Multiple Variants Of Modern Judaism: The Reform Movement

Reform Judaism

Out of the multiple variants of modern Judaism, the Reformist movement is considered to be the most liberal and progressive. The Reformist movement is seen as a continually developing movement that is most receptive to ideas outside of its own Jewish Community. The Beginning of this movement can be seen to go back to the rise of the Enlightenment era. It could be argued that, combined with the enlightenment, the growing political and social freedoms for the Jews encouraged or at least provided an opportunity for them to adapt to some of the ideas of the Enlightenment era (KUNIN, 2009, 181). The beginning of this period of transition originates with the philosopher Moses Mendelssohn. Although not directly responsible for the
They believe that the Torah is the Jewish Peoples interpretation of revelation and therefore can be subject to Human error (JONES, MEYER, 2005, 7665). The movement also places emphasis on the importance of the individual within Judaism far more than other modern Jewish movements. This would indicate that they have a deep acceptance of differing and contrasting views even from within their own movement (BOROWITZ, 1983, 115). Another important point to note with the Reform movement is the role of Women within Judaism. The reform movement has been at the forefront of the improvement of the treatment of women within Judaism. The reformers believe that there should be no distinction between the role of Men and Women within their services. Women are now allowed to take part in rituals that they were not allowed to take part in before, most notably, Bar Mitzvah’s (KUNIN, 2009, 189). Although the European Enlightenment Era was key in the development of the reform movement, the largest population of Reform Jews live in the United States and Canada with over one
In contrast to Europe, which had a large presence Orthodox Judaism and therefore Orthodox influence, the United States did not have any officially recognised Jewish communities (JONES, MEYER, 2005, 7670). The rapid development of the reform movement in the United States has without a doubt been influenced by the greater freedoms that were provided by the Constitution. The American reform movement has resulted in what are called ‘The Platforms’. The first two ‘Platforms’ are indicative of the changing and progressive nature of the Reform Movement. The ‘Pittsburgh platform’ of 1885 shows the movement in America begin to question the infallibility of Jewish doctrine and puts forward the idea that any ritual in conflict with modern ideas and values should be rejected (KUNIN, 2009, 186). The ‘Columbus Platform’, which was adopted in 1937, believed in many of the same ideas as was established in the ‘Pittsburgh Platform’. The major difference between the two was that the ‘Columbus platform’ placed greater emphasis on collective rituals and ceremonies. Although Reform Judaism continues to believe in progressing along with the wider culture, the occurrence of the Holocaust has lead the movement to somewhat re-evaluate this progressive trajectory and place a greater emphasis on survival