RJ Blog

by Jordan Friedman In his iconic work “The Sabbath,” Abraham Joshua Heschel describes the Sabbath as a “palace in time.” He posits that part of the unique charm and wisdom of Judaism is its ability to sanctify periods of time instead of physical objects or spaces. Following this thinking, we can view the Sabbath as a voluntary and religiously-framed way to separate ourselves, individually and collectively, from the cares of daily life and work, in order to rest and concentrate on ourselves and those we love. There is a need to reaffirm the potential for such organic, simple conceptualizations of [...]

by Rabbi Lucy H. F. Dinner This year, I have the pleasure of studying the Book of Exodus together with the lay-led Hebrew Bible study group at Temple Beth Or in Raleigh, North Carolina, where I serve as senior rabbi. This d’var Torah draws on comments and realizations from members of the study group, including Theresa, Maxine C., and Rose. Years ago, during my first week at Temple Beth Or, I received a request to add a prayer for healing to the congregation’s Shabbat worship. A member of the congregation had been in a car accident. I knew it would be [...]

by Jordan FriedmanPresident, Beloit College Hillel, Class of 2013 In the liner notes to the CD album Ruach 5761, the renowned Cantor and composer Jeff Klepper writes the following: When I was growing up in the 1960s, during each service the rabbi would invite everyone to “rise as we affirm the watchword of our faith”. Then we proudly recited the Shema prayer aloud in Hebrew and English, followed by a thunderous organ swell and a choral rendition which was impossible for us, the congregation, to sing. This reflected what was then an important part of Reform Judaism’s theology: God was [...]

by Jordan FriedmanPresident, Beloit College HillelClass of 2013 On Sunday, February 27, I attended a Symposium on the future of Reform Judaism. It was held at Chicago Sinai Congregation, a major holdout for Classical Reform. Some consider it to be the flagship institution of that venerable old flavor of Judaism. I had never been there before, and I was thoroughly impressed. Having envisioned an old-fashioned Classical Reform Temple, with an imposing facade and a warm, wood-paneled interior, I was shocked at the modernity of the building when I arrived. It’s positively futuristic! Once inside, I was warmly welcomed and took [...]

by Rabbi Eric YoffieOriginally published in Reform Judaism magazine Reform Jews like to divide themselves into camps, the most prominent being “traditional” versus “classical.” Having grown up in a Reform congregation where the worship services were primarily in Hebrew, virtually all of the men wore kippot, and we observed two days of the major festivals, I identify more with the former. Yet I do not believe that the line between the two is as sharp as some would have us believe. Classical Reform values such as universal ethics and intellectual rigor remain an integral part of who we are as [...]

by Larry Kaufman The story goes that, back in the day, the rabbi of a large Classical Reform congregation would call the professional staff together on the day after Rosh Hashanah, for a debriefing on the services. This was likely to include a scolding for the soloist for picking up his cue 23 seconds late. The service was expected to start on time, stay on time, and end on time; and 9:00 A.M. did not mean 9:02, since the last echoes of All the World Shall Come to Serve You had to dissipate by 10:45, not 10:47. After all, the [...]

By Larry KaufmanThe double whammy of Gardening Grandma’s query about outstanding American Jews and William Berkson’s analysis of Mordecai Kaplan’s thinking sent me surfing to learn more about Kaplan and the Reconstructionist movement he founded.  Although Kaplan emerged from the Conservative movement, and taught for decades at its Jewish Theological Seminary, there is no gainsaying the impact of  his thought on Reform rabbis and thus on the general theology/cosmology/sociology of the Reform movement. One thing I had not known about Kaplan until this recent bout of Internet research was that he had begun his career in an Orthodox pulpit, and had [...]