The nomination of Rabbi Rick Jacobs as president of the Union for Reform Judaism has unintentionally started what could become a divisive and even destructive internal conflict within the Reform movement. Rabbi Jacobs’s association with what are perceived to be left-wing organizations have Reform Jews with conservative or even moderate political views on Israel fearing that their movement is suddenly veering away from them.Read More
Last month, I published an opinion article in these pages arguing that Reform Judaism’s theology contributes to the sociological factors that are weakening the Reform movement in our open, pluralistic society. In my February 25 article, “The Theological Roots of Reform Judaism’s Woes,” I wrote that contemporary Reform Judaism’s pluralistic theologies and focus on individual autonomy had made it difficult for Reform congregations to make demands upon their members. The result is that Reform laypeople are too often apathetic, and their synagogues are therefore unable to provide a vibrant shared religious experience.Read More
For a brief moment, no longer than a decade, we Reform Jews have enjoyed repeating that we had become the largest American Jewish denomination. We reveled in the bad news emerging from the Conservative movement, as the children of many longtime members of Conservative synagogues joined Reform congregations, frequently after intermarrying. But today our triumphalism is gone.Read More
Copyright © 2013, Forward Association, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
Reconsider Decision on Rabbis and Intermarriage
Is Steven Hawking’s Decision To Boycott Israel a Boon to BDS?
Forced Out by Nazis, Grandmother Returns With Family to Germany
Tracing the Jewish Origins of the Holy Ghost
Mother of Jewish Teen Killed on Brooklyn Bridge Speaks Out
You've successfully signed up!