On Wednsday we were given the opportunity to meet with three different rabbis at HUC and gain insight on their beliefs and values within reform, conservative and modern Orthodox Judaism. The first speaker Rabbi Loren Sykes (The upcoming NFTY EIE principal ) talked about conservative Judaism. He focused on theory vs. practice and explained to us his general views about the Torah. he believes that how one interprets the Torah and whether or not it is a human based document or if it is a Devine book from God. rabbi Loren Sykes also touched upon social justice laws and how those commandments such as giving tzedaka are obligatory in conservative Judaism.
Our second speaker who is a representative of HUC, was reform Rabbi Haim Shalon. Haim believes that Jewish law as a concept is not central to what it means to be Jewish. He also explained that the nature of humanity is progression therefor he belongs to Reform Judaism because as people grow and mature so does Reform Judaism and it's "rules or ways to live by" are not set in stone. He made an analogy saying that Judaism is like a game of chess and Reform Judaism is Chess with the exception of creating new rules. Haim told us that he personally does not believe that Jewish people are the chosen ones and that we in fact are just another realign like Christianity or Islam. He talked about secular vs religious Judaism and that he feels like prayer is not necessarily central to Judaism.
Our last speaker and former Jewish History teacher of EIE was Modern Orthodox rabbi Gabe Reiss. Gabe is religious Zionist and was very honest about his viewpoints. He has the same view of oral Law as the ultra orthodox do. He explained to us that the torah is the fundamental basis of Judaism and that God ultimately wrote it for our people because he needed to convey his message. He honestly told us that although he believes Reform Jews are legitimate Jews, the way we practice and continue to evolve and interpret the religion is not correctly representing what it means to be Jewish. He said that it order to truly be Jewish we have to live Torah in all levels of our lives.
Rabbi Haim Shalon also shared with us some information about the HUC campus. Because it was created in 1967, the Jordainian border ran right through the colleges property. The URJ purchased this land because it was cheap and although it was not than considered to be safe, today in Jerusalem HUC is now in a prime realastate location.
All three speakers brought up very interesting points about Judaism. Do you agree or disagree with what Rabbi Gabe Reiss said about Reform Judaism not practicing properly in a sense that Reform Judaism evolves with people and time , where as Orthodox Judaism is set and stone and along side of the Torah and not allowing change or evolution.
Our second speaker who is a representative of HUC, was reform Rabbi Haim Shalon. Haim believes that Jewish law as a concept is not central to what it means to be Jewish. He also explained that the nature of humanity is progression therefor he belongs to Reform Judaism because as people grow and mature so does Reform Judaism and it's "rules or ways to live by" are not set in stone. He made an analogy saying that Judaism is like a game of chess and Reform Judaism is Chess with the exception of creating new rules. Haim told us that he personally does not believe that Jewish people are the chosen ones and that we in fact are just another realign like Christianity or Islam. He talked about secular vs religious Judaism and that he feels like prayer is not necessarily central to Judaism.
Our last speaker and former Jewish History teacher of EIE was Modern Orthodox rabbi Gabe Reiss. Gabe is religious Zionist and was very honest about his viewpoints. He has the same view of oral Law as the ultra orthodox do. He explained to us that the torah is the fundamental basis of Judaism and that God ultimately wrote it for our people because he needed to convey his message. He honestly told us that although he believes Reform Jews are legitimate Jews, the way we practice and continue to evolve and interpret the religion is not correctly representing what it means to be Jewish. He said that it order to truly be Jewish we have to live Torah in all levels of our lives.
Rabbi Haim Shalon also shared with us some information about the HUC campus. Because it was created in 1967, the Jordainian border ran right through the colleges property. The URJ purchased this land because it was cheap and although it was not than considered to be safe, today in Jerusalem HUC is now in a prime realastate location.
All three speakers brought up very interesting points about Judaism. Do you agree or disagree with what Rabbi Gabe Reiss said about Reform Judaism not practicing properly in a sense that Reform Judaism evolves with people and time , where as Orthodox Judaism is set and stone and along side of the Torah and not allowing change or evolution.
I don’t wholly agree with Rabbi Gabe that Reform Jews are not practicing properly. I don’t think there is a “proper” way to practice Judaism, only different levels of observation. I appreciate that Reform Judaism allows for this freedom of choice in observance and individuality. I enjoy that I can be Jewish in my own way and in my own observance, that I don’t have anyone telling me the right and wrong ways to be a Jew. I somewhat agree with Gabe that Reform Judaism evolves with people and time unlike parts Orthodox Judaism. I think that Reform Jews tend to be more accepting of those with different ideals than Orthodox Jews are.
ReplyDelete-Rachael Coleman
To me, Reform jews are different than all other types. I think reform jews take a jewish tradition or Mitzvot and turn it into something meaningful to the individual person. For me I am fairly jewish, I keep the sabbath, but by doing things that make me happy, so maybe ill drive or do fun activities. I dont think I am being un-jewish, because I dont do things I dont enjoy on the sabbath, such as math homework. I also feel as if Judaism should be egalitarian, and that certain factors of a human like sex, race, or sexuality makes them less as a person or jew, which is why I dont agree with Orthodoxy and some places of the Conservative movement. I think also for future classes getting to hear from a female Chassidim or Modern Orthodox would be helpful just as much as a male, because females have a much different role in Jewish life compared to men in the Orthodox movement.
ReplyDeleteOut of all the speakers we had, Rabbi Gabe struck me as the most interesting. I had never heard anyone with the views that he had about zionism and even though I had heard from others with similar sentiments about reform Judaism, his mindset was still unique. As we move through the program and I'm learning more about my Judaism, I'm finding that reform Judaism does not really satisfy me as much as it did on the religious front. And even though I still fully identify as a reform Jew, I'm finding that I do connect to it as more of a culture rather than a religion. Reform Judaism, to me, seems to be always changing and adapting to the times, adopting new hot button issues every year, while Orthodox Judaism does stay a little more set in its practices. So in a sense, I do agree with Rabbi Gabe.
ReplyDeleteAlthough Rabbi Gabe's views were interesting and so different to learn about and hear, I didn't agree with him at all. As a person who takes pride in being a reform Jew, I couldn't understand why he doesn't think that my Judaism is legitmate. When it comes down to it, we're praying at the same time on shabbat, and doing many of the same things. The amount or the way we do it shouldn't determine whether or not we're legitimate Jews. I love the flexibility of reform Judaism, and I'm very happy in the sect of Judaism I'm in. I would never change how I was brought up in a reform temple and going to the a URJ camp because it's made me the person I am today.
ReplyDeleteI don't think it's accurate to say that Orthodoxy is set in stone, because at the heart, the only thing set are the books. The 613 Mitzvot can't be changed, and the Tanakh and other holy texts can't be changed, but they can be interpreted, which leaves a ton of wiggle room.
ReplyDeleteThe thing we must understand is that as liberal Jews we have a completely different philosophy about what "being Jewish" really means than the Orthodox. "What does it mean to be Jewish?" is a complex question for us, but not so much for the Orthodox. As liberal Jews, the answer lies somewhere within the Jewish triad of Am, Mitzvot and Eretz. In Orthodoxy, it's very simple. According to Halacha, you are Jewish if you were born from a Jewish mother. Neither of us is necessarily right or wrong, because there is never a clear answer. To him and his system of practice, he is right and we are wrong, and to us and our system of practice, he is wrong and we are right. I do agree with him that there are a lot of problems with the way Reform Judaism is practiced, but that being said, there are a lot of problems with the way Orthodox Judaism is practiced. During this era I don't think that anyone is practicing well. I'd say that traditional Mizrachi practice is the closest thing to "true Judaism", whatever that may mean, but that is a bit of a non-issue, seeing as traditional Mizrachi Judaism is almost nonexistent today. The largest problem I think is that Reform Judaism has assimilated too much, and ultra-orthodoxy has not assimilated enough.
-Noah Arnold
I don't agree with him about Reform Judaism not practicing properly. I know from a personal level that prayer was helped me in some ways and that I don't necessarily need prayer in my life, but it adds hope. I know that I am perfectly fine with the amount of religion I practice and that I don't think I need to practice anymore to become a better Jew. I think saying that Orthodox Judaism is set and stone and along side of the Torah and not allowing change or evolution is wrong. The Orthodox people have always been evolving their practicing to accommodate their time period.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with the Rabbi's opinion about reformed Judaism. I don't believe that there is a "correct" way to practice Judaism. I think that the reformed movement is extremely important. The world is constantly evolving and following laws set hundreds of years ago is already hard and will only get harder. In the reformed movement you are free to adapt the religion however you like. This will become increasingly important as the world continues to change in the future.
ReplyDeleteWhile I was unfortunately unable to attend this tiyul, and don't completely understand the reference to Rabbi Reiss' comment, I do struggle with reform Judaism in that I do not understand where one draws the line of which mitzvot to follow. Some may say that you should follow the mitzvot that are personally meaningful to oneself, but I believe that there are many, many mitzvot that reform Jews are entirely unaware of simply because Jewish education is compromised in many aspects for the majority of reform Jews. While I disagree with the orthodox idea that both oral and written law are now set in stone, I also disagree with the reform movement's "change." However, I disagree on the basis that we should not pick and choose mitzvot with seemingly groundless criteria, not on the basis that we should not be changing.
ReplyDeleteThe beauty of Reform Judaism in my eyes is the ability to choose what is important in practice to each person. Therefore I disagree with Gabe Reiss. The reform movement as a whole does an incredible job of bringing together Jews that want to practice, but don't want to be tied down with the overwhelming and often outdated number of laws that they feel obligated to practice. My favorite part of services is rejoicing in the music and melodies that are better able to connect me to my beliefs and the history of my people, and I love that the reform movement allows me to express the love I have for the religion. I appreciate the flexibility and adaptability of Reform Judaism.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Rabbi Gabe's opinion on how Reform Judaism doesn't practice "proper" Judaism because I think the main element of Reform Judaism is to interpret and pray in a way that is most meaningful to ourselves. I don't think that a proper way to practice Judaism exists because I believe that Judaism is about doing whatever helps people to connect with G-d. As people change and time goes on, certain elements in religion change as well which is also what Reform Judaism allows.
ReplyDeleteOf the three Rabbis who spoke to us, I agreed the most with Haim Shalom. His views made the most sense. He believes in basic tradition, but he also believes in evolving to the times. His beliefs in human development were inspiring and I love the idea of being able to pray how I want to. The Religious Zionist, Gabe Reiss, is the Rabbi that I least agree with. His ideas, in my opinion were a little uncompromising. He seemed a little trapped in his views. He didn't seem free. Maybe he used to be a more flexible man. I wonder if the change explained to us by Ariella has been because of the development of his religious beliefs.
ReplyDeleteI disagree with Rav Gabe's opinions because I don't personally believe that there's any right way to practice Judaism. I think there are clear pros and cons to both orthodoxy and reform. In an American sense especially, reform Jewry has assimilated to the point where I find it to be secular for the most part (individuals are free to feel and think however although generally I don't see much religious aspect). Whereas orthodoxy, while they aren't necessarily set in stone, they're quite traditional and I don't believe they've really done enough in terms of outreach. For the most part (and stereotypically too), I see a lot of orthodox Jews mostly sticking with each other and I don't think they've assimilated quite enough. don't think either is right but a healthy medium would probably be the most reasonable norm.
ReplyDeleteI completely disagree with Gabe's views. To say that Orthodox Judaism is set in stone is completely false. How much Judaism has evolved since its origins is amazing and I am quite certain something that is set in stone, cannot evolve. But when he says Reform Judaism is practicing Judaism incorrectly, according to the תורה, I must agree with him. But also, according to the תורה, his way of Judaism is also wrong. So in the end, Reform and Orthodox are both technically practicing wrong; but, at least we are all wrong together!
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