D’var Torah: Reform Judaism and Israel
Written by Rabbi Hannah Kingston — 12 April 2021
I am a fourth generation progressive Jew. My family made the commitment to raise myself and my sisters with strong progressive values. The Judaism of my youth was one where girl and boys were always treated as equal, where I was encouraged to read from Torah and to challenge my rabbis, where my decision to train as a rabbi was not one of surprise, but one where children responded with ‘do you know that boys can be rabbis too.’
My ease growing up with being a Progressive Jew, is not something that can be shared by those in our movement worldwide. Although Progressive Judaism in Israel is becoming an increasingly viable option to both Orthodoxy and secularism, the struggle for Reform communities in Israel is real. Reform rabbis have fought to be recognised by the State for funding, and still are not able to officially marry or bury their congregants.
This is why the decision made by Israel’s High Court on Monday, to recognise Reform and Conservative conversions to Judaism performed in Israel for the purpose of the Law of Return, has been so empowering for the Reform movement of Israel.
The ruling followed two petitions submitted in 2005 by 12 people who had undergone non-Orthodox conversions in Israel, and whose requests for citizenship had been rejected by the Interior Ministry. After much delay, the court finally accepted their petition with a majority of eight out of nine justices in favour.
It was a historic day in Israel, a recognition that there is more than one way to be a Jew in the State of Israel. The decision was praised by Israel’s left wing parties.
However the decision has not been taken lightly by many of the more Orthodox powers. In response to the High Court ruling, Israel’s two largest orthodox political parties released adverts this week attacking Reform Jews.
One video featured pictures of dogs in kippot with a voiceover saying “This is a Jew, and this is also a Jew. And this one? Obviously. His grandmother was a rabbi.” The advert implies that the Reform movement’s standards are so lax that it would convert dogs to Judaism, while also belittling female rabbis.
The Haredi leaders of the State of Israel do not view the Reform movement as an authentic form of Judaism. They say that tolerating intermarriage, which the Reform movement condones, will lead to the destruction of the Jewish people.
The Reform Judaism I know, the one that my family has proudly been part of for the past 4 generations, is not a movement that will lead to the destruction of the Jewish people. It is a Judaism that as evolved in the most traditional way, through discourse and debate, taking our core texts and exploring their meaning in our current situation. It is a Judaism that treasures our traditions, whilst also wanting to engage with modern day society.
Alyth is very proudly a Reform community, the first community in the UK to have the word Reform in our full name. This identity defines our approach to Jewish law and practice.
Our diverse clergy team are committed to ongoing text study and learning which helps us to think about the nature of our communal life. We do not shy away from reflecting on our ongoing relationship with halachic discourse, rather we believe in a process of informed decision making, and Rabbi Josh lectures the future generation of rabbis at Leo Baeck College on Progressive Rabbinic Decision Making.
Our Reform Judaism is not, as was said by Sephardi Chief Rabbi Yitzhak Yosef a “forgery” which brings “thousands of gentiles” into the Jewish people. Rather it is a thoughtful practice, responding to the changing realities of our community and uncompromising on equality and inclusion.
I am a proud progressive Jew, just as my grandma was, and her mother before her. I believe in our Judaism that is rooted in values, where equality and inclusion are viewed as religious principles, and where everyone is included irrespective of gender, ability, ethnicity, wealth, age and sexual orientation.
Times are changing, and our Judaism is changing with it. I look forward to a time when all can value my Judaism, the Judaism of diverse rabbinate, where we feel comfortable to challenge and question in a continuing dialogue. The Judaism that holds personal autonomy as one of its defining features. And the Judaism that provides the structure that ties us all together, both physically and virtually, and that brings us to prayer this evening.