Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism and the Challenge of our Time

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Published originally in Haaretz November 5, 2015 By LEON MORRIS As the Reform movement gathered for its Biennial Convention in Orlando, Florida – its aliyat ha’regel of inspiration, study and celebration – it did so just one month after the Reconstructionist Rabbinical School implemented the very admissions policy that a younger generation of Reform Jews … Read more

Judaism Not Just A Matter Of Faith

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First published in The Jewish Week The British Supreme Court ruled last Wednesday that it is illegal for a state-sponsored Jewish school to base its admission policy on whether one’s mother is Jewish. The case involved a 12-year-old boy whose father was born Jewish and whose mother was converted to Judaism by a Progressive (one of … Read more

Use Traditional Text

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Rabbi Leon Morris NEW YORK (JTA) – The forthcoming publication of Mishkan T’filah, the first new Reform prayer book in 30 years, reminded me of these words by Abraham Joshua Heschel in “Man’s Quest for God”: “The crisis of prayer is not a problem of the text. It is a problem of the soul,” Heschel … Read more

Reform And Traditional Observance: Two Views

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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

The Jewish Community in India

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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

Beyond, or Mixing, Denominations

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Rabbi Leon A. Morris Some time ago, Nike launched a new concept in sneakers called “Nike iD!” Catering to a generation no longer content with buying a specific model of athletic footwear shared by thousands, Nike iD enables customers to go to their Web site and to “make your mark with customizable gear,” the combination … Read more

Reform Jews Embracing Mitzvot – Session

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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