Reform Judaism: Difference between revisions

[[File:Congregation_Emanu-El_of_the_City_New_York.jpg|thumb|250px|The interior of the [[CongregationTemple Emanu-El of New York (1930)|Temple Emanu-El of New York]], the largest Reform [[synagogue]] in the world.]]

The origins of Reform Judaism lie in [[German Confederation|mid-19th-century Germany]], where Rabbi [[Abraham Geiger]] and his associates formulated its early principles, attempting to harmonize Jewish tradition with modern sensibilities in the age of [[Jewish emancipation|emancipation]]. Brought to America by German-trained rabbis, the denomination gained prominence in [[History of the Jews in the United States|the United States]], flourishing from the 1860s to the 1930s in an era known as "Classical Reform". Since the 1970s, the movement has adopted a policy of inclusiveness and acceptance, inviting as many as possible to partake in its communities rather than adhering to strict theoretical clarity. It is strongly identified with progressive and liberal agendas in political and social terms, mainly under the traditional Jewish rubric ''[[tikkun olam]]'' ("repairing of the world"). ''Tikkun olam'' is a central motto of Reform Judaism, and acting in its name is one of the main channels for adherents to express their affiliation. The movement's most significant center today is in [[North America]].

Various regional branches exist, including the [[Union for Reform Judaism]] (URJ) in the United States and Canada, the [[Movement for Reform Judaism]] (MRJ) and [[Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)|Liberal Judaism]] in the United Kingdom, the [[Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism]] (IMPJ) in Israel, and the UJR-AmLat in Latin America; these are united within the international [[World Union for Progressive Judaism]] (WUPJ). Founded in 1926, the WUPJ estimates it represents at least 1.8 million people in 50 countries, about 1 million of whichwhom are registered adult congregants, and the rest are unaffiliated but identify with the movement. This makes Reform the second-largest Jewish denomination worldwide, after [[Orthodox Judaism]].

Its inherent pluralism and the importance which it places on individual autonomy impedes any simplistic definition of Reform Judaism;<ref name="GoldscheiderZuckerman">{{cite book |year=2004 |orig-year=1990 |surname=Goldscheider |given=Calvin |surname2=Zuckerman |given2=Alan |chapter=The Judaic Reformation as a Sociopolitical Process |pages=83–93 |title=Social Foundations of Judaism |editor-surname=Goldscheider |editor-given=Calvin |editor-surname2=Neusner |editor-given2=Jacob |editor-link2=Jacob Neusner |place=Eugene, Or |publisher=Wipf and Stock Publ. |edition=Reprint |chapter-url={{Google books|id=2TxLAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y|page=83|keywords=|text=}} |url={{Google books|id=2TxLAwAAQBAJ|plainurl=y}} |isbn=1-59244-943-3}}</ref><ref name="KCR">{{cite book| last = Romain | first = Jonathan | author-link = Jonathan Romain| title = Tradition and Change: A History of Reform Judaism in Britain, 1840–1995| publisher = [[Vallentine Mitchell]] | year = 1995| location = London | pages = 39–45 | isbn = 978-0853032984}}<br>{{cite book |last=Kaplan |first=Dana Evan |title=The New Reform Judaism: Challenges and Reflections |year=2013 |author-link=Dana Evan Kaplan |pages=7, 315 |location=Lincoln, Na; Philadelphia, Pa |publisher=University of Nebraska Press; The Jewish Publication Society |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/newreformjudaism0000kapl/page/n10/mode/1up |isbn=9781461940500 |oclc=857493257}}</ref><ref name="KareshHurvitz">{{cite encyclopedia |surname=Karesh |given=Sara E. |surname2=Hurvitz |given2=Mitchell M. |year=2005 |entry=Reform Judaism |title=Encyclopedia of Judaism |place=New York |publisher=Facts On File |series=Encyclopedia of World Religions. [[J. Gordon Melton]], Series Editor |pages=419–422 |entry-url={{Google books|id=Z2cCZBDm8F8C|plainurl=y|page=419|keywords=|text=}} |url={{Google books|id=Z2cCZBDm8F8C|plainurl=y}} |isbn=0-8160-5457-6}}</ref> its various strands regard Judaism throughout the ages as a religion whichthat was derived from a process of constant evolution. They warrant and obligate further modifications and reject any fixed, permanent set of beliefs, laws or practices.<ref name="JJ"/> A clear description of Reform Judaism became particularly challenging since the turn toward a policy whichthat favored inclusiveness ("Big Tent" in the United States) over a coherent theology in the 1970s. This transition largely overlapped with what researchers termed the transition from "Classical" to "New" Reform Judaism in America, paralleled in the other, smaller branches of Judaism whichthat exist across the world.<ref name="Neusner1993">{{cite book |year=1993 |editor-surname=Neusner |editor-given=Jacob |editor-link=Jacob Neusner |title=The Reformation of Reform Judaism |series=Judaism in Cold War America, 1945–1990, vol. 6 |place=New York; London |publisher=Garland Publ. |isbn=9780815300762}}</ref><ref name="KCR"/><ref name="KareshHurvitz" /> The movement ceased stressing principles and core beliefs, focusing more on the personal spiritual experience and communal participation. This shift was not accompanied by a distinct new doctrine or by the abandonment of the former, but rather with ambiguity. The leadership allowed and encouraged a wide variety of positions, from selective adoption of ''[[halakha|halakhic]]'' observance to elements approaching [[religious humanism]].<ref name="Meyer1988">{{cite book |surname=Meyer |given=Michael A. |author-link=Michael A. Meyer |title=Response to Modernity: A History of the Reform Movement in Judaism |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1988 |location=New York |isbn=9780195051674 |url={{Google books|M12toEjI5PEC|page=|keywords=|text=|plainurl=yes}}}}</ref>

In 1907, the former [[Central Consistory|Consistorial]] rabbi {{ill|[[Louis Germain Lévy|fr}}]] who shared a similar worldview, formed the [[Union Libérale Israélite de France]], a small congregation that numbered barely a hundred families. It eventually evolved into the [[Liberal Jewish Movement of France]].

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;'''Studies'''

*{{Cite book|last=Romain |first=Jonathan A. |title=Reform Judaism and Modernity: A Reader|year=2004|location=|author-link=Jonathan Romain |publisher= SCM Press|isbn=0334029481}}