What question(s) would you like us to be discussing as we consider the role of Judaism in our lives now and in the future?
3 thoughts on “Question #7 – Looking Ahead”
Thank you and congratulations to the people who posed these seven questions to the congregation. You covered a lot of ground, and left little room for a meaningful response to your request for more. That said…
Suggested question: Why not get back to the founding document of Reform Judaism, the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, the text of which can be found at
A modern reader is struck by the degree to which many of the ideas expressed in responses to the “7 Questions” were addressed directly and succinctly in the 19th century. Especially notable is the clear message that ethics and social justice are to be elevated, and ritual practices deprecated.
Those rabbis were products of the Enlightenment, and could not have imagined the Holocaust. Their rejection of a Jewish return to Palestine must be filtered through our peoples’ later education about the limits of European tolerance. Also, those who began the American Reform Movement often, in their zeal to fit in, embraced the rituals and culture of their Protestant neighbors instead of the Pittsburgh Platform principles, creating a “Classical Reform” that few of us find attractive today.
The Reform rabbis who shaped our movement in the 20th century added Zionism, but also gradually included more and more elements of Orthodoxy, creating a Reform Judaism that our founders would barely recognize. My question, then, is why re-invent the wheel? Why not get back to basics?
I want to add to Charlie’s congratulations: you have posed wonderful, thought-provoking questions and covered a great deal of ground. And you have spurred some great commentary from the participants… some really interesting posts. So that brings me to my questions…
Is the study of Torah complementary, contradictory, or simply unrelated to the study of ourselves as evoked here?
The reason I ask is a practical one… because this is my next question:
How do we keep this discussion going? Induce more to join or stay involved int he discussion than the very few who posted on later questions? Include the broader community?
I will say that, given the topics, the moderated anonymity of this board has been a great thing. (I am the root of several anonymous posts.) To me, that must be preserved. Further, the asynchronous nature of the board… the relief of the need to pick a time and place for the discussion… has been very important as we all live busy schedules. But what else can/should we do? How do we continue to develop the themes so wonderfully posed and posted here?
Thanks for your comment. Since this conversation was started to get us thinking and discussing leading up to Rabbi Hoffman’s visit for Scholar’s Weekend this weekend, the first next step will hopefully be showing up for that and participating in the dialog.
We expect to keep this forum open during and after that visit, and exactly what form it will all take will be shaped somewhat by what we discover during the weekend.
Thank you and congratulations to the people who posed these seven questions to the congregation. You covered a lot of ground, and left little room for a meaningful response to your request for more. That said…
Suggested question: Why not get back to the founding document of Reform Judaism, the Pittsburgh Platform of 1885, the text of which can be found at
http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/platforms/declaration-principles/
?
A modern reader is struck by the degree to which many of the ideas expressed in responses to the “7 Questions” were addressed directly and succinctly in the 19th century. Especially notable is the clear message that ethics and social justice are to be elevated, and ritual practices deprecated.
Those rabbis were products of the Enlightenment, and could not have imagined the Holocaust. Their rejection of a Jewish return to Palestine must be filtered through our peoples’ later education about the limits of European tolerance. Also, those who began the American Reform Movement often, in their zeal to fit in, embraced the rituals and culture of their Protestant neighbors instead of the Pittsburgh Platform principles, creating a “Classical Reform” that few of us find attractive today.
The Reform rabbis who shaped our movement in the 20th century added Zionism, but also gradually included more and more elements of Orthodoxy, creating a Reform Judaism that our founders would barely recognize. My question, then, is why re-invent the wheel? Why not get back to basics?
I want to add to Charlie’s congratulations: you have posed wonderful, thought-provoking questions and covered a great deal of ground. And you have spurred some great commentary from the participants… some really interesting posts. So that brings me to my questions…
Is the study of Torah complementary, contradictory, or simply unrelated to the study of ourselves as evoked here?
The reason I ask is a practical one… because this is my next question:
How do we keep this discussion going? Induce more to join or stay involved int he discussion than the very few who posted on later questions? Include the broader community?
I will say that, given the topics, the moderated anonymity of this board has been a great thing. (I am the root of several anonymous posts.) To me, that must be preserved. Further, the asynchronous nature of the board… the relief of the need to pick a time and place for the discussion… has been very important as we all live busy schedules. But what else can/should we do? How do we continue to develop the themes so wonderfully posed and posted here?
Dan,
Thanks for your comment. Since this conversation was started to get us thinking and discussing leading up to Rabbi Hoffman’s visit for Scholar’s Weekend this weekend, the first next step will hopefully be showing up for that and participating in the dialog.
We expect to keep this forum open during and after that visit, and exactly what form it will all take will be shaped somewhat by what we discover during the weekend.
Barry