Reform Judaism or Conservative Judaism?

In comparison to the Reform Judaism website navigated through last week, I found that The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism website was much more organized. It included many more headings to navigate through as well as more thorough information about the movement. Someone who navigates through uscj.org for the first time may not be familiar with all of the terms used on the website. For example, the Koach and Fuchsberg Center are two headings that a typical person would not be familiar with. Someone who browses on uscj.org for the first time may feel more comfortable becoming a Reform Jew prior to a Conservative Jew because of all of the unfamiliar language and assumed knowledge. One will then see that once clicking on the headings or any other heading for that matter, one would be able to get an in depth background on the title. I personally think the candle lighting time heading is very useful because it gives you the exact time to light the Shabbat candles in your particular zip code. As a whole, uscj.org is assuming that anyone who is on the website is familiar with Conservative Judaism and therefore this language seems foreign to the average person. Like Reform Judaism, uscj.org states that one must belong to a temple in order to belong to the Conservative movement. In contrast to reformjudaism.org, uscj.org seems more authoritative and more appealing. I would think that authority on a website would be a turn off but it is in fact a positive characteristic in this instance. Because Conservatism is more traditional that Reform Judaism, the website seems to be more religiously oriented. It also illustrates that it is convenient in that it is a marketing center to buy Conservative gifts etc.

Homosexuality in Conservative Judaism

Some may argue that the Conservative Judaism movement emerged out of resistance to the Reform Judaism movement while some may argue differently. Nonetheless, conservative numbers are undeniably shrinking due to the closed mindedness of the Conservatives and the openness of the Reform Jews. For example, Reform Jews openly welcome gays and lesbians while Conservatives are tentative about their participation in the movement. The Torah explicitly prohibits homosexuality for both males and females. Because Conservative Jews go strictly by tradition, they disapprove of homosexual behavior as well. The committee on Jewish law and standards “…uphold the traditional disapproval of homosexual behavior and ban openly gay men and women from holding positions of religious leadership…(Wertheimer)” On the other hand, some members in the Conservative movement openly permit gays and lesbians in their practices. “When visiting American students at Schechter organized a ceremony to mark the one-year anniversary of the decision to permit gay ordination…(Harris, Ben JTA).” It seems as though the rules of Conservative Jews are not clear-cut and members should work on being clearer on their views towards Jewish homosexuals. Conservative Jews are unable to agree on whom they accept and this may be the reason why numbers are shrinking. In my opinion, I believe that the Jewish population is so sparse in the world and that Jewish movements should not be demanding or too exclusive on whom they accept. The Jewish religion, whether it is Reform, Conservative, or Orthodox, should be accepting of all humans no matter what their sexual orientation is. All humans were created equally and their sexual orientation should not hinder their religious practices or acceptance.

Religion, nationality, heritage, culture/history, and race/ethnicity can be interpreted on various levels and through different scenarios. It also may be difficult for some to differentiate between the categories and what they mean to them. Others may have different interpretations of religion or another category when responding to readings and/or video clips. The Moses rap song’s major point was why a Jew should marry a Jew. It addressed the various perks of marrying within the religion. In response to marriage in the Jewish religion, I find that inter religion marriage is a major issue not only for Reform Jews, but also in all areas of the religion. Most religious teachers and conventional families prefer Jews marrying Jews as well. One reason why this may be a vital issue for them is because so many Jews were murdered in the Holocaust. The Holocaust is portrayed through the media through its various films, three of which came out as recently as Christmas Day 2008 – “The Reader,” “Valkyrie,” and “Defiance.” Knowing how far we have come and how much we have sustained throughout history makes me a proud Jew. Many people would argue that it is a Jew’s duty to keep the religion alive because there are so few of us remaining in the world compared to many other religions. Reformjudaism.org should have included more topics for those interested in areas such as marriage. Nevertheless, like most Jews, marriage within the religion is preferred but in most cases inter religion marriage is not forbidden in Reform Judaism.

Reflecting On Reform Judaism

I was born into a family that practices Reform Judaism. I also identify with the religion and continue to practice Judaism from a reform standpoint. According to reformjudaism.org, “Reform Judaism…has enabled the Jewish people to introduce innovation while preserving tradition…” In agreement to this quote, I believe it is important to keep the traditions alive while remaining liberal in appropriate practices. For example, a reform Jew such as myself, can have a traditional Bat Mitzvah but may not necessarily keep kosher or go to synagogue on a regular basis. While reform Jews focus on inclusion and preserving tradition the website does not come across as demanding nor does it appear strict. Reform Judaism is an evolving movement that started 130 years ago and seems as though it is open-minded in various areas. For example, Reform Jews “promote justice to all, no matter what race, sect, or class.” Non-Jews are also welcome to participate in various activities in the Jewish community. Before I was exposed to class discussions and readings, I was not aware of the complete openness in certain areas of Reform Judaism such as openness to non-Jews. The website also gives a more liberal approach in that it reaches out to the homosexual world as well. When reading deeper into the websites’ content I came across the topic of charity. I was previously aware that Reform Judaism was a large advocate of philanthropy. Because I am a Reform Jew I was taught that charity is a main contributor to “preserving place of prayer.” Through observation I also learned that it is important to give back to Israel and the Jewish people to ultimately keep the tradition alive.