Rabbi Leon A. Morris I wanted to speak to two categories of ideas related to N’ilah, the first inside the machzor and then the second what operates beyond the machzor. First, in terms of inside the machzor, if you have the source sheet, this would be the first source. One of the cen- tral pieces … Read more
Rabbi Leon A. Morris Published in the summer of 2013 in CCAR Journal: The Reform Jewish Quarterly. See here for a PDF of the article. The notion of sacrificial offerings was an anathema in the shaping of a modern Jewish life. Since the earliest days of Reform Judaism, those most ancient forms of divine service were … Read more
by Leon A. Morris, The Jewish Week A rabbi reflects on why American Jews need the minyan now more than ever. Depictions of American Jews on television are often a barometer for the way in which Jewish writers, and presumably Jewish viewers, understand their Jewish identity. The 1990s series “Northern Exposure” featured the character of … Read more
by RABBI LEON A. MORRIS, From Jewish Theology in Our Time FORMULATING A THEOLOGY for the twenty-first century requires far more modesty than earlier theological writings seemed to acknowledge. In the medieval period, theologians spelled out the minute details of correct belief with a confidence built around sets of proofs for the existence of God, for … Read more
Leon A. Morris, The Jewish Week, May 13th, 2009 Traditional liturgy is incompatible with contemporary life. Or so we thought. If only the prayer book could be made more relevant, if its words reflected what we truly believe, then Jews would flock to synagogue and find meaning and inspiration through prayer. Of course, many new prayer books … Read more
Nothing lasts forever. Upon resolving to build the Temple, Solomon sends a message to King Huram of Tyre requesting wood and additional craftsmen. He writes about dedicating a House in the name of God, “as is Israel’s duty forever.” (II Chronicles 2:3) The rabbis, in the aftermath of the Temple’s destruction, are faced with the … Read more
To the Editor: Jack Wertheimer’s most perceptive observation is that the question of whether “American Reform [was] built upon a structured ideology” or “primarily reflect[ed] a series of pragmatic adjustments to the shifting scene” continues to reverberate. For the past several decades, Reform Jews have championed the centrality of “personal choice” in one’s approach to … Read more
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.
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
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