reform

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

The End of Liturgical Reform as We Know It: Creative Retrieval as a New Paradigm

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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

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

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