Reform Judaism

This is the Forward’s coverage of Reform Judaism, a major liberal Jewish denomination.

The Latest

Fast Forward
Shanghai Reform Temple Gets First Torah Scroll

The newly-established Reform Jewish community of Shanghai, China, will receive its first Torah scroll from a sister congregation in Brazil. The donation of the scroll by ARI, Rio de Janeiro’s Progressive congregation, to the Kehilat Shanghai community was announced at a ceremony Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, where 300 delegates are attending at the World…

By JTA May 15, 2015 | < 1 min read
Fast Forward
Rabbi Rick Jacobs Urges Benjamin Netanyahu To Protect Pluralism

The leader of the Reform Jewish movement urged Benjamin Netanyahu to preserve pluralism in a message congratulating the Israeli prime minister on forming a new government. “We hope that as this new government moves forward, it will take into consideration the values of inclusion and pluralism for all of Israel’s citizens – values that are…

By JTA May 8, 2015 | < 1 min read
Fast Forward
Reform Jews Want ‘Genocide’ Used for Armenian Killings

The Union for Reform Judaism urged President Barack Obama to use the word “genocide” in describing the murder of 1.5 million Armenians. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the union’s president, made the call in an open letter he sent to Obama on Thursday, ahead of the centennial anniversary of what is widely known as the Armenian Genocide….

By JTA Apr 24, 2015 | 2 min read
Culture
Reform Movement Sheds Publishing Arm

The Union for Reform Judaism is getting out of the publishing business. Reform Judaism’s governing body will hand over production of its printed materials — from bar-mitzvah training materials to school curricula to poetry and cookbooks — to Behrman House, the venerable New Jersey-based publisher of academic and Jewish books. A second partner, the Central…

By Michael Kaminer Apr 22, 2015 | 3 min read
Culture
Chilly Scenes of Cleveland Synagogues

● Congregation By Raphael Silver AuthorHouse, 412 pages, $23.95 Over the course of his 83 years, Raphael Silver was many things: real estate developer; film producer, director, writer and distributor; climber of Mount Kilimanjaro at age 73; indefatigable collector of objects; and finally, at the end of his life, author of a novel, “Congregation.” Silver…

By Beth Kissileff Apr 18, 2015 | 2 min read
Fast Forward
Reform Rabbis Name Denise Eger as First LGBT Chief

The Central Conference of American Rabbis, the rabbinical arm of the Reform movement, installed its first openly gay president, Rabbi Denise Eger. Eger, 55, was inaugurated on Monday morning at the CCAR’s annual convention in Philadelphia. She succeeds Richard Block. The founding rabbi of the Kol Ami synagogue in Los Angeles, Eger has been on…

By JTA Mar 16, 2015 | < 1 min read
Opinion
If Jewish Seminaries Are Empty, Let’s Merge Them

A recent Forward article asked a provocative and troubling question: “Where Are All the Non-Orthodox Rabbis?” It pointed to a steep decline in enrollment at non-Orthodox rabbinical schools, which should prompt some new thinking. Here’s a start: Why not merge the Reform and Conservative seminaries? Last year, the non-Orthodox rabbinical schools admitted fewer than 100…

By Andy Bachman Mar 9, 2015 | 4 min read
News
Where Are All The Non-Orthodox Rabbis?

Lev Meirowitz Nelson grew up at a Conservative Jewish day school and a Conservative synagogue. When he decided to apply for rabbinical school, however, he didn’t even consider a Conservative seminary. Instead, Nelson applied to Hebrew College, the new, progressive, nondenominational seminary in Boston, where he was ordained in 2013. It’s a path that more…

By Josh Nathan-Kazis Feb 18, 2015 | 5 min read

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Reform Judaism

The Latest

Shanghai Reform Temple Gets First Torah Scroll

Rabbi Rick Jacobs Urges Benjamin Netanyahu To Protect Pluralism

Reform Jews Want ‘Genocide’ Used for Armenian Killings

Reform Movement Sheds Publishing Arm

Chilly Scenes of Cleveland Synagogues

Reform Rabbis Name Denise Eger as First LGBT Chief

If Jewish Seminaries Are Empty, Let’s Merge Them

Where Are All The Non-Orthodox Rabbis?

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More than 25% of Israelis want to leave the country. How did we get here?

Reform Judaism

The Latest

Shanghai Reform Temple Gets First Torah Scroll

Rabbi Rick Jacobs Urges Benjamin Netanyahu To Protect Pluralism

Reform Jews Want ‘Genocide’ Used for Armenian Killings

Reform Movement Sheds Publishing Arm

Chilly Scenes of Cleveland Synagogues

Reform Rabbis Name Denise Eger as First LGBT Chief

If Jewish Seminaries Are Empty, Let’s Merge Them

Where Are All The Non-Orthodox Rabbis?

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In Case You Missed It

DNA test kits spark a surge of online conversions to Judaism in the U.S.

Jewish moderate Julie Menin claims victory as next City Council speaker

Jewish leaders must work with educators to battle antisemitism — not demonize us

More than 25% of Israelis want to leave the country. How did we get here?

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