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THE
KVETCHIT:
A Hanukkah Tale
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KvetchiT:
A Hanukkah Tale
The
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Everyone loves this cute
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"Kvetcher" (complainer) who
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adds a zany, new dimension
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to the Hanukkah story.
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ISBN: 9-654830-04-3
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Ages 5-9 Hard Cover
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Includes the cassette:
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THE TWENTY GREATEST
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KVETCHES EVER TOLD!
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UH! OH! HANUKKAH
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Features cleverly hidden holiday
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symbols and zany UH! OH!
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characters which help make
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Hanukkah 8 days of fun. Watch
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out for the Golem dreidle!
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ISBN: 0-943706-14-9
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Ages 8-12 Hard Cover
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To Order Toll-Free
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1-800-373-5188
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ILLUSTRATIONS SY DON URANUS
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Pitspopany Press
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New York • Jerusalem
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Tel/Fax 516-239-6832
Available at your local bookstore
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by Larry Butchtns • flbotratted by

Celia raxchak

• -

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EWISH HERITAGE TOUR

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132

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Reconstructionists
Have New Title

Philadelphia (JTA) — There's
more in a name than meets the
eye, or ear. Just ask the Recon-
structionists.
Meeting in Fort Lauderdale,
Fla., this month, leaders of Ju-
daism's smallest religious de-
nomination tossed out their
group's wordy and unwieldy
moniker, the Federation of Re-
constructionist Congregations and
Havurot — abbreviated FRCH
and called "Firch" by movement
insiders.
The congregational arm of
what many consider to be Ju-
daism's most liberal and progres-
sive religious denomination will
now be known by a snappier title:
the Jewish Reconstructionist Fed-
eration.
"We wanted to get Jewish in
the title and we wanted a short-
er name," said the group's execu-
tive director, Rabbi Mordechai
Liebling.
For many Reconstructionists,
though, the rationale for a name
change went deeper than the mul-
tiplicity of words and syllables.
The appearance in fundamen-
talist circles of "Christian Recon-
structionists" fueled the call for
including the word "Jewish," they
said.
Christian Reconstructionists
believe in a reconstructed view of
biblical practice that includes
whipping as punishment for sins.
"We wanted to make sure no-
body confused them with us," said
Rabbi Liebling.
Christian Reconstructionists
have captured the public's atten-
tion of late, in part due to their as-
sociation with the Christian
Coalition of evangelist-politician
Pat Robertson, he said.
Far from being fundamental-
ist, Reconstructionist Judaism,
the brainchild of the late Rabbi
Mordecai M. Kaplan, teaches that
Jews attain salvation in this
world, rather than in the here-
after.
The movement defines salva-
tion as improving the self and the
social order.

Rabbi Kaplan, influenced by
French sociologist Emile
Durkheim, was also known for
defining Judaism as an evolv-
ing religious civilization rather
than as revealed religion.
Today, Reconstructionists
present a varied religious mo-
saic, ranging in belief and prac-
tice from the traditional
"Kaplanian" to those who em-
ploy New Age practices in seek-
ing mystical union with the
divine.
Rabbi Liebling said the Jew-
ish Reconstructionist Federa-
tion, founded in 1955 as the
Federation of Reconstructionist
Congregations and Fellowships,
does not intend, by virtue of the
name change, to lessen its com-
mitment to the chavurot, or non-
congregational fellowships.
Only one of nearly 200 dele-
gates opposed the name change
at the group's four-day, 35th an-
nual convention.
Rejected as a jawbreaker was
Rabbi Liebling's favorite — Re-
constructionist Union of Asso-
ciated Congregations and
Havurot.
That name forms the
acronym, in English, for the He-
brew word "ruach," which
means spirit or soul, and un-
derscores the spiritual leaning
of many Reconstructionists.
The Reconstructionists are
not alone in changing the name
of their central religious orga-
nization. Not long ago, Conser-
vative Jews renamed the United
Synagogue of America as the
United Synagogue of Conserv-
ative Judaism.
Early next month, Reform
leaders will take up a proposal
to modify the name of their con-
gregational umbrella group, the
Union of American Hebrew
Congregations.
The Reconstructionist Feder-
ation, with the admission of four
congregations at the convention,
now has 85 synagogues and
chavurot with an estimated
membership of 50,000 people.

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