1:3 יְדַבֵּ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד בְּאֶחָד֩ לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְצֵאתָ֛ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃ On the first day of the second month, in...

May 23, 2020, 10:14 PM

Who counts? And Who Counts?

Today we begin a new book of the Torah –BaMidbar, In English called Numbers. Numbers (Bamidbar) 1:1 -1:3 יְדַבֵּ֨ר יְהוָ֧ה אֶל־מֹשֶׁ֛ה בְּמִדְבַּ֥ר סִינַ֖י בְּאֹ֣הֶל מוֹעֵ֑ד בְּאֶחָד֩ לַחֹ֨דֶשׁ הַשֵּׁנִ֜י בַּשָּׁנָ֣ה הַשֵּׁנִ֗ית לְצֵאתָ֛ם מֵאֶ֥רֶץ מִצְרַ֖יִם לֵאמֹֽר׃ On the first day of the second month,...

May 21, 2020, 11:17 PM

Denominations: Changing, but still necessary

From my vantage point as a leader of a denominational rabbinic association, denominations are changing, but at their core, they are still necessary. These recent months of pandemic and COVID19-related quarantine have accelerated the tectonic shifts in American Jewish life...

Feb 11, 2018, 7:40 PM

Jewish Support for Dreamers: A Self-Evident Truth

Why did more than 100 Jewish leaders from around the country participate last month in act of civil disobedience in the rotunda of the Russell Senate Office Building? Why were 86 rabbis arrested, some handcuffed and carried off while still...

Jun 20, 2017, 4:24 AM

March against Shariy’ah is as un-American as it gets

Last weekend, small groups of Americans are gathering in cities across the country to “March Against Shari’ah Law,” including in Harrisburg. These marches, and the hate-groups that organize them promote an overtly anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant agenda by couching their arguments...

Mar 9, 2017, 6:08 AM

America as a haven for refugees – thank God

I first learned the word “Refugee” when I was in fourth grade. My Hebrew school class was going on an “experiential journey” from Eastern Europe to America, imaginatively re-enacting the trek many of our ancestors had taken several generations...

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About Me

Rabbi Elyse Wechterman has served as the Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association since 2016. Prior to that, Rabbi Wechterman served as the spiritual leader and educator at Congregation Agudas Achim in Attleboro, MA for 14 years. Rabbi Wechterman was ordained at the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in 2000 and lives in Abington, PA with her family.