Themes
- Progressive Judaism is the umbrella term for all forms of non-Orthodox Judaism
- Positive attitude toward change
- Egalitarian
- Heterodox practice within the community
The Traditional "Take" on Progressive Judaism
In 1815, after Napoleon's defeat, Jews lost the rights of citizenship in several countries. Many Jews became Christian to retain those rights. Many rabbis believed the way to address this was to force Jews to keep away from Christians and give up public schools and universities. This didn't work. Rabbi Abraham Geiger suggested that [Jewish] observance might...be changed to appeal to modern people. -JewishVirtualLibrary.org
This Is Not New
- The original Shabbat was very austere. It involved Levites and ritual slaughter. For average Israelites, it did not involve fire in any way (no Shabbat candles, no fireplace cooking cholent). It was brutal
- Rabbis (the heirs to the Levites) instituted the heter, Rabbinically sanctioned loopholes that allowed people in a very limited way to be opted-out of religious practice. Example: heter parnasa
Classical Reform: Pittsburgh Platform of Reform Judaism (1885)
- We recognize in the Mosaic legislation a system of training the Jewish people for its mission during its national life in Palestine, and today we accept as binding only its moral laws, and maintain only such ceremonies as elevate and sanctify our lives, but reject all such as are not adapted to the views and habits of modern civilization.
- We hold that all such Mosaic and rabbinical laws as regulate diet, priestly purity, and dress originated in ages and under the influence of ideas entirely foreign to our present mental and spiritual state. They fail to impress the modern Jew with a spirit of priestly holiness; their observance in our days is apt rather to obstruct than to further modern spiritual elevation.
Conservative Judaism/Masorti[Conservative Judaism] views halacha as normative and binding, and believes Jews must practically observe its precepts, like Sabbath, dietary ordinances, ritual purity, daily prayer...and the like. Concurrently, examining Jewish history and rabbinic literature through the lens of academic criticism, it maintained that these laws were always subject to considerable evolution, and must continue to do so. (Wikipedia)
Reconstructionist Judaism
Tradition tells us that the Torah was dictated by God to Moses, and then transmitted through the generations. Reconstructionist Jews see the Torah as the Jewish people’s response to God’s presence in the world (and not God’s gift to us). God does not choose the Jews to be performers of the commandments. Rather, the Jews choose to be called by God by means of a vast network of sacred acts (mitzvot) ranging from balancing work and rest (Shabbat), to establishing courts and laws...medical ethics and the rhythms of the seasons. Paradoxically, it is the mitzvot that keep us Jewish, but which simultaneously attune us to the greater universe of which we are a tiny part. -Rabbi Lester Bronstein
Jewish Renewal
Jewish Renewal is a Jewish religious movement that combines a heavy emphasis on spiritual practices, particularly those drawn from Hasidic Judaism, with socially progressive values like gender egalitarianism and environmental awareness. Its practices draw from Jewish mysticism and Hasidic thought, recast in contemporary progressive terms and deeply influenced by the 1960s counterculture. Jewish Renewal has been described as a marriage of Hasidism with a New Age ethos. (MyJewishLearning.com)
Modern Reform Judaism: Platform of Reform Judaism (1976)The past century has taught us that the claims made upon us may begin with our ethical obligations but they extend to many other aspects of Jewish living, including: creating a Jewish home centered on family devotion: lifelong study; private prayer and public worship; daily religious observance; keeping the Sabbath and the holy days: celebrating the major events of life; involvement with the synagogues and community; and other activities which promote the survival of the Jewish people and enhance its existence. Within each area of Jewish observance Reform Jews are called upon to confront the claims of Jewish tradition, however differently perceived, and to exercise their individual autonomy, choosing and creating on the basis of commitment and knowledge.
Humanistic Judaism
Jewish culture is the context in which our humanism finds its fullest and most natural expression. We embrace Judaism because we cherish its traditions, music, language, literature, art, food, and much more. Our culture adds richness to our lives and connects us to our families, our ancestors, and our fellow Jews (CityCongregation.org).
In the U.S., 27% of Jewish adults describe themselves as atheist, agnostic or of no particular religion, according to a 2020 Pew Research Center report.
Roughly a third of Jews born after 1980 think of their Judaism as a matter of identity or ancestry, rather than as a religion, according to Pew. (The Atlantic)