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Reform Judaism


Faith and Matrimony Faith and Matrimony
Friday, April 19, 2013 by Dana Evan Kaplan | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

An initiative to admit intermarried students to Reform rabbinical schools is yet another indication that Reform Judaism is swiftly becoming not so much a religious movement as a Jewish activities club.
The Voice That Speaks in My Soul The Voice That Speaks in My Soul
Friday, March 8, 2013 by Susan Taubes | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Echoing Kafka in this 1949 letter of protest to a domineering male, Susan Taubes writes: "I can no more keep to the laws of the Bible than I can cross myself or take the sacrament."
Opening the Gates of Judaism Opening the Gates of Judaism
Wednesday, February 20, 2013 by Motti Inbari | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Given the demographic and spiritual decline among “biological” Jews in America, if we want to keep Judaism alive, we must do something that we haven't done for 2000 years: proselytize.
Leaving the Ghetto Leaving the Ghetto
Friday, February 8, 2013 by Jacob Katz | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

"Was there any possibility," asks Jacob Katz in this 1996 Commentary essay, "that the Jews collectively might have been accepted in Europe on their own terms—that is, as a community, with a religion opposed to Christianity?" 
Denominational Delusions Denominational Delusions
Wednesday, February 6, 2013 by Andrew Apostolou | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

With synagogues closing, congregations ageing, and the non-Orthodox majority dwindling, American Jews are caught in a crisis. Yet no one is tackling the root of this problem: intermarriage.
It’s All in the Angle It’s All in the Angle
Friday, February 1, 2013 by Jack Riemer | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In his new collection of essays, ultra-Orthodox rabbi Avi Shafran disputes the scientific worldview on its own terms.  But he refuses to acknowledge scientific challenges to Judaism.  
America’s Religious Left America’s Religious Left
Monday, November 19, 2012 by Jonathan Neumann | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

Since the rise of the Religious Right, many people have associated American religion with political and cultural conservatism. Historically, however, American religion has been at least as liberal as conservative.
Can Reform Judaism Get Its Mojo Back? Can Reform Judaism Get Its Mojo Back?
Friday, November 9, 2012 by Evan Moffic | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

The American Jewish community as a whole cannot survive if there is no non-Orthodox movement to which American Jews can belong; in other words, survival depends on a strong Reform movement.  But in light of current trends, is that possible?
Max Lilienthal’s Aborted Return Max Lilienthal’s Aborted Return
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 by Allan Arkush | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

In Bruce L. Ruben’s new biography Max Lilienthal: The Making of the American Rabbinate, about one of the pioneers of the American Reform movement, I was surprised to learn that Lilienthal almost made a second trip to Tsarist Russia.
Promises, Promises Promises, Promises
Thursday, October 25, 2012 by Lawrence Grossman | Jewish Ideas Daily » Daily Features

City of Promises, a new three-volume history of Jewish New York, is remarkable for the complex metamorphoses it explains—and for the 21st century transformation it doesn't mention.
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Editors' Picks
The Paradox of Choice Peter Berger, American Interest. "Judaism in America is faced with a paradox: Traditionally understood, being a Jew is a matter of destiny . . . But in American society today, remaining a Jew is in fact a matter of choice."
The Outreach Revolution Jack Wertheimer, Commentary. The gap between Orthodox  and non-Orthodox Jews in America is supposed to be widening.  But Orthodox outreach is increasing contact—and invigorating non-Orthodox communities.
Still, Small Voice Rick Jacobs, Jewish Week. "Rationalists, such as Maimonides, and mystical poets, such as Judah Halevi, agree that at the end of the journey there is silence—that silence is the ultimate connection." (Interview by Alfredo Borodowski)
Limmud Turns 33 Clive Lawton, eJewish Philanthropy. "As far as I remember, this was the first time in the Jewish world that Orthodox Jews could hear what Reform Jews really thought and vice versa."
Community, Covenant, and Commitment George E. Johnson, Jewish Ideas and Ideals. While Joseph B. Soloveitchik ruled out religious collaboration with non-Orthodox Jews, he advocated political unity.  But since his death, American Jewry has fractured.
Online Ordination Josh Nathan-Kazis, Forward. As Conservative and Reform synagogues in America opt for rabbis ordained through cheap online correspondence courses, official seminaries might soon struggle to compete. 
Sacred Spa(ce) Allison Hoffman, Tablet. Imagine a place where Jews can go in times of illness, mourning, divorce, gender reassignment; to think about intimacy, body image, fertility . . . . Meet the new mikveh.