There has been a new development in the Reform movement of Judaism, the largest and most liberal branch of Judaism in the U.S. There’s a new prayer book out, and it has been designed to be useful to everyone, with more Hebrew for those who want that, and also more sensitivity to women and to contemporary values.
Watch this report featuring Rabbi Leon Morris here. You can also read the transcript below.
Editor’s Note: The Aug. 10 article, “Reform Youth Flexing Their Ritual Muscle,” on the desire by some Reform youth for greater ritual, sparked a variety of reactions from readers as to how to interpret this reported trend and the attitudes of an older generation of Reform rabbis. Here, two of the younger generation of Reform … Read more
April 2006 Scott M. Korb a Roman Catholic from Brooklyn, NY, is co-author with Peter Bebergal, of “The Faith Between Us,” forthcoming from Bloomsbury Rabbi Leon A. Morris is director of the Skirball Center for Adult Jewish Learning at Temple Emanu-El in NYC. In the Book of Exodus, after hearing God’s own voice, and with Moses up … Read more
BY SCOTT M. KORB AND LEON A. MORRIS In the Book of Exodus, after hearing God’s voice and with Moses on Mount Sinai receiving the Ten Commandments, the ancient Israelites create and worship a golden calf, proclaiming, “This is our God.” An angry Moses breaks the stone tablets when he descends to the foot of … 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