Rabbi Leon A. Morris (originally published in CCAR, Summer, 2013) Prayer book reform was always one of the most significant and defining features of Reform Judaism in both Europe and America. While some reforms of the liturgy were driven by practical concerns, such as abbreviating the service or removing passages that were deemed to be inconsistent with … Read more
Rabbi Leon A. Morris ABOUT THE time that Hindus celebrate the birth of the god Ganesh with an elaborate procession of statues of the elephant-headed god to the sea, Jews dressed in white saris and kurta pajamas usher in the holiest period of their year. The chickens are slaughtered in accordance with the ancient prescribed … Read more
Walking in Jerusalem, a precarious experience, as size dictates right of way There is nothing more meaningful to me than walking the streets of Jerusalem. This has been a city of pedestrians for millennia. Omdot yahu ragleinu b’shaarayich Yerushalayim – “Our feet are standing at your gates, O Jerusalem” (Psalm 122.) While walking the city … Read more
April 2006 – The Jewish Week Rabbi Leon A. Morris From the time he was 13 years old, my grandfather put on tefillin every day. One day, when he was in his mid-20s, as a resident physician far from his childhood home, he rushed to the hospital one morning without having had the chance to … Read more
Many Liberal Jews for quite some time have been rethinking earlier attitudes and approaches to the Mitzvot. In 1885, Reform rabbis in America declared as binding only the moral laws, but rejected “all such [mitzvot] as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization.” Since that time, Reform Judaism has undergone many … Read more