As the question up for debate has been phrased, we ponder: “Is there anything I have to believe or do in order to call myself a Reform Jew?”

But aren’t we on firmer ground if, in defining boundaries, we ask a slightly different question: “Is there anything that I cannot believe or do and still call myself a Reform Jew?”

There is good precedent in our tradition for taking the via negativa.  While I believe there are no single things that one must do or believe to be a Reform Jew, there are clearly things that put one beyond the pale, such as believing that Jesus was the messiah and son of God.  For that matter, I’d probably add believing that the Torah was given literally to Moses by God.

Taking this route, what practices and/or beliefs do you believe would put one out of the bounds of Reform Judaism?

Rabbi Dan Fink
Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel
Boise, Idaho

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Rabbi Stahl writes that "egalitarianism often conflicts with halachah", and that "we cannot compromise those values of human equality that we Reform Jews have come to regard as sacrosanct, even when they contradict halachic demands."  As a Reform Jew, why do you accept an Orthodox understanding of halachah as the authoritative one?  Why not say that our Reform understanding of halachah must incorporate egalitarianism, and that values of human equality *are* halachic demands for us?

Ben Dreyfus
New York NY

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Clearly much food for much thought! Cantor Dana Anesi asks: "while we may agree that there should be identifiable boundaries for Reform Judaism, who has the right to set those—and how might they affect the autonomy we also cherish?" Rabbi Stahl says: " I shall suggest that Reform does have boundaries, not only on the left but also on the right." As much as one would hope Reform Jews would take the time to study ritual and mitzvoth before making decisions about their Jewish lives, has anyone done a study to examine whether the vast majority do so or simply live their lives as they please?

Moreover, from whence comes the autonomy to choose what we as Reform Jews consider appropriate behavior come from? I would suggest that the clergy needs to step up to the plate and do more than simply suggest what the boundaries are. Boundaries are only boundaries if there is someone or something that enforces those boundaries otherwise they are only suggestions. Paradoxically, commandments/mitzvoth can only be considered commandments if we have a choice to follow or not follow them! Whether you choose to follow them or not, however, does not imply that either decision is right.  More food for thought.

Jim Orens
Temple Beth El
Riverside, CA 230+

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Am I missing something here?

The question at my Congregation is not "Who is a Reform Jew," instead the issue surrounds the extent to which a self-identified "Reform" Jew wishes to celebrate and observe those aspects of Judaism that the other Jewish movements consider necessary and important.  Sometimes at my Congregation, one hears the comment "If you want that you should go to the (Conservative/Reconstruction/Orthodox) congregation.  THAT is not what the "Reform" do or believe!!"

Was your intention to ask: "What action or belief (supported by the other Jewish movements) would preclude one from associating with the "Reform" movement?"  I suspect none would preclude, and the answers given do not talk to this point.

Therefore, and more accurately, the question might have been worded- "What is the minimum requirement of a "Reform" Jew?"  To which I answer:  Two things - First is the belief in The One God that Created (capital "C") our reality.  Second is an obligation to make the World more perfect.  Most everything else - religious or cultural - is subjective and personal.

Thanks,
Mark Fisher
Temple Shalom Dallas

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I think this is a wonderful discussion for the sake of both Reform and non-Reform Jews. Let me offer another view of what is and is not required and why.

The word "reform" is defined as "correcting the faults of". (I have checked several dictionaries and have always found this definition.) If we are not here to correct the faults of (traditional) Judaism, then what are we here for? We might as well be some variant of traditional if we are not trying to correct Judaism.

The search for egalitarianism is probably the best-known of these corrections, but it is not the only one. I would submit that the change in the status of homosexuals is an even more important correction from a theological point of view (the Torah's condemnation of homosexuality is I think the best evidence that the Torah is not directly from God), although obviously not from a social one.

Thus, I think the case can be made that the central requirement of being a Reform Jew is struggling with what from traditional Judaism we should retain and what we should dispense with. The question posed in this current discussion is what is really wrong, because it puts the debate back where the traditionalists want it to be: that being a Jew is principally a matter of observing Shabbat, kashrus and taharas hamishpocha.

Judaism's ideas on the nature of man, of life, and of the relationship between man and God are sublime and represent one of the greatest contributions ever made to human life. Focusing instead on debates about Shabbat, kashrus and taharas hamishpocha is a desecration; it makes Judaism into what Rabbi Wise said two hundred years ago: "kitchen Judaism", a poor parody of what Judaism really is.

Dave Mollen