Saturday, May 8, 2010

What Does Reform Judaism Have to Offer?

Rabbi Paul Kipnes, in his posting found at http://www.rabbipaul.blogspot.com/, led me to an interesting "status report" to the Executive Committee of the Union for Reform Judaism.  In it, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, discusses challenges to not only Jews in general, but challenges to Reform Judaism in particular (http://urj.org/about/union/leadership/yoffie/?syspage=article&item_id=37320).  But what I want to include here are two things ... first, the things he said Reform Judaism has to offer: 

- We view the Jewish tradition as growing, evolving and always changing, and we celebrate creative change in all areas of ritual and practice.
- We assert that the equality of women in Jewish life is non-negotiable.
- We draw the boundaries of Reform so as to include rather than exclude, and we welcome gays, lesbians, the intermarried, non-Jewish spouses and all who bind their fate to that of the Jewish people.
- We embrace Jewish worship that is creative, dynamic, vibrant and participatory.
- We see tikkun olam [repair of the world] as an essential element of our Reform identity – in fact, as the jewel in the Reform crown.
- And we believe in real partnership between rabbis and lay people as essential to our Jewish future.

What I love about this list is that it is both a reflection of what is real within Reform Judaism today, and that the list is aspirational ... while we do some of these things well, we have much room for improvement.    : )

The second thing I wanted to point out is that only in a reform setting could you get the variety of opinions in response to Rabbi Yoffie's statements ... I love that we embrace differences and encourage discussion.  : )  


- Definitely inspired by a post by Rabbi Paul Kipnes on his fabulous blog, www.rabbipaul.blogspot.com.

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