Download GUIDE TO Reform Judaism30 stories

GUIDE TO Reform Judaism30 stories
I.
Being a Reform Jew
RJ: What do you believe are the most significant Reform contributions to Judaism
in North America?
Dawn Mollenkopf: I am a Reform Jew today because our Movement supports individual
choice and commitment, respects people’s personal journeys as they wrestle with God,
and creates a community with common ties. In a Reform synagogue I can participate in a
worship service with a woman davening on my right in her tefillin, a man to my left
without a kippah reciting prayers from memory, a gay couple behind me sharing a
prayerbook, and an interfaith couple in front of me assisting their child in singing one of
the prayers—and the group of us would be viewed simply as Jews. Reform Judaism’s
strength has been its ability to take the challenge of what it means to be a Jew and
continually grapple with it, renewing these questions and pioneering uncharted Jewish
paths in every generation.
John Planer: Reform Judaism asks that I assume personal responsibility for my beliefs,
values, and behavior; and I, in turn, refuse to allow any sacred text or religious authority
to dictate to me what I shall believe, what rituals I shall perform, or what God expects of
me. Rather I believe that each person, formally or intuitively, writes a personal covenant
with God. And how we each envision that covenant says nothing about God, and much
about ourselves.
Reform Judaism also does not ask that I reject reason. I study our sacred texts using
critical scholarship. I freely question core beliefs and values. I refuse to posit definitive
answers to ultimate questions. Because I am at peace with uncertainty, I accept alternate
ways of seeking meaning and understanding God.
Finally, my Reform Judaism rejects fear or guilt as goads to belief. It makes heavy
demands upon me, yet it affords no special status or promises of afterlife, longevity,
safety, wealth, or status—save perhaps the promise of a full life in close relationship with
God.
William Berkson: I treasure Reform Judaism because it embraces both the
Enlightenment—science, democracy, women’s equality—and Jewish tradition. That, for
me, is the strongest foundation for seeking answers today about how to live our lives and
act in the world.
Laurence Kaufman: The most important Reform Judaism contribution has been the
creation of a Jewish way of life that is compatible with living as a full member of society
as a whole.
Dana Jennings: Outreach is the Reform contribution I care most deeply about. We live
in a world where each one of us is a broken tablet—imagine, 6.5 billion broken tablets—
and, ideally, the world’s religions offer refuge, a place to repair to and be repaired. For
me, Reform Judaism is that refuge, an extended community that placed its healing tallit
about my broken spirit and gave me the gift of its acceptance—and not only the gift of
community, but, too, the gifts of Torah, prayer, and a legacy of wisdom that’s thousands
of years old.
Being a Reform Jew gives me a way to be in this broken world. Rather than lapsing into
cynicism and despair, I approach our corrupt culture with a mission: to try to be a divine
and healing spark each moment of each day—emphasis on the trying.
Joan Pines: Gender equality. In 1972, when Sally Priesand became the first woman to be
ordained as a rabbi, doors opened for me as well. I already knew how to read from the
Torah in Hebrew. I was empowered to lead religious services and assist my new
congregation in decision making. From there I began to study and to teach Judaism…all
of which has informed my life.
Jennifer Warriner: I think Reform Judaism’s most significant contribution is making
each of us responsible for our own struggle with God. While we are guided by the Torah
and assisted by our rabbis, we are not constrained by the precept that what we should
believe and how we should behave were determined hundreds of years ago. Rather, each
of us has the freedom to study Torah and decide for ourselves whether “thou shall not
boil a kid in its mother’s milk” means a cheeseburger is prohibited. I can interpret for
myself whether the sin in Sodom was homosexuality or being inhospitable to strangers,
or whether my God wants women and children to be treated as property.
This modification did not make Judaism “easier.” Instead, it created, for each of us, an
unending obligation to struggle with God and with ourselves about the meaning of Torah,
laws, and judgments. In order to engage in this struggle we must study Jewish texts and
history to determine the best interpretation of these words for our lives at this time. But I
would much rather argue like Abraham or wrestle like Jacob than blindly follow accepted
customs set forth in previous centuries. I love the “work” of being a Reform Jew.
Joan Pines: I am proud of Reform’s Outreach to the intermarried. Several of our children
have married non-Jews, and I believe it is largely because my rabbis warmly embraced
their children that our grandchildren have had Jewish upbringings and identify as part of
the Jewish people.
Ellen Morrow: Having grown up as a Reform Jew, I’ve never felt “less than” because I
am female, but there was a period—28 years ago—when I felt defensive and angry
because some people in my congregation did not accept my decision to marry a non-Jew.
I continued to act as if I belonged, but I don’t know if I would have continued to stay as
involved in my congregation if there hadn’t been a real shift toward acceptance,
particularly once my children were born. I wouldn’t have allowed them to grow up
feeling excluded or judged or considered “not as Jewish.” The acceptance that finally did
come also made it easier for my husband to become a Jew by choice 10 years ago; he did
not feel pressured and there was no resistance.
Judy Fisher: The emphasis on social action and social justice as a means to repair our
shattered world has been a beacon and provided significant leadership in the Jewish
world. We don’t just talk about social action and social justice—we do it!
John Planer: As a Reform Jew I am obligated to promote the welfare of others,
including nonhuman life. I commit my life in service to tikkun olam.
Judy Fisher: A significant Reform contribution is our liturgy, especially the new
melodies and songs making Judaism relevant to today.
John Planer: Reform Judaism cherishes both our particularism and our universality. As
Reform Jews we are a people, a tribe, whose vision is universal and whose membership is
always open. I am comfortable being a Jew within the fellowship of all humanity.
Mark Young: I value the fact that Reform Judaism is an evolving and diverse Movement
that embraces likeminded people who have been born into it, have migrated to it from
other stripes of Judaism, or have been blessed to discover it—all of us striving for new
ways to worship God.
Judy Fisher: I really don’t refer to myself as a “Reform Jew.” I don’t like labels because
they are limiting. I choose to affiliate with a Reform congregation that is part of the
Union for Reform Judaism because I agree with many Reform Movement principles,
especially in regard to treating women and men as equals and providing me with the
means to make informed decisions about how I choose to live my life in a Jewish context.
Abbey Shepard-Smith: Reform Judaism allows me the freedom to choose my own
means and degree of observance, adapting tradition to modernity based on knowledge,
not convenience.
Andi Rosenthal
Larchmont Temple
Larchmont, NY
Pam Rollins
Temple Emanu-El
Dallas, TX
John Planer
Congregation Achduth Vesholom
Fort Wayne, IN
Joan Pines
Am Shalom
Glencoe, IL
Ellen Morrow
Temple Har Zion
Thornhill, Ont
Dawn Mollenkopf
Congregation B’nai
Jeshurun
Lincoln, NE
Elise Silverfield May
Temple Emanu-El
Dallas, TX
Laurence Kaufman
Beth Emet
The Free Synagogue
Evanston, IL
Meet the 30 Participants:
Portraits appear clockwise starting here and on page 26.
To learn more about
them, visit www.rj.org
Steve Arnold
Temple Anshe Sholom
Hamilton, Ont
Marzy Bauer
Temple Beth-El
South Bend, IN
William Berkson
Temple Rodef Shalom
Falls Church, VA
Liz Bossov
Adath Emanu-El
Mount Laurel, NJ
Liz Cohen
Temple Beth-El
Hillsborough, NJ
Marge Eiseman
Congregation Sinai
Milwaukee, WI
Judy Fisher
Congregation
Beth Israel
San Diego, CA
Kathy Ruiz Goldenkranz
Temple Beth El
Aptos, CA
Martin Graffman
Temple Beth Sholom of Orange County
Santa Ana, CA
Art Grand
Temple Or Rishon
Orangevale, CA
Marjorie B. Green
Temple Israel
of Hollywood
Hollywood, CA
Mary Hofmann
Congregation Etz Chaim
Merced, CA
Barbara D. Holender
Temple Beth Zion
Buffalo, NY
Dick Israel
Temple Beth-El,
Providence, RI; Hevreh
of Southern Berkshire, Great Barrington, MA
Dana Jennings
Temple Ner Tamid
Bloomfield, NJ
center Photo by David Trotman-Williams/Chicago Tribune
center Photo by Jennifer Kaplan
Religious school teacher and leader of the Kavanah Band Adam Kahan performs at a
Friday Night Live musical service of Lakeside Congregation for Reform Judaism,
Highland Park,
Illinois. This once-a-month event at the small temple regularly draws 50—80
participants.
Outgoing temple president Anne Altman hands the Torah to incoming president Alice
Goldsobel at the installation of the temple Board at Congregation Or Ami, Calabasas,
California, June 13, 2003.
Nancy Ruth
Holy Blossom Temple
Toronto, Ontario
Martin L. Shapiro
Congregation
B’nai Shalom
Westborough, MA
Abbey Shepard-Smith
Temple Dor Dorim
Weston, FL
Barbara K. Shuman
Temple Sinai
Pittsburgh, PA
Mike Sims
Temple Emanu-El
Dallas, TX
Jennifer Warriner
Indianapolis Hebrew Congregation
Indianapolis, IN
Mark Young
Beth Haverim Shir Shalom
Mahwah, NJ
Seven young women exult after completing their Confirmation service at Congregation
Ner Tamid, Henderson, Nevada, May 2007.
behind the scenes
This Guide represents a “snapshot” of Reform Judaism today from the perspective of 30
congregants throughout North America who responded to our invitation to share their
candid views and personal approaches to Reform Jewish identity, belief, and practice. We
sought articulate, thoughtful members of diverse ages, backgrounds, and Jewish
experiences who were affiliated with Reform congregations of different sizes and
geographic locations; and we recruited respondents primarily on the recommendations of
Movement and congregational leaders. Not all invitees participated and in some cases we
did not know a congregant’s temple affiliation before issuing an invitation, accounting
for the occasional duplication. It is for these and other reasons that we cannot claim that
the respondents presented here are demographically or geographically representative, or
that the content of this Guide represents the full spectrum of Reform opinion. One of the
many strengths of our Movement is its diversity, and no 30 individuals could possibly
cover all the many perspectives of what it means to be a Reform Jew in the 21st century.
That is why this Guide to Reform Judaism: 30 Stories is simply the first step in what we
hope will be a Movement-wide conversation about what it means to be a Reform Jew
today. We invite you to add your voice—in your congregation, with family or friends at
home, or on the new Reform Movement blog set up just for this purpose: www.rj.org.
—The Reform Judaism Magazine Editors
confirmation service Photo by David Weinstein
THE RABBIS SPEAK
“We pledge to fulfill Reform Judaism’s historic commitment to the complete equality of
women and men in Jewish life.”
—A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism, CCAR, 1999—the
latest of the Reform Movement’s five historic platforms. For the full text visit
http://ccarnet.org.
TO LEARN MORE...
about being a Reform Jew, read Liberal Judaism by Eugene B. Borowitz (URJ Press).
HUC-JIR Professor Borowitz
explores
the scope of Jewish thought
and ritual practice from
a liberal Jewish perspective:
www.urjbooksandmusic.com.