Post date: Sep 21, 2016 6:52:48 PM
At each of their meetings the Council of Faiths have a section called "Focus on Faith" when they have a presentation from a faith community. This is to create greater understanding, which leads to greater tolerance.
At the June 2016 meeting Zvi Friedman gave a presentation about the Jewish Faith.
Reform and Orthodox
There are some 270,000 identifying Jews in the UK. (last census, religious affiliation is voluntary – we’re a declining population- figure in 1951 was 420,000). We are the fifth largest religious denomination in UK, after Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Sikhism.
Most Jews live in communities in a few big cities, London, Manchester, Leeds, Glasgow esp. Traditionally population numbers have been derived from synagogue membership. However about half don’t belong to any of the UK’s 400 synagogues. These will tend to adopt more secular lifestyles, but most retain their J. identity, which might be expressed by commitment to a variety of secular interests such as charities, Jewish societies or support for Israel.
Of those who do belong to a synagogue, about 50% belong to a modern orthodox (aka ‘central’, ‘traditional’) synagogue, while for the progressive movements it’s about 30%, of which the Reform movement is by far the largest. The very orthodox are about 10-12%. (all Bd of Deputies figures.)
We can only talk with any confidence about the 50% of synagogue members. And for these there are two chief areas of Jewish expression, Modern Orthodox and Reform, different approaches to living as a Jew in the modern world. Although these movements are different in how they practice the religion, there’s a continuity between them rather than hard and fast lines.
We can say that apart from the very orthodox (the Chassidim, Haredim, visible by their style of dress) the majority of Jews (synagogue members or not) live a life of compromise between the requirements of their religion and the demands of modernity.
A little history. These two chief forms of J in UK were products of the Enlightenment from about 1750. This had a profound effect on Jews. After centuries of separation and exclusion Jews began to be granted civil rights and educational opportunities, life in the ghetto began to break down. Many wanted to embrace secular education and follow professional careers.
The Enlightenment, the Haskalah in Hebrew, led, as you might expect, to a bitter dispute between those who wanted to take advantage of the new opportunities (the maskilim) and those determined to maintain what they regarded as the traditions of Halachah (Jewish law).
Jews were now admitted to universities. With their newly minted secular education (history, origins of biblical texts, etc) the maskilim challenged the traditional authority of the rabbis and developed new reformist movements, more in keeping with the age.
Reformist movements started in Germany. Spearheaded by Moses Mendelssohn (lived from 1729 to 1786 was grandfather of the rather better known composer).
Mendelssohn was the leader of German Jewry from the mid 18th century. His principal objective was to encourage Jews to learn the German language to be able to take an active role in society. To encourage them he even translated the Torah into German using Hebrew characters.
He argued that Judaism was always able to adapt to the ethos of the time; that traditional forms of dress, many family and dietary laws and the use of Yiddish were no longer necessary. (Perhaps he went too far too soon. His children converted to Christianity, inflicting lasting damage on reformist movements.)
While Moses Mendelssohn had set the objectives, it was left to another great name in Jewish history, Rabbi Abraham Geiger (1810-1874) to carry forward the principles of reform, encouraged by the recognition that the scriptures were now regarded as products of human authorship.
Geiger headed a seminary in Berlin which trained rabbis to lead progressive communities throughout the world. He believed that to survive, Judaism must become more adapted to the modern world and also that reform must become more international.
The maskilim (Jews who embraced Haskalah) saw themselves as free citizens and no longer exiles. They were free to choose to be Jewish, no longer obliged to remain dependent on an isolated culture. With Geiger they believed Jewish community life must adapt to a changing world. Jewish education must include secular subjects; synagogue services were to be shorter and sermons were to use the vernacular language rather than Yiddish.
Greater decorum, modelled on the Protestant service, was to be introduced. One of the very first synagogues to implement such reforms was in Hamburg in 1818. This eliminated several traditional prayers, for the return of all the Jews to Israel, prayers for the rebuilding of the Temple and the return of animal sacrifice. As for the Messiah, well, you can wait if you want to, but don’t hold your breath!
The first Reform synagogue in the UK was the West London, near Marble Arch, opened in 1840. It’s still considered the cathedral synagogue of Reform Judaism. (Oriental style)
Of course the maskilim did not have it all their own way. Like all religions Judaism has a powerful atavistic instinct, an aversion to change and innovation whatever the pressure. So in reaction to the growing reformist movements, from the early 19th century there emerged counter movements claiming to be in continuity with the past.
This orthodox reaction saw reformist movements as diluting Halachah. A counter attack was led by another great Jewish thinker, Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch (1808 to 1888). He saw that complete rejection of modernity was futile, so some form of compromise was essential. He believed Jews could accept the benefits of emancipation but without compromising Jewish traditions overmuch. He developed a form of practice which kept close to tradition, but with some concessions to the spirit of the age.
This modernised new orthodoxy of Rabbi Hirsch (which we now call ‘Modern Orthodoxy’) was a reaction as much as the reformist movements, as to the new age and its opportunities. His ‘modern orthodox’ movement was an attempt to introduce an expression of Judaism more fit for the modern world without, as he saw it, losing touch with the past. And this essentially is the form of Jewish practice of the majority of British Jews.
So today, throughout the western world, we have modern orthodoxy in a variety of forms, and Reform Judaism also in a variety of forms. Both are attempts to compromise traditional Halachic Judaism with the demands of living in a changed world.
To summarise the essential differences.
Modern orthodoxy:
An attempt to maintain (what they see as) an unbroken tradition; (but no such thing)
sabbath and dietary laws still fundamental;
sermons in English (vernacular) but prayers remain in Hebrew:
choir permitted (male only) – no instruments;
communities still tend to be closed and inward looking;
in teaching, secular subjects admitted but emphasis on Hebrew and Jewish studies;
women teachers ok, but administrators and rabbis must be male;
women not permitted to lead a service;
women separated, often in a gallery.
Reform movement:
Softening the former rigid laws of the Sabbath and the dietary laws;
synagogue services use more English (vernacular) not just for sermons/ prayers, etc;
services to be shorter and with music (mixed choir and instruments allowed);
more openness to people of other faiths (less prescriptive for converts, eg)
teaching to include secular subjects;
gender equality - women to play equal roles (rabbis, syn administrators, teachers);
women allowed to preach and read from the Torah.
all members of the congregation sit together.
Of course there are bound to be individual interpretations – Jews not good a rules – and J can be a very adaptable religion when freed from its archaic rules.
The MK Community: we’re affiliated to the Movement for Reform Judaism. We have a community of about 100 memberships, families & individuals. We’ve had a small synagogue building in Giffard Park, now about 15 years old and beginning to require updating (new heating for example) and maintenance. We are financed by member subscriptions, occasional donations and hiring out the building to organisations such as Kumon. We also hire to a bridge group, a yoga group, a music group, and there are active groups within the membership.
In common with other denominations attendance at services has been falling for sometime. Our community is scattered over the surrounding counties. Less than half of our membership lives within easy reach of the synagogue. We’re also an ageing community, dependent on increasingly scarce volunteers.
Over the years we’ve employed two part-time rabbis. At present we’re without a rabbi, so our services are conducted either by our members or by student rabbis up from London.
As to our future? We’re clinging on. But we’re having to face the reality that there aren’t really enough young committed Jews in MK to sustain a thriving Jewish community. We try to be optimistic.
Zvi Friedman, June 2016