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BLUETHREAD READERS TALK
BACK
On Sun, 14 Sep 1997, a reader
wrote:
Dear Cy:
I just discovered your website, Bluethread, and am going
to explore it indepth as time allows. I have been very
concerned about several things that have been happening in
the arena of Reform Judaism. One is, and it seems to be true
on the little I saw on your website, that there are things
that Reform Judaism stood for that are now not only
disregarded in surveying the history -- but are being denied
even in worship. To not recognize these, is to distort the
history of Reform Judaism:
Examples of what has been obliterated:
(1) The call to a mission of ethical monotheism, a
universalism that would bring healing and understanding and
transcendence to all people, not just to Israel (eretz
Israel and K'lal Israel.) This was the call of my childhood,
in a reform Rabbinical household.
(2) The aesthetic of the sanctuary, a place to pray,
meditate, free of superficial pomp and pageantry, where
architecture, music, language, and (yes) dignity combined to
foster a meditative and contemplative, spiritual combined to
foster a meditative and contemplative, spiritual atmosphere.
(3) A sense of awe, a feeling of reverence within the
sanctuary, a sense of being within a holy place.
(4) Music, some of which came out of the synagogues of
Central Europe, has been replaced, breaking continuity with
my own identity and past.
Today, when I enter my own synagogue, I find no place to
pray. My meditations are interrupted by children running
around and people socializing. Good that the synagogue is a
house of assembly, even better that it is a house of study
and discourse. But, where can I go to pray?
Today, too, I find an interest by many in the Jewish
renewal movement (of which I am a part) but find it ironic
that the universalism of Buddhism is regarded as something
new. Reform Judaism was based on universalism and renewal.
We had that in our movement.
There are many things that have happened in Reform
Judaism that are good. There are many changes I have made in
my own life regarding my Jewish identity (or my quest for
identity) that I would not alter. But I would like not to
lose the beauty and the truths, the mission of that era.
We, who were raised as Reform Jews, also seek continuity
with our past. There are Reform Jews who crave a place to
worship and are alienated from today's Reform synagogue.
So what if some of the Reform changes were influenced by
Christian (Protestant) practices. Jewish ritual, beliefs,
customs, music, recipes, etc. have always been influenced by
the dominant culture, from ancient times to the present.
(Compare Sephardic v. Ashkenasic customs, ceremonies, music,
dietary rules, and their origins!) The decorum of the Reform
Jewish service may have been so influenced, but its content
was still based on traditional Judaism. Read the writings of
the early American Jewish reformers, and you will find a
deeply felt quest for Jewish integrity and, yes, continuity
with what they regarded as authenticity in keeping with
their Mission.
Please-- do not lose the golden threads among the blue.
Bluethread responds:
Saturday, January 03, 1998
Dear Reader,
We are very happy to have received your question, because
it forced us to spend some time reflecting on where we are
coming from. Bluethread is trying to encourage thinking
about a new balance between several concepts within Judaism,
among them:
- UNIVERSALISM vs. PARTICULARISM;
- RATIONAL vs. RITUAL;
- the desire to CHANGE and EXPLORE new options vs.
RIGIDITY and UNWILLINGNESS TO CHANGE (sometimes expressed
as TRADITION); and
- a sense of BELONGING (to the dominant culture) vs. a
sense of SEPARATION from the dominant culture.
The founding Reformers struggled with these ideas as they
created the basis of what is today's Reform Judaism. We
honor that struggle.
In a sense, the founders saw a door open that had never
been open before. Many rushed towards that door, but for
different reasons. Some desired to bring the best of Jewish
culture and thought into the larger world; some wanted to
participate in that world; some wanted to leave behind a
culture which they perceived as too restrictive and which
many of them frankly no longer believed in.
Your letter picked up on some of these themes and
addressed some new ones:
- ETHICAL MONOTHEISM; and
- SEARCHING for a place to PRAY.
Here are our reactions:
ETHICAL MONOTHEISM is a general guiding principle of
classical Reform. It is an attempt to define a path that
reformers wanted to create between the beliefs of those
traditionalists who later became "Orthodoxy" and those who
were taking the opportunity of the open door to leave the
religion altogether. Ethical monotheism went away from
religious practice and focused on right action. For example,
being honest became more important than not eating pork.
Bluethread believes that too much was discarded in the
attempt to become modern and that one of the jobs of
present-day Reformers is to reexamine our past practices and
realign ourselves with that which is truly Jewish. We do not
think that being honest is more important than not eating
pork. We know that both are mandated by Torah and that many
Reform Jews who have been culturally separated from Torah
Study do not know that. It is our job to help Reform Jews
become more informed and thus make informed decisions about
the way that they choose to express their Jewish selves.
UNIVERSALISM is a Reform principle which shaped Reform
lifestyle and religious practice so that it is more now like
that of western Christian society. It was motivated by the
desire to:
- no longer be bound by the "restrictions" of
traditional Jewish practice;
- resemble, and be accepted by, the dominant Christian
culture; and
- package ethical monotheism so that more people
outside Judaism could benefit by it.
It is the last that we believe is so important to you and
we respect that. Even though we do not explicitly state it,
you are correct in picking up a feeling that we are less
universalistic than many classical Reform Jews. In our
drosh:
Tzitzit and early Reform
Judaism
http://www.exo.net/bluethread/fringeref1.htm
we list the desire for a universalistic orientation which
did not separate Jews from all other peoples as one of the
guiding principles of Reform Judaism. But we do not then
express our belief that, in the zeal for universalism, at
least part of the baby was thrown out with the bath water.
Bluethread believes that Judaism is "a light to the
nations," but we don't think it has to deny its character to
accomplish that. The reverse, in fact, is more the case:
only by being unashamedly true to original Jewish principles
and precepts, which we as Reform Jews have a responsibility
to continually interpret in a modern context, can we find
anything to share with others.
Please look at our newest drosh:
Being Different / Being Holy
http://www.exo.net/bluethread/different/index.html
where we confront the issue of Am Kadosh and the
positive and negative aspects of being separate from other
peoples.
As to the influence of Christian practices on Reform
Jewish ritual, you are correct that all cultures influence
each other. This is a natural and even healthy process.
However, there is a difference between adopting something
because it is attractive to you and adopting it because you
wish to be more like those around you.
For example, some early Reformers were in favor of moving
Shabbat to Sunday. They were motivated by both types of
reasons:
- they wanted to realine the week so that Jews could
reap the social and economic benefits of working when
others worked and praying when others prayed;
- they wanted to show that Judaism was a legitimate
modern religion, not that different from Christianity,
and certainly worthy of respect; and
- they were under a lot of pressure to assimilate.
Over a century and a half later, we have more freedom,
partially due to their actions and the opportunities that
they opened up to the Jewish people. We have the freedom and
the responsibility to reassess some of their decisions and
Bluethread is a forum for doing just that.
One of the reasons we were so late in responding to your
letter is that we took the opportunity to write to Rabbi
Gunther W. Plaut to ask him his opinion of universalism vs.
particularism. He replied:
Universalism was indeed a major component of
"classical" Reform--often to the exclusion of particularism.
A prime example of this tendency was Emil G. Hirsch, rabbi
in Chicago at the turn of the century. Inter alia, he
disdained Torah and raised the flag of "prophetic Judaism.
Jewish peoplehood was declared primitive and Zionism was
consequently condemned. The brotherhood of man, as the
expression went, was seen to be around the corner and Israel
would be its standard bearer. Hebrew was of no concern,
neither was Jewish ritual. "Ethical monotheism" was the
battle cry -- and a combination of
idealism/assimilation/ignorance was the consequence.
All this is part of our Reform history. Now, in the
honorable desire to "be more Jewish" we tend to chuck
universalism altogether, for which there is no reason
whatsoever. I see us standing on the firm foundation of our
religion, as members of the Jewish people, as lovers of
Israel -- and at the same time as pursuers of universal
justice (which includes justice next door).
FINDING A PLACE TO PRAY.
It was difficult from your letter to discern exactly what
was bothering you about your current synagogue. Except for
the comments about musical styles and "children running
around and people socializing" we do not know what you would
like if you could design the perfect place for you to pray.
Reform, because of its commitment to change, does not
have the comfort of immutable tradition. Change is the
standard, possibly resulting in your feeling that there is
no reliable, safe space.
In our synagogue, we understand that there are different
tastes; we try to accommodate as many as possible. For
example:
- We are committed to restoring Hebrew prayer the
service. We recognize that this will be difficult for
many who were raised with English-only prayers. Our
ritual committee is working on a long-range plan which
includes Hebrew classes, and transliterations to ease the
transitions.
- Different services reflect different ritual styles.
Friday night is more casual, with modern music and
musical instruments. Saturday morning is more
traditional.
- We have two separate types of High Holy Days
services, one shorter with less Hebrew and one longer
with more Hebrew.
- We have a monthly New Age meditative healing service.
As to children, we believe they are the heart, soul and
future of the community and all of us are focused on them.
We have a very strong B'nai Mitzvah program and celebrate
over 52 such occasions every year. The children learn Hebrew
and are trained and encouraged to lead the service with the
hope that it will become one of their lifelong interests and
skills.
One of the Bluethread editors, who came from a very
repressive ritual background, actually loves to see children
feeling comfortable enough in the sanctuary to run around
and has also forced herself to schmooze during the service,
just to throw off old habits. However, the running around is
minimal because:
- the synagogue provides free child care during
services; and
- every Saturday morning there is a separate children's
service.
We also have a strong program that trains adults to lead
prayers when the Rabbi and/or Cantor are away and are able
to honor different styles of praying that way, too. So we
feel there is plenty of room to accommodate different styles
and tastes. Perhaps you can find a synagogue with more
openness to your needs or get involved with the ritual
committee at your present one.
Bluethread doesn't feel that we have all the answers,
just the desire to continually explore the questions. Please
feel free to continue this conversation. Your letter was
both a challenge and an inspiration to us.
1/5/98
© 1997 Rosemarie E. Falanga, Cy H. Silver
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