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Jewish World Review June 14, 1999 / 31 Sivan, 5759
Rabbi Avi Shafran
AT THE END OF MAY, the Reform rabbinate resoundingly passed its first new set
of principles in 22 years, and the happening was noted widely in both the
Jewish and general media.
And for good reason. It is a remarkable document. It not only speaks of G-d
and Torah and prayer, it acknowledges the importance of mitzvot - "sacred
obligations." And it invites Reform Jews to "engage in a dialogue with the
sources of [Jewish] tradition."
Granted, the Central Conference of American Rabbis manifesto would have been
even more remarkable had it been adopted in its original draft, prepared by
Rabbi Richard Levy. That document spoke specifically of keeping kosher and mikvah
and tefillin, and included references like one to how "standing at Sinai, the
Jewish people heard G-d reveal the Torah." It openly suggested that Reform
Jews "may feel called to other mitzvot new to Reform Jewish observance." But
even the less decisive final draft was -- from an Orthodox perspective -- a
turn in the right direction.
No one is suggesting, of course, that the Reform rabbinate is ready yet to
acknowledge the divine nature of the Written and Oral laws, or even that it
is confronting the most basic, logical implication of the word mitzvah, or
"commandment". But only a heart without hope could fail to be moved by the
Reform rabbis' remarkable about-face. And only a denier of the holy spark in
every Jew could squelch the image of the movement's leaders one day
decisively confronting the origin of the path of mitzvot, and what it really
means to be commanded.
For that matter, there are grounds for hope even in the remarkable banner
behind which the foes of the original draft successfully rallied.
For, as it happened, passions not often associated with religiously liberal
Jewish elements were given wide and loud vent when Rabbi Levy's draft was
first featured, in the Winter, 1998 issue of Reform Judaism magazine. A
large number of readers, rabbinic and lay alike, were offended by the
magazine's cover, which featured Rabbi Levy bedecked with a prayer shawl and
kissing its tassles. And some were nothing short of outraged when they got
past the cover and read the references to Sinai and specific mitzvot.
"I could not even finish reading this in the magazine because it was so
repulsive," a member of a California temple fumed, according to the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency. Rabbi Levy's platform, she went on, "is too regressive
and orthodox for me."
What was most remarkable, though, was the recurrent theme that permeated a
number of the negative responses, expressed perhaps most clearly by Rabbi
Seltzer himself. He wrote that his colleague's suggestions "stand in
startling opposition to the standards of Classical Reform…" Elsewhere in his
essay, he similarly expresses fear that Rabbi Levy's proposal, if accepted,
might "obscur[e] the essence of Reform Judaism" and "undermin[e] the very
foundations upon which our movement stands."
His objections, in other words, were rooted in a defense of… tradition.
The past, Rabbi Seltzer, along with other dissenters, seemed to be declaring,
cannot be jettisoned like so much needless ballast. It is what we stand
upon, it is vital and it demands our deepest respect.
And so now it is time to hope. That all precious Jews, wherever they may
reside on the spectrum of affiliation or observance, come to ponder the fact
that there is an original, millennia-old Jewish tradition - their heritage as
much as that of any Jew --- and that it is not just worthwhile but a gift of
the Creator, and incumbent on each and every
A Remarkable Reform Manifesto
Some in the Orthodox camp, to be sure, may regard both drafts as meaningless,
for leaving crucial words like "Torah" and mitzvah undefined, and for
merely "suggesting" rather than demanding increased observance. But there
can be no denying that a body that once decried Jewish ritual traditions as
"ideas entirely foreign to our present mental and spiritual state" and as a
hindrance "to modern spiritual elevation" has now declared its commitment "to
the ongoing study of the whole array of mitzvot," even those the movement had
long rejected, and is now characterizing them as "demand[ing] renewed
attention."
Taking a cue from Rabbi Levy's rebutter in that very issue, Rabbi Robert
Seltzer, who asserted that his colleague was at attempting to "turn the hands
of the clock backward instead of forward," scores of Reform clergy and lay
adherents wrote or e-mailed their ire over the draft.
The irony was luscious, and the grounds for hope substantial. For when Jews
rise to the defense of the concept of tradition, even misguidedly applied,
wondrous things can happen.
Jew.
Rabbi Avi Shafran is American Director of Am Echad, an international organization promoting Jewish unity. He may be reached by clicking here.
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