This is the Forward’s coverage of Reform Judaism, a major liberal Jewish denomination.
Reform Judaism
The Latest
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Opinion Orthodox Push Back on Kotel
The rabbi of the Western Wall Shmuel Rabinowitz isn’t opposed to the plan for an egalitarian prayer section there, he announced in a statement emailed to reporters yesterday. But it’s already clear that he doesn’t speak for the Haredi mainstream. Rabinowitz is Haredi, but softer on religious issues than most Haredi leaders. This is partly…
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Fast Forward Five Women Detained at Monthly Kotel Protest
Israeli police detained five women activists on Thursday at the Western Wall, one of Judaism’s most sacred sites, for wearing prayer shawls, which Orthodox tradition sees as solely for men, a spokesman said. The incident occurred during a monthly prayer session by the Women of the Wall, a group opposed to police-enforced Orthodox controls at…
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News Kotel Egalitarian Prayer Plan Set in Motion by Dramatic Western Wall Compromise
A dramatic offer to set up a new egalitarian prayer section at the Western Wall in Jerusalem was met with a no less dramatic willingness to compromise on behalf of all the major religious leaders in the American Jewish community. In a rare show of consensus, activists on the liberal side of the Reform movement…
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Books Projected Prayers Grow in Popularity as Part of Jewish ‘Visual Tefillah’ Services
Several years ago, Rabbi Lance Sussman, spiritual leader of the Reform synagogue Keneseth Israel, in Elkins Park, Pa., received the grim news that he was going blind. After surgery, eye patches and other treatments, his sight miraculously improved. The experience left him with a profound appreciation for the visual in life. “We live in an…
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Fast Forward Jewish Groups Push for Immigration Reform on Passover Eve
An array of Jewish groups urged President Obama and Congress to ease the path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Nineteen national groups and dozens of local groups and clergy signed on to a letter sent last Friday that was timed for Passover. “American Jews know too well the impact of restrictive immigration policies, and we…
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News At Men’s Only Seders, Challenges of Modern Jewish Man Are the Focus
Steve Walk participated in his first men’s seder last year as a member of Temple Beth-El in Great Neck, N.Y. There was no exodus story, no matzo and no bitter herb. Instead, a moderator walked around with a freedom plate, encouraging participants to put down things they felt burdened them. Walk said someone put down…
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Fast Forward Chuck Schumer Nixes Piecemeal Plan for Immigration Reform
Senator Charles Schumer, a member of a bipartisan group crafting comprehensive U.S. immigration reform, urged technology firms on Tuesday to stop lobbying for a standalone bill on high-skilled immigrants, saying such narrow legislation would not pass. “You will not get a bill unless there’s a full immigration bill,” the New York Democrat said at an…
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Food Building Gardens, Growing Communities
“Elizabeth, why does God make weeds?” “Well, that’s a really good question. What do all of you think?” “I think it’s so that the bugs have food to eat.” “It’s because weeds protect the dirt from getting too dry.” “Well, weeds are also plants and they deserve to grow too.” “We have weeds because it…
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