Jews: Orthodox, Conservative, Reform

[2xx1xy1JD]

This may help:

http://www.jewishgen.org/

There are some Jewish genealogy geeks in the extended family (as in "let's get on a plane to Latvia to look for lost relatives"-level of obsession).

[chiccy]

Reconstructionist Jews don't necessarily believe that the Torah has a divine origin, but they do believe that it is a cornerstone of Jewish civilization. They will also keep halacha (traditional Jewish law) for the same reason - because it is part of the Jewish civilization, not because it is necessarily divinely commanded. Since they do not believe that the commandments are divine, they will change parts that seem morally objectionable. They were actually the first movement - before Reform - to embrace egalitarianism. Since they are smaller than the Big 3 movements, many Jews aren't really sure what they stand for, but IME many Jews actually have a pretty similar philosophy. In other words, I know many Jews who don't go to a Passover seder because they think that G-d commanded it, but because it's such a huge part of Jewish tradition, and they see a positive social effect to having a ceremony that celebrates freedom from slavery and oppression.

Question about Reconstructionism--to what extent do they expect members to follow the halacha that they accept? Since their place on the spectrum is arguably even beyond Reform in terms of liberalism, one would imagine that halacha isn't uniformly kept--that the majority of members aren't shomer Shabbos, kashrus, or taharas ha'mishpoche. Is this correct, in your experience? I'm wondering because you said "They will also keep halacha (traditional Jewish law)."

[chiccy]

Doing the unthinkable and bumping this thread in case anyone can give me an answer on Reconstructionism...

[Sarah]

I can only speak from my experience, but the Reconstructionist people I have known did not observe halacha at all or consider it binding. I also looked at their prayer book at one point and it was very different from traditional liturgy, mostly a collection of modern poems and such.

[chiccy]

I can only speak from my experience, but the Reconstructionist people I have known did not observe halacha at all or consider it binding. I also looked at their prayer book at one point and it was very different from traditional liturgy, mostly a collection of modern poems and such.

That's cool. Maybe Reconstructionism is in my future...

[2xx1xy1JD]

My knowledge of Reconstructionist Judaism is mostly theoretical, and not based on personal experience.

My sense is that it's not dogmatic, as it doesn't see the commandments as being literally dictated by a Divine being. I do know that they will reinterpret halacha that they believe to be "wrong", such as the prohibition on sex between two males, by basically saying, "we acknowledge the historical text of Leviticus and the fact that our ancestors believed that this was prohibited, but we believe that their position was mistaken." They take halacha seriously, but don't necessarily consider it binding. They will say "tradition has a vote, not a veto".

Here are some basic overviews that I found:

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=728

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=141

At one point, Reform Judaism was actually somewhat hostile to traditional observance.

http://www.renewreform.org/docs/PittsburghPlatform.pdf

Reconstructionist Judaism is clearly in constrast to that approach. However, the current trend in Reform is toward more ritual observance, but in a framework that says "do what you find meaningful". There is probably less contrast today between observant Reform and Reconstructionist Jews.

[chiccy]

My knowledge of Reconstructionist Judaism is mostly theoretical, and not based on personal experience.

My sense is that it's not dogmatic, as it doesn't see the commandments as being literally dictated by a Divine being. I do know that they will reinterpret halacha that they believe to be "wrong", such as the prohibition on sex between two males, by basically saying, "we acknowledge the historical text of Leviticus and the fact that our ancestors believed that this was prohibited, but we believe that their position was mistaken." They take halacha seriously, but don't necessarily consider it binding. They will say "tradition has a vote, not a veto".

Here are some basic overviews that I found:

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=728

http://jrf.org/showres&rid=141

At one point, Reform Judaism was actually somewhat hostile to traditional observance.

http://www.renewreform.org/docs/PittsburghPlatform.pdf

Reconstructionist Judaism is clearly in constrast to that approach. However, the current trend in Reform is toward more ritual observance, but in a framework that says "do what you find meaningful". There is probably less contrast today between observant Reform and Reconstructionist Jews.

Thanks! It's interesting that Reconstructionism has in some ways seemed to fall on the conservative side of Reform. It is a really intriguing branch.