Reform Judaism
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Reform Judaism refers to the spectrum of beliefs, practices and organizational infrastructure associated with Reform Judaism in North America and in the United Kingdom.[1] The term also may refer to the Israeli Progressive Movement, the worldwide Progressive movement, and the Reform movement in Judaism generally.
The Reform movement began in Germany in the nineteenth century soon spread to other European nations, nearly simultaneously springing up in North America as well. While the movement was uniting in seeking to update the Jewish tradition, divisions soon emerged over whether Jewish law generally should remain binding unless there was reason to reject specific tradition, or whether the whole ceremonial law should be abandoned as obsolete, keeping only the moral commandments as binding. In North America, this led to a split between the denominations known today as Conservative Judaism and Reform Judaism.
Reform Judaism today is the largest U.S. Jewish denomination. It does not require circumcision, allows rabbis to perform interfaith marriages (although many do not do so), emphasizes the role of individual conscience in determining which Jewish traditions must of may be observed. Originally rejecting Zionism and incompatible with its principles, since the Holocaust, Reform Judaism has officially supported the State of Israel. Reform Judaism formally rejects the concept of a literal Messiah, prefering to speak instead of a Messianic age to come, but does not forbid individual members to hope for his (or her) arrival.
History
Nineteenth century
In response to the Enlightenment, and Jewish Emancipation, reform-minded thinkers within German Jewry, such as Israel Jacobson, Abraham Geiger, Samuel Holdheim, and Leopold Zunz, sought to reconcile Jewish belief and practice with the modern age. At first the reformers worked only within existing congregations, but this attitude shifted after the German state allowed the Jewish community to separate its organizational structures.
During the 1840's and 1850's, separate reform congregations were set up in two major centers of the German Jewish, Frankfort and Berlin. Reform efforts were also evident in Denmark and Austria.
Around the same time, the Reform movement North America started to emerge, but with none of the governmental opposition and regulation facing its European counterparts. In 1825, lay members of Beth Elohim in Charleston, South Carolina founded the Reformed Society of Israelites as a breakaway ground seeking mild reforms.[2] German born David Einhorn would become a leading figure in American Reform Judaism after immigrating to the U.S. in 1855.
In Hungary, a supporter of Geiger and of the Hamburg Temple emerged as an influential thinker and leader: Aaron Chorin (1766-1844). A talmudic scholar, Chorin was traditional at first but then took a more liberal view toward the halakha. His system liberalized the kashrut (kosher) requirements, condemned kabbalah, abolished amulets, instituted changes in the alenu prayer practice, and the kol nidre prayer of Yom Kippur. With his rabbinic training, he wrote Jewish law responsa to permit train travel and organ playing on Shabbat. [3]
In Budapest, other Jews were inspired by the reform Temple in Vienna. Moderate reforms were undertaken in various cities and outreach efforts were made to various German rabbis, including Zacharias Frankel, widely seen as the pioneer of Conservative Judaism. Ignaz Einhorn, a Hungarian-born rabbi, put forward a program program of reform, which systematized the emerging ideas of the movement.[4] Einhorn sought to abolish the ceremonial element of Judaism, but retain its faith and morality. He permitted mixed marriages, ended circumcision, shifted Shabbat worship to Sundays and, promoted the concept that a Jew was known mainly by his idea of God and the moral principles on which he acts.[5]
In Great Britain, reform efforts were sparked by efforts to change the liturgy at London's Bevis Marks Synagogue, as had been done with the Hamburg Temple. Despite some initial reforms in 1836, further alterations were rebuffed in 1839. The British reformers established an independent congregation, the West London Synagogue of British Jews, on 15 April 1840. The West London Synagogue reformers paved the way for the modern British reform movement, the Movement for Reform Judaism. In 1856, Act of Parliament was passed to allow the minister of the West London Synagogue of British Jews to register marriage ceremonies. This act established the full autonomy of the congregation and ensured its equality before the law with the Orthodox congregations.
In 1870, the German Reform movement created a rabbinical seminary and research center known as the ''Hochschule für die Wissenschaft des Judentums''. Across the Atlantic, by 1873 sufficient Reform congregations had emerged to organize as the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC). Shortly after, in 1875, the Hebrew Union College was establish to improve the quality of rabbis in the US.
As in Europe, there were significant disagreements among the reformers over the role of tradition. In 1883 a banquet was planned to celebrate the first graduating class of rabbis from Hebrew Union College The more radical element planned the banquet with a menu containing shrimp. Known as the "Trefa Banquet," (trefa refering to non-kosher food) this event intensified the conflict between the radical and conservative reformers.[6] The conflict further intensified in 1885 when a fierce debate broke out between Kaufmann Kohler and Alexander Kohut over the nature of reform.
In response to debate, Kohler called a conference of reform-minded rabbis in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. Isaac Mayer Wise, the rabbinical head of Hebrew Union College, presided. The conference produced the Pittsburg Platform and led to a formal organizational split between those more and less conservative.[7] In 1887 a separate rabbinical school, the Jewish Theological Seminary was founded, which would become the intellectual center of Conservative Judaism. In 1889, the more liberal rabbis organized under the banner of the Central Conference of American Rabbis.
Twentieth century
Around the turn of the century, the European reform movement gained new steam organizationally. In Germany, rabbis and followers organized under the banner of Liberal Judaism. Meanwhile, inspired largely by Claude Montefiore, Lily Montagu spearheaded reform efforts in Great Britain. Around 1902, following liturgical changes and debates, they formed the Jewish Religious Union in London. Liberal Judaism steadily gained adherents after the founding in 1911 of the Liberal Jewish synagogue, the first of more than thirty Liberal congregations in the UK. At the same time, reform-minded French Jews established the Union Liberale Israelite, which was criticized as a revolutionary schism.
In 1926, representatives from the U.S. and Europe convened the first international conference for the Reform movement in Judaism and formed World Union for Progressive Judaism. With British and then American leadership, the WUPJ spread the reform movement to many countries, most notably Palestine, to which the WUPJ headquarters were relocated.
In the United States, the Reform movement grew significantly through the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and its affiliates. In 1922, Reform Rabbi Stephen S. Wise established the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York, which merged with Hebrew Union College in 1950. Other centers of Reform Judaism were opened in Los Angeles (1954) and Jerusalem (1963). However Conservative Judaism had emerged as the more popular of the two main trends within the movement, as large numbers of secular Jews preferred to stay away from even the more liberal synagogues.
On policy matters, the American Reform movement has had a number of official platforms. The Columbus platform was written in 1937 by the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). The CCAR rewrote its principles in 1976 with its Centenary Perspective and revised them again in the 1999 A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism. According to the CCAR, personal autonomy still has precedence over these platforms. In 1983, the Central Conference of American Rabbis took one of its most controversial stands and formally affirmed that a Jewish identity can be passed down through either the mother or the father, if the child is raised with a Jewish identity.
Reform movement worldwide
Along with other forms of non-orthodox Judaism, including Conservative Judaism, the US Reform, UK Reform, and Israeli Progressive Movement can all trace their intellectual roots to the Reform movement in Judaism.
The US Reform movement reflects the most liberal pole of this movement. The UK Reform[8] and Progressive Israeli movements[9], along with the US Conservative movement and Masorti Judaism, occupy the more conservative end of the non-orthodox Judaisms.
Along with Conservative Judaism, Reform Judaism is one of the two North American denominations affiliated with the Progressive Movement. It is the largest denomination of American Jews today. Similarly UK Reform is also one of two Progressive movements in the UK.
After a failed attempt in the 1930s to start an Israeli Reform movement, the World Union for Progressive Judaism created the movement in the 1970s which now known as the Israeli Progressive Movement. Because the first rabbis in the 1970s were trained in the United States, the Israeli press and public often refers to the Israeli Progressive Movement as "Reform."
Reform Jewish theology
Reform Judaism individual conscience an freedom before God. However Reform Judaism has refused to compromise on one principle of Jewish tradition it considers essential: monotheism. This belief is reaffirmed even in its newest statement of principles. In recent decades, however, a minority of Reform rabbis and laity have come to affirm various beliefs including pantheism and deism.
The Reform movement has had a number of official platforms. The first was the 1885 Declaration of Principles, the Pittsburgh Platform. The next platform was written in 1937 by the Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR). The CCAR rewrote its principles in 1976 with its Centenary Perspective and revised them again in the 1999 A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism. While original drafts of the 1999 statement called for Reform Jews to consider re-adopting some traditional practices on a voluntary basis, later drafts removed most of these suggestions. The final version is thus similar to the 1976 statement. According to the CCAR, personal autonomy still has precedence over these platforms.
Reform Judaism's position on Jewish law
The classical approach of Reform Judaism towards halakha was based on the views of Rabbi Samuel Holdheim (1806-1860), leader of Reform Judaism in Germany, and other Reformers. Holdheim believed that Reform Judaism should be based solely upon monotheism and morality. Almost everything connected with Jewish ritual law and custom was of the ancient past, and thus no longer appropriate for Jews to follow in the modern era.
This approach was the dominant form of Reform Judaism from its creation until the 1940s. Since the 1940s the American Reform movement has continued to change, sometimes evolving in what appears to be a traditional direction. Many Reform congregations have increased the amount of Hebrew used in their religious services and are incorporating aspects of Jewish laws and customs, in a selective fashion, into their lives as communities. This is a departure from the classical Reform position in favor of more traditional Judaism.
Even those in the traditionalist wing of Reform Judaism still accept the primary principle of classical Reform, namely personal autonomy. Autonomy has precedence over Jewish tradition, and halakha has no binding authority for Reform rabbis. The difference between the classical Reformers and the Reform traditionalists is that the traditionalists feel that the default position towards choosing to follow any particular practice should be one of acceptance, rather than rejection, a principle generally shared with Conservative Judaism. While only representing a minority of the movement, this group has influenced the current Reform statement of principles, which states that "We are committed to the ongoing study of the whole array of mitzvot and to the fulfillment of those that address us as individuals and as a community."
Currently, some Reform rabbis promote following elements of halakha, and even developed the idea of Progressive Halakhah. For instance the American Rabbi Walter Jacob, Israeli Rabbi Moshe Zemer, and British Rabbi John D. Rayner believe in many parts of traditional Jewish law, but take present developments and valuations of ethics and law into consideration. Many others actively discourage adopting more traditional practices or beliefs, because they feel that this is not in the ethos of the Reform movement.
Jewish identity and inter-marriages
Despite a 1973 Central Conference of American Rabbis resolution opposing the performance of interfaith weddings by its members, the CCAR does not formally forbid its members from officiating at interreligious marriages, which appears consistent with Reform's belief in autonomy for members and clergy. Recent surveys by the Rabbinic Center for Research and Counseling show that 40 percent of CCAR Reform rabbis now perform some form of intermarriages. This is an important consideration for many Jews, and is thought to account in part for Reform Judaism' having overtaken Conservative Judaism as the most popular Jewish denomination. However, the majority of Reform rabbis who perform intermarriages still officiate only at interfaith weddings where the non-Jewish spouse is undertaking conversion to Judaism, and where both parents agree to raise their children with a Jewish identity, as defined in the Reform tradition.
Reform Judaism accepts the child of one Jewish parent (father or mother) as Jewish if the parents raise the child with a Jewish identity, a departure from the tradition view that a child's Jewishness is determined by the mother's identity only. Reform's 1983 proclamation The Status of Children of Mixed Marriages, states that the reasoning in allowing patrilineal Jewish descent is based on Biblical and Rabbinic Judaism, pointing out that purely matrilineal Jewish descent was only first taught during Talmudic times (Kiddushin 68b).
Since the concept of inclusion is vital to the Reform movement, Reform rabbis encourage participation of Gentiles in services and festivals, while at the same time actively pursuing the conversion process. Conversion of non-Jews to Reform Judaism is more likely than in other Jewish denominations where the practice is either discouraged or essentially non-existent. An obvious factor in this is the fact that requirements such as the circumcision of male converts and observance of the kosher laws is not required for Reform Jews.
The Reform movement fully accepts gay and lesbian members, and some Reform clergy perform weddings or commitment ceremonies for Jewish gay and lesbian couples, as do Conservative rabbis, but not the Orthodox.
View of Zionism
In the nineteenth century and the first half of the twentieth century, Reform Judaism rejected the idea that Jews would re-create a Jewish state in their ancestral homeland. They also rejected the idea that there would ever be a Jewish Messiah, that the Temple in Jerusalem would ever be rebuilt, or that one day animal sacrifices would be re-established in a rebuilt Temple.
Instead, the people Israel was viewed as the Messianic people, appointed to be a "light to the nations" by spreading ethical monotheism over all the earth, and to be an example of rectitude to all others. Reform Jews thus ceased to declare the Jewish people to be in exile, for the modern Jews in America or Europe had no cause to feel that the country in which they lived was a strange land. Many Reform Jews went so far as to agree that prayers for the resumption of a Jewish homeland were incompatible with desiring to be a citizen of a nation. In the U.S., Reform intellectuals argued that their commitment to the principles of equal rights and the separation of religion and state precluded them from supporting the nineteenth century Zionism movement.
This attitude changed dramatically, however, with the rise of Hitler and the reality of the the Holocaust, after which many Reform Jews decided that the only guarantee for Jewish survival was the establishment of an independent state of Israel. Since the establishment of the modern Israel 1948, Reform Judaism has largely repudiated Anti-Zionism, and the official platform of Reform Judaism today is Zionist. There are now many Reform Jews who have chosen to make aliyah (move to Israel), and there are several kibbutzim affiliated with the Israeli Reform movement. The Reform movement also sends thousands of its youth and college-age students to Israel every year on summer and year-long programs. All rabbinical students at Hebrew Union College, the American Reform seminary, must spend a year in Israel absorbing the language and culture and becoming familiar with biblical geography.
However, Reform rabbis and they marriages they perform are not recognized as valid in the State of Israel, due to the influence of the Orthodox parties in Israeli politics.
Bar Mitzvah and Confirmation
Reform Judaism celebrates an individual child's spiritual coming of age with becoming a Bar Mitzvah for boys or a Bat Mitzvah for girls at 13.
Many Reform congregations hold Confirmation ceremonies as a way of marking the festival of Shavuot and the decision of young adults to continue to embrace Jewish study in their lives and reaffirm their commitment to the covenant. The confirmands represent "the first fruits of each year's harvest. They represent the hope and promise of tomorrow."[10] Confirmation is typically held in tenth grade after a year of study, but some synagogues will celebrate it in other years of high school.
Notes
- ↑ Meyer, Michael A. Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism. Studies in Jewish history. New York: Oxford University Press, 1988. ISBN 019505167X
- ↑ Meyer 228f.
- ↑ Meyer, p. 158f.
- ↑ Meyer, p. 162
- ↑ Meyer, p. 162f.
- ↑ The "Trefa Banquet" and the End of a Dream in Michael Feldberg (ed.), Blessings of Freedom: Chapters in American Jewish History, The American Jewish Historical Society / KTAV, 2002. ISBN 0881257567. Chapter 5.7 (or #52 online). Accessed November 2, 2007
- ↑ Meyer, Response to Modernity, 268
- ↑ Judaism 101: Movements of Judaism Retrieved November 28, 2007.
- ↑ IMPJ. "Progressive Judaism in Israel", reform.org. Retrieved November 28, 2007.
- ↑ Knoebel, Gates of the Seasons, 77
External links
All links Retrieved November 28, 2007.
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