Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism, as the term is understood in North America, refers to the first modern branch of Judaism that originated in Germany in the 1800s. This liberalizing movement sought to reform and modernize Jewish belief and practice in light of contemporary scholarship and views, and followed German Jewish emigration to countries including The United States of America, where it is currently the largest branch of Judaism. Its principles include:

Teachings on the Oral Law

According to traditional Judaism, God revealed His Law on Mount Sinai to Moses in two forms, (1) the written law ("Torah shebichtav"), and (2) the oral law ("Torah shebe'al peh"). According to some Reform Jews, human reason alone was competent to grasp and construe all religious truths.

Related Topics:
God - Mount Sinai - Moses

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This philosophy was inspired by the investigations into the historical development of Judaism. The idea of progress, historical growth, at the time that the young science of Judaism established the relative as distinguished from the absolute character of Talmudism and tradition, was central in German philosophy, more clearly in the system of Hegel. History was proclaimed as the self-unfolding, self-revelation of God. Revelation was a continuous process; and the history of Judaism displayed God in the continuous act of self-revelation. Judaism itself was under the law of growth, and an illustration thereof. The laws and customs of the Talmudic era were interpreted as appropriate for the Talmudic period alone; however Reform scholars held that these laws are not an inherent or necessary part of Judaism.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

This was the dilemma with which Reform theologians were confronted. This was an inconsistency which, as long as Judaism and Law were interchangeable and interdependent terms, was insurmountable. To meet it, a distinction was drawn between the moral and the ceremonial laws, though certainly the Torah nowhere indicates such distinction nor discloses or fixes the criteria by which the difference is to be established. God, the Law giver, clearly held the moral and the ceremonial to be of equal weight, making both equally obligatory. Analysis of the primitive scheme in connection with the possible violation of the precepts, tends to prove that infractions of certain ceremonial statutes were punished more severely than moral lapses. (See also, the various positions within contemporary Judaism as regards the Talmud.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

National and universal elements

The principle was not carried out consistently. Reform Judaism rejected the Sabbath and the other Biblical holy days, and the dietary laws, as the Torah prescribed. Were these not ceremonial? What imparted to these a higher obligatory character?

Related Topics:
Sabbath - Dietary laws

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Holdhelm, to escape this inconsistency, urged as decisive the distinction between national and religious or universal elements. The content of revelation was two-fold: national and universal. The former was of temporary obligation, and with the disappearance of state and nation the obligatory character ceased; but the universal religious components are binding upon religious Israel. While this criterion avoided many of the difficulties involved in the distinction between ceremonial and moral, it was not effective in all instances. The sacrificial scheme was religious, as Einhorn remarked when criticizing Holdheim's thesis, and still Reform ignored its obligatory nature. Nor could Judaism be construed as a mere religion, a faith limited by creedal propositions.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

(more to be added and edited.)

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Timeline

1875 Reform Judaism's Hebrew Union College is founded in Cincinnati. Its founder was Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise, the architect of American Reform Judaism.

Related Topics:
1875 - Hebrew Union College - Isaac Mayer Wise

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1885 A group of Reform rabbis adopts the Pittsburgh Platform.

Related Topics:
1885 - Pittsburgh Platform

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1922 Reform Rabbi Stephen S. Wise establishes the Jewish Institute of Religion in New York. It merged with Hebrew Union College in 1950. A third center was opened in Los Angeles in 1954, and a fourth branch was established in Jerusalem in 1963.

Related Topics:
1922 - Stephen S. Wise - Jewish Institute of Religion - 1950 - 1954 - 1963

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1937 The Central Conference of American Rabbis adopts "The Guiding Principles of Reform Judaism", known as the Columbus Platform.

Related Topics:
1937 - Central Conference of American Rabbis - Columbus Platform

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1976 On the occasion of the centennials of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, the Central Conference of American Rabbis adopts .

Related Topics:
1976 - Union of American Hebrew Congregations - Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion - Central Conference of American Rabbis

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1983 The Central Conference of American Rabbis formally states that a Jewish identity can be passed down through either the mother and the father, thereby making official what had been the state of affairs in many Reform communities since the early twentieth century. Despite its rejection by Conservative Judaism and Orthodox Judaism, and the state of Israel, descent through the mother or the father becomes the standard for North American Reform and unaffiliated Jews. This leads to the disintegration of the inter-denominational Synagogue Council of America.

Related Topics:
1983 - Central Conference of American Rabbis - Conservative Judaism - Orthodox Judaism - Synagogue Council of America

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1997 On the occasion of the centenary of the first World Zionist Congress, the Central Conference of American Rabbis adopts the Miami Platform, dedicated to the relationship between Reform Judaism and Zionism.

Related Topics:
1997 - World Zionist Congress - Central Conference of American Rabbis - Miami Platform - Reform Judaism - Zionism

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

1999 The Central Conference of American Rabbis adopts "A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism" in Pittsburgh.

Related Topics:
1999 - Central Conference of American Rabbis - Pittsburgh

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

2003 The congregational arm of the Reform Movement in North America adopts the new name "Union for Reform Judaism", replacing its previous name "Union of American Hebrew Congregations" at its Biennial Convention in Minneapolis, MN

Related Topics:
2003 - Union for Reform Judaism - Minneapolis - MN

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reform Jewish theology today

Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut writes "there is no such thing as a Jewish theological principle, policy, or doctrine." This is because Reform Judaism affirms "the fundamental principle of Liberalism: that the individual will approach this body of mitzvot and minhagim in the spirit of freedom and choice. Traditionally Israel started with harut, the commandment engraved upon the Tablets, which then became freedom. The Reform Jew starts with herut, the freedom to decide what will be harut - engraved upon the personal Tablets of his life."

Related Topics:
Rabbi - Gunther Plaut - Jewish theological principle

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reform Judaism has always promoted theism, and monotheism in particular. This belief is reaffirmed in its new statement of principles. However, it also holds that personal desire is absolute; in recent decades it has no longer asked that its adherents hold any particular beliefs. Reform rabbis and laypeople have come to affirm various beliefs including theism, deism, Reconstructionist naturalism, polydoxy, and non-theistic humanism. All of these positions are considered equally valid within Reform Judaism. The official American Reform prayerbook, "Gates of Prayer: The New Union Prayerbook", is predominantly theistic, but also includes a non-theistic, humanist service that omits all references to God (pp.204-218).

Related Topics:
Theism - Monotheism - Deism - Prayer

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

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). CCAR rewrote its principles in 1976 with its "Centenary Perspective" and rewrote 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 CCAR, personal autonomy still has precedence over these platforms.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Reform's position on Halakha (Jewish law) today

The classical approach of Reform Judaism was based on the views of Rabbi Samuel Holdheim (1806-1860), leader of Reform Judaism in Germany. He believed that Reform Judaism should be based solely upon monotheism. 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 slowly begun distancing itself from its previous stances. Many Reform Jews now go to Temples on Saturday, many have more Hebrew in their religious services, and many are incorporating more aspects laws and customs, in a selective fashion, into their lives. This is a disintegration of the original reform position in favor of more traditional Judaism.

Related Topics:
Germany - Monotheism - Saturday - Laws and customs

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Even those in the traditionalist wing of Reform Judaism still accept the primary principle of classical Reform: personal autonomy has precedence over Jewish tradition; halakha has no binding authority to 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. While only representing a minority of the movement, this group has influenced the new 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."

Related Topics:
Halakha - Mitzvot

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Currently, then, some Reform rabbis promote following elements of halakha, and belief in many parts of classical Jewish theology, while others actively discourage adopting Orthodox practices or beliefs, because they feel that this is not in the tradition of the Reform movement. Both encouraging or discouraging practices stipulated by halakha are considered acceptable positions within Reform. (See also, the various positions within contemporary Judaism as regards Halakha.)

Related Topics:
Halakha - Halakha

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

• - The Role of Women in Reform Judaism
• Whatever happened to Reform Judaism? Changes in the last 50 years