Reform Judaism
From the beginning of American history, American Jews have consistently “voted on the liberal side with regard to issues and voting behavior”. Social issues are valued and heavily supported by American Jews who are driven by a deep-rooted pursuit of serving the greater good while avoiding “the appearance of being a special interest group that was not thoroughly American”. One portion of the liberal stance of American Jews has historically been a commitment to the religious principle of tzedekah, which is an obligation of those who are blessed to assist individual and communities who have challenges. One group of Jews in particular, the American Reform Jews, have pushed the boundaries of societal acceptance to an extreme which is now beginning to threaten the very foundations of Jewish identity within Reform
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Judaism.
While there are numerous extremes within this movement, the focus of this paper will be to examine the support and perpetuation of homosexuality by Reform Judaism, the devastating impact of this support on the individual and familial identity of Reform Jews, and the steps that must be taken to preserve return American Reform Jews back to their Jewish heritage.
Family and community have been a central component of Judaism since the Creation. Traditional Judaism draws from the story of …show more content…
Creation in the book of Genesis, the example of the goodness of marriage that was ultimately distorted through man’s sin. In his book, Our Father Abraham, Marvin Wilson asserts, “Our ability to establish a relationship with one of the opposite sex is directly tied to our creation in the image of G-d”. Genesis 1:27 reveals how man and woman’s identity, joined together, mirror the image of G-d, “G-d created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them”. Wilson goes on to quote Proverbs 18:22, “Whoever finds a wife finds good, and receives favor from Adonai”. Hebrew rabbis interpret this idea further,
“Building upon the Hebrew Scriptures, the rabbis affirmed the goodness of marriage by insisting that a man should first take a wife for himself and then apply himself to the study of Torah. Furthermore, the rabbis decreed that if wedding and funeral processions happened to meet at an intersection simultaneously, the wedding party was to proceed first.”
The elevation of marriage between a man and woman is elevated to the extent that the idea of a bachelor was not even present during the Scriptures of biblical times. The man and wife together formed the core of the family unit. Given the gravity and lifelong impact of the marital relationship, the yihus, or family background, of the one getting married was of great importance. A person whose life had a strong Torah foundation was valued above anything else when selecting a mate in the Jewish tradition.
The tradition of marriage between a man and a woman is still favored by Orthodox Jews, but other Jewish groups within Judaism have embraced homosexual relationships in addition to traditional marriage. While the Reform Judaism movement has broadened their definition to include homosexual relationships, there is still an emphasis on family and community. From the ReformJudaism.org website,
“Much of Judaism focuses on family and children. Our prayers include reminders that each of us is responsible for continuing our heritage "from generation to generation." Marital and parental relationships are inextricably connected, and Jewish traditions provide practical guideposts for husbands and wives, both as spouses and as parents.
It appears that Reform Judaism is very pro-family when you read the previous paragraph. However, what makes this statement misleading is two-fold: first, it is not a requirement for husbands to marry wives in Reform Judaism, and second, the idea of family is no longer Torah based in the eyes of the Reform Jew. The notion of Judaism being a religion has been rejected in recent years. Dana Evan Kaplan explains, “Reform Judaism differs from the other streams of Judaism in the view of the Torah’s authority, its approach to legal reasoning, its strategies for promoting Judaism, and its view of the world.” The author goes on to say that Reform Judaism allows for a “wide variety of interpretations” of the Torah. “The Reform movement believes that the Torah should be interpreted and reinterpreted to meet the needs of the contemporary Jew”. What the Torah says is therefore relative to how the Jewish interpreter prefers to view and interpret the text. Kaplan even acknowledges that both the Torah and the Talmud forbid homosexual relationships, but Reform Judaism has chosen to be accepting of all groups. Thus, there is an open policy of acceptance for all.
On the surface this seems very loving and open, because G-d accepts all people. However, there is an issue when considering LGBT agenda. The Gay Rights Platform in 1972 revealed that their agenda far exceeds wanting the populace to merely accept them. Michael Brown cites nine goals that includes inclusion in the military, federal encouragement and support of sexual education classes being taught by homosexual men and women, repeal of all state laws prohibiting private practice of homosexuality, repeal of all state laws prohibiting cross-dressing, repeal of all laws governing the age of consent, repeal of all legislative provisions that restrict sex of number of persons entering into a marriage unit, including extension of all legal benefits to all partners in the unit. By 1987, gay activists such as ACT UP leader Steve Warren were issuing proclamations that churches and synagogues in the future will speak of homosexuality as an “honorable estate”. Additionally, churches would be “expected to offer ceremonies that bless our sexual arrangements … You will also instruct your people in homosexual as well as heterosexual behavior, and you will go out of your way to make certain that homosexual youths are allowed to date, attend religious functions together…” The list continues with acceptance of homosexuality such that those who object will be dealt with sternly and even publicly humiliated. The list concludes with the rewrite of the Scriptures to eliminate any passages that give preferential treatment to marriage while allowing homosexual reinterpretations of existing passages to justify the homosexual agenda. Many of these goals have already come to pass in the twenty-five years since they were spoken.
The problem with Reform Judaism accepting all homosexuals is that they are not fully representing the heart of G-d with their full acceptance.
While G-d does accept people where they are at, He is very clear that He does not accept, endorse or support sinful behavior. The mercy of G-d is vast, but Israel historically got into the worst trouble when they openly defied His laws and His ways in their hearts. G-d waited for any hint of repentance or acknowledgement that they knew they were sinning and wanted to change. It was the act of defiance and rejection of G-d that has repeatedly resulted in G-d taking any and every action possible to turn His people back to
Him.
Reform Judaism has hit a few obstacles in recent years. While the union between two men or two women has been acceptable, the question of marriage between two men or two women has caused controversy. Increasingly the mantra for inclusion and acceptance of all ideologies has been based on the continuation of the American Jew at any cost. The belief has been that the Reform Jews would rather the person stay a Jew, no matter their beliefs, than allow a person to cease to acknowledge and live out their Jewish heritage. The identity of the Jew as belonging to Adonai has been cast aside in favor of maintaining a Jewish group of people. The question is, “How far are Reform Jews willing to take this ideology of choose people over religious heritage?” The Central Conference of American Rabbis (“CCAR”) was willing to do what was necessary to gain acceptance of the lesbian and gay community throughout Reform Judaism including the support of lesbian and gay unions and even marriages. The point of division came in 1986 with the revision of the marriage ceremony, in particular, the Keddushin. There was a divide amongst the rabbis as to whether or not a rabbi could officiate, even though the Reform Jewish synagogues were allowing and supporting homosexual marriages. By the year 2000 acceptance of even the revision of the Keddushin had been approved by the majority within CCAR, but with a compromise. The compromise was to acknowledge and accept that there would be some rabbis who would be willing to officiate while others would not. This compromise was heralded as a great success because in Reform Judaism today acceptance of the gay and lesbian community equates to “reconciliation of gay men and lesbians to the Jewish community”.
Judaism.
While there are numerous extremes within this movement, the focus of this paper will be to examine the support and perpetuation of homosexuality by Reform Judaism, the devastating impact of this support on the individual and familial identity of Reform Jews, and the steps that must be taken to preserve return American Reform Jews back to their Jewish heritage.
Family and community have been a central component of Judaism since the Creation. Traditional Judaism draws from the story of …show more content…
Creation in the book of Genesis, the example of the goodness of marriage that was ultimately distorted through man’s sin. In his book, Our Father Abraham, Marvin Wilson asserts, “Our ability to establish a relationship with one of the opposite sex is directly tied to our creation in the image of G-d”. Genesis 1:27 reveals how man and woman’s identity, joined together, mirror the image of G-d, “G-d created humankind in His image, in the image of God He created him, male and female He created them”. Wilson goes on to quote Proverbs 18:22, “Whoever finds a wife finds good, and receives favor from Adonai”. Hebrew rabbis interpret this idea further,
“Building upon the Hebrew Scriptures, the rabbis affirmed the goodness of marriage by insisting that a man should first take a wife for himself and then apply himself to the study of Torah. Furthermore, the rabbis decreed that if wedding and funeral processions happened to meet at an intersection simultaneously, the wedding party was to proceed first.”
The elevation of marriage between a man and woman is elevated to the extent that the idea of a bachelor was not even present during the Scriptures of biblical times. The man and wife together formed the core of the family unit. Given the gravity and lifelong impact of the marital relationship, the yihus, or family background, of the one getting married was of great importance. A person whose life had a strong Torah foundation was valued above anything else when selecting a mate in the Jewish tradition.
The tradition of marriage between a man and a woman is still favored by Orthodox Jews, but other Jewish groups within Judaism have embraced homosexual relationships in addition to traditional marriage. While the Reform Judaism movement has broadened their definition to include homosexual relationships, there is still an emphasis on family and community. From the ReformJudaism.org website,
“Much of Judaism focuses on family and children. Our prayers include reminders that each of us is responsible for continuing our heritage "from generation to generation." Marital and parental relationships are inextricably connected, and Jewish traditions provide practical guideposts for husbands and wives, both as spouses and as parents.
It appears that Reform Judaism is very pro-family when you read the previous paragraph. However, what makes this statement misleading is two-fold: first, it is not a requirement for husbands to marry wives in Reform Judaism, and second, the idea of family is no longer Torah based in the eyes of the Reform Jew. The notion of Judaism being a religion has been rejected in recent years. Dana Evan Kaplan explains, “Reform Judaism differs from the other streams of Judaism in the view of the Torah’s authority, its approach to legal reasoning, its strategies for promoting Judaism, and its view of the world.” The author goes on to say that Reform Judaism allows for a “wide variety of interpretations” of the Torah. “The Reform movement believes that the Torah should be interpreted and reinterpreted to meet the needs of the contemporary Jew”. What the Torah says is therefore relative to how the Jewish interpreter prefers to view and interpret the text. Kaplan even acknowledges that both the Torah and the Talmud forbid homosexual relationships, but Reform Judaism has chosen to be accepting of all groups. Thus, there is an open policy of acceptance for all.
On the surface this seems very loving and open, because G-d accepts all people. However, there is an issue when considering LGBT agenda. The Gay Rights Platform in 1972 revealed that their agenda far exceeds wanting the populace to merely accept them. Michael Brown cites nine goals that includes inclusion in the military, federal encouragement and support of sexual education classes being taught by homosexual men and women, repeal of all state laws prohibiting private practice of homosexuality, repeal of all state laws prohibiting cross-dressing, repeal of all laws governing the age of consent, repeal of all legislative provisions that restrict sex of number of persons entering into a marriage unit, including extension of all legal benefits to all partners in the unit. By 1987, gay activists such as ACT UP leader Steve Warren were issuing proclamations that churches and synagogues in the future will speak of homosexuality as an “honorable estate”. Additionally, churches would be “expected to offer ceremonies that bless our sexual arrangements … You will also instruct your people in homosexual as well as heterosexual behavior, and you will go out of your way to make certain that homosexual youths are allowed to date, attend religious functions together…” The list continues with acceptance of homosexuality such that those who object will be dealt with sternly and even publicly humiliated. The list concludes with the rewrite of the Scriptures to eliminate any passages that give preferential treatment to marriage while allowing homosexual reinterpretations of existing passages to justify the homosexual agenda. Many of these goals have already come to pass in the twenty-five years since they were spoken.
The problem with Reform Judaism accepting all homosexuals is that they are not fully representing the heart of G-d with their full acceptance.
While G-d does accept people where they are at, He is very clear that He does not accept, endorse or support sinful behavior. The mercy of G-d is vast, but Israel historically got into the worst trouble when they openly defied His laws and His ways in their hearts. G-d waited for any hint of repentance or acknowledgement that they knew they were sinning and wanted to change. It was the act of defiance and rejection of G-d that has repeatedly resulted in G-d taking any and every action possible to turn His people back to
Him.
Reform Judaism has hit a few obstacles in recent years. While the union between two men or two women has been acceptable, the question of marriage between two men or two women has caused controversy. Increasingly the mantra for inclusion and acceptance of all ideologies has been based on the continuation of the American Jew at any cost. The belief has been that the Reform Jews would rather the person stay a Jew, no matter their beliefs, than allow a person to cease to acknowledge and live out their Jewish heritage. The identity of the Jew as belonging to Adonai has been cast aside in favor of maintaining a Jewish group of people. The question is, “How far are Reform Jews willing to take this ideology of choose people over religious heritage?” The Central Conference of American Rabbis (“CCAR”) was willing to do what was necessary to gain acceptance of the lesbian and gay community throughout Reform Judaism including the support of lesbian and gay unions and even marriages. The point of division came in 1986 with the revision of the marriage ceremony, in particular, the Keddushin. There was a divide amongst the rabbis as to whether or not a rabbi could officiate, even though the Reform Jewish synagogues were allowing and supporting homosexual marriages. By the year 2000 acceptance of even the revision of the Keddushin had been approved by the majority within CCAR, but with a compromise. The compromise was to acknowledge and accept that there would be some rabbis who would be willing to officiate while others would not. This compromise was heralded as a great success because in Reform Judaism today acceptance of the gay and lesbian community equates to “reconciliation of gay men and lesbians to the Jewish community”.