Ah, you lost the thread right in the title. Judaism pre-dates western concepts of religion. We’re a peoplehood, a civilization, a tribe. We are “Am Yisrael” - the people of Israel.
You may be unhappy that some of us don’t observe the way the orthodox do, but we are all one. Especially now, we need to pull together rather than splinter apart.
We cannot be “Am Yisrael” - the people of Israel - without subscribing to the same customs, traditions, beliefs, etc. "Whatever I want to believe" is not “Am Yisrael” IMO.
I’m also going to address the substance here because as a Reform Jew this article rubs me the wrong way.
There are occasional civilizational shifts where we have to redefine how to be Jewish. The most obvious was the destruction of the Second Temple, the diaspora, and the rise of rabbinic Judaism.
I think we’re in a new one these past ~200 years with the development of the nation-state and universal citizenship. Jews are no longer *required* to live in ghettos or in the pale of settlement. Jews are no longer banned from certain occupations. It is possible to integrate into the local society and still retain a Jewish identity, even if that is not all day/every day. At least, that’s the concept behind the development of Reform Judaism. If you engage with the Reform community you'll find there's a lot of underlying logic in what they keep and how they practice that goes beyond "whatever you want." It's really not unlike how the ancient rabbis had to figure out how to be Jewish without the Temple.
Maybe Reform Judaism went too far and failed to pass on key elements to younger generations. I’m struggling with that now as an adult. But that’s fixable if we do the work of embracing all Jews and showing them the beauty of Judaism, not denigrating them by calling them Christians by another name.
Maybe this entire conception is wrong, and Jews can’t partly assimilate. Maybe the rise in antisemitism now will force Jews to isolate. I hope not, but it’s possible. Even if that comes to pass, the majority of Israeli Jews are not strictly dati. So there’s still plenty of room for secular Jews in a fully-Jewish community.
Joshua - as an aside, I love what you've built on this Substack and this is one of the rare voices you've posted that I disagree with.
No its not. Its the result of secular leftist indoctrination. I doubt very many of the Jews who will vote for Mamdani have set foot in a synsgogue probably ever but certainly not as adults, Reform or otherwise.
"Maybe Reform Judaism went too far and failed to pass on key elements to younger generations. I’m struggling with that now as an adult. But that’s fixable if we do the work of embracing all Jews and showing them the beauty of Judaism, not denigrating them by calling them Christians by another name."
Me too! I've mentioned that mah Reform "sunday school" edu-muck-cation wuz sorely lackin' (boring as all heck) but I've been listenin' to Naomi Wolf read Torah an' I'm MESMERIZED! I've learned so much on my OWN that I could'a learned all those boring Sundays. They can surely FIX Sunday School!
Ta throw us all out an' call us names is not a good tactic... (oy, lotta cwazies here :-)
Daisy - Good Religious schools are thriving in many Reform and Conservative congregations. They're only as good as the people you hire.
BUT, no matter how good they are, it's also true that it's generally easier to teach adults who come to the topic because they want to learn, than it is to teach kids who would rather sleep in or play soccer on Sunday mornings.
I remember when Naomi Wolf was a rabid feminist. Then some of us MRAs let her know that if her husband got prostate cancer, she would find out that feminists in Congress made sure there was three times more funding for breast cancer than prostate cancer. Fortunately, she got it - immediately.
I know "gornischt" about this but she's not at all rabid (yeesh--she's happily married with grown up kids afaik) an' comes off as lovely + thoughtful an' is not even talkin' about this stuff now. Folks grow up, they change, no?
She's fluent in Hebrew an' to her credit been readin' chapters aloud an' translating where the English is not so hot... this alone has been a "mitzvah" for me... as a kid I missed out on all this!
Agreed! Only as good as the folks ya hire but I've compared notes with friends an' many've us compare Sunday School to attendin' a SLEEP CLINIC! (minus the electrodes lol)
My best memories are a) singin' (that part was fun! but they cut it off in 7th grade :-(, b) holiday shows (Purim Spiels, plays, etc), an' c) schnecken! Most of those "long hours" were (sadly) not interestin' but could have been.... I think the "teachers" were mostly parent volunteers.
By contrast, I used ta read Jewish Folk Tales to my girls an' we'd discuss history in E. Europe an' so much more. I'd play klezmer records, etc. But me? 11 years in Sunday School an' not one instructor read us "real" folk tales which are hilarious & teach morals too! Not one instructor introduced us to ANY Jewish Music, Art, History (except the most generalized version) etc. Meh.
I regret they didn't even teach us to "read" Hebrew properly (it was like site readin'/not phonics an' as of 2025 I'm only able ta manage a dreidel).
YES adults are easier but I'm sure they could'a done a lot better, it felt very random. Perhaps some are "better" now? I do HOPE so! IMHO it makes ALL the difference!
I have reform often serves exactly the opposite as the author implies, it serves as the on-ramp for Jews who grew up secular to want more Judiasm and more tradition in their life. When they hunger for more than what they get, they become more observant. Reform plays a really important role in keeping secular assimilated jews connected to Am Ysrael
EXACTLY Jacob. Reform Judaism welcomes the Jews who grew up utterly outside of Judaism, assimilated in the Diaspore. Perhaps unable to read or understand ANY Hebrew. Reform Judaism serves a purpose in welcoming people.
I find your comment insulting and divisive. Jews are our own worst enemies. Be it Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist we should welcome each and every Jew to the tribe and stop judging the quality of their worship. No antisemite will stop to question which denomination to which a Jew belongs. We are too few as it is. For too long we have looked down our noses as those who wished to convert, and it was the Reform movement that accepted patrilineal descent. A child born into those other denominations whose mother was not Jewish was not considered Jewish even if raised Jewish. Catholics would accept that child with open arms. No wonder our numbers are declining. We need to become accessible, embrace and teach Jewish joy and perhaps it will make learning about Judaism more meaningful.
Bullshit. Either Jews are a people, members of a tribe, or we are a religion, people of a shared belief system. You can't conveniently invoke one or the other as you see fit. I'm sure in past FoJ posts I've read how we're a people first and a religion second. Now, with this moronic post that you, in poor judgment, are defending, you are throwing the earlier, and much more important and unifying Peoplehood position out, whether you realize it or not. So now, according to Hoffman, we all need to have the same beliefs to be the people of Israel. You said it, not me. Good luck with that! And, yes, this was the worst post I ever read on FoJ. Sometimes editors make bad calls, but what amazes me is how you are defending this nonsense and how tone deaf you are to the hurtful effect it is having. And for the record, I am not a Reform Jew. But according to my genetic test, I'm 98.something% Ashkenazi Jew. I don't believe my beliefs were extracted from my blood sample.
Judaism is not just a tribe or a culture; it’s a religion based on Torah. That doesn’t mean your lineage or DNA is erased, but it does mean that the name “Judaism” describes a set of core beliefs and practices, not just belonging to a people. If we’re honest, calling something Judaism while rejecting its foundations is exactly why so much confusion and anger persist in our community.
Being born Jewish connects you to the people; practicing Torah is what makes that connection active and true. Reform is a different religion, not just another style of Judaism. And naming that openly is the first step to real clarity and unity, not more illusion. No insult intended but the boundaries need to be clear. If we want authentic answers and a stronger future, this distinction can’t be avoided any longer.
That's your view, and you are entitled to it and to express it, as you have. However, you express these views as if they are immutable facts, which they are not. As I said in response to another commenter, a key issue is whether one regards being Jewish as having certain necessary attributes. Different Jews and non-Jews have different views on this question. Some believe there are necessary attributes, but they disagree on what they are. Others do not believe there are necessary attributes and that "Jewish" is a fuzzy set, with the prototypicality of inclusion depending on the presence or absence of various attributes, none of which is necessary on its own. What makes your Jewish connection active and true may not be what makes another Jew's connection "active and true," as you say. This is the part you don't seem to get. I understand that you perceive Reform to be a threat to Judaism, but again, my point is that's just your perspective. What irks me is how you dress that up in terms like "authentic answers" and assume your view is what will deliver a "stronger future". I think you should practice more intellectual humility and adopt more skeptical priors regarding what will deliver prosperity for the Jewish community in the future. You also say "no insult intended", yet you casually proceed with your scalpel, apparently not concerned about the hurt you've inflicted. Even after reading the comments, you seem un-phased by the consequences of your actions. I just found it unenlightening and dogmatic.
David, let me reframe this. My bluntness isn't about my 'view' vs. yours, or an intent to "insult." It comes from a shared, genuine fear for our "stronger future."
You just drew a hard line at anti-Zionism, because it's a clear existential threat. I agree.
My argument is that our 3,000-year-old core—Shabbat, kashrut, the divine Torah—is our spiritual operating system. It's the only reason we've survived exile to even have this debate.
My question is this: Can a Judaism with no non-negotiable requirements actually survive? What happens to our grandchildren when we teach them our entire survival code is just one "perspective" in a "fuzzy set"?
Sam, I appreciate your measured response to my comments, and I hope this exchange serves as an example of how dialogue amongst Jews (and more generally, people) who partly disagree with one another can unfold. I share your concern about the future of Jewish; how it will survive and how Jews can thrive in this world. Like you, I'm sure, I care about Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora. I care about Jews who are religious, and I care about Jews who are not. I believe that Jews need Israel to be healthy and strong. We have seen in the last two years what Jews can accomplish when they exercise command and control over their own military. In contrast, we see the anxiety and precariousness of the fate of Jews who live in Diaspora populations where blatant Jew hatred is normalized with reward and no negative consequence. I think that antizionist Jews are a threat to the Jewish community, but I see them as an insider threat. They are, in my view, still Jews. I think they were miseducated and, sadly, the victims of a radicalized education system that brainwashed them with bad ideas and false truths--views that are currently eating away at the fabric of Western civilization, a civilization founded on Judeo-Christian values and principles. This doesn't absolve them of responsibility, but nor does it locate a dispositional kernel of evil in them. They are, as Stalin put it, naive dupes.
Thankfully, the proportion of Jews who identify as antizionist is small. In a recent Canadian survey, 94% of respondents indicated that Israel was important to their Jewish identity. A few percent said don't know, leaving only about 3% that openly reject Israel. That's 3% too much, but still, it's a small minority who are themselves a small minority of the people on this planet. They are not the central problem, and we do not have to spend our time and energy cutting them out of the Jewish project, let alone much larger groupings, such as Reform Jews, that are not actively opposed to Zionism.
You say that Reform is a different religion. It is not a part of Judaism, but that is a careful dodge, in my view. On the one hand, you aren't coming out and saying that Reform congregants aren't Jewish. They just don't practice Judaism. On the other hand, you are saying that Judaism, as practiced for a few millennia, is essentially intertwined with being Jewish. If you put the two hands together, as many of FoJ readers have done, it is clear that the implication is not only that Reform isn't a form of Judaism, but Reform Jews are not real Jews. By that token, although you picked on Reform, atheist Jews are also not Jews, and indeed any Jew that is not religiously observant in the way you define is not a Jew. Theodor Herzl was not a Jew, then, as he was an atheist. And neither were most of those Nobel laureates who were mistakenly described as Jews. So, whereas I would not exclude even the most vile antizionist Jew from the Jewish family, even though I would be happy to repudiate their beliefs, you seem willing to cut away a large proportion of the Jewish population as a solution to making the remaining part stronger and purer. With some clicks of your keyboard, many of us Jews aren't Jews any longer, and the editor of FoJ is there to back you up. This, to me, is as vile as the antizionist Jew. Worse, in fact, since you carry much more force within the family of Jews than those fringe, naive dupes.
I do not believe you have bad intentions, just as I do not believe the misguided antizionist Jews have bad intentions. To the contrary, I think you all have the best of intentions. But many people who cause suffering have what they think are the best of intentions. They just don't factor in the probability of being wrong. This is why, above all, I am an anti-utopian thinker and a skeptic.
I realize that what I wrote does not offer a solution to the threats to the Jewish people that you, I, and others here perceive. I think the problem is much more widespread and reflects a breakdown in religious belief within the Judeo-Christian sphere. The impulse is to reassert the need for such a belief, but I don't see that as viable. This is a complex issue, and I cannot explain my views in a couple of paragraphs (and what I wrote is already long!), but I will say this exchange has been helpful to me, at least in highlighting the importance of addressing this issue. Maybe I will get back to writing on Tackle (my Substack) and try to take up this challenge, or it can be a project for when I retire and have less divided attention.
There is something else I have observed about Reform Judaism: it seems to have embraced feminism, with it's celebration of women and it's dismissal of men. I remember seeing the survey in which a majority of conservative men valued marriage and family, while only a small minority of liberal (i.e., feminist) women valued marriage and family. Have you noticed these events, too?
Non Jews have recently tried to separate Ashkenazi Jews from all others. In a horrible divisive way. A well known tactic, divide and conquer. The OP just supported this. I think of us as a people. We live all over the world so naturally we do things differently, we speak differently. We have different cultures that we fit into. But ultimately, we are one. We support each other and we cannot be divided.
Oh, how the antisemites would love that; us divided like Catholics and Protestants, turning on one another, doing their job for them.
I’m not quite sure what the motivation was in writing this post.
Elle, thanks for your comment. I suspect the motivation was with good intentions. The idea (approximately) being that sometimes, to keep a family strong, you have to exile members who are tearing it apart. The problem with this formulation is that everyone is confident they know who to exile, and what you have left at the end of the process is a broken family with a lot of hurt feelings. Scalpels are useful tools, but they must be used only when necessary. Surgeons tend to know when they are necessary. Social commentators, not so much. I think posts like this and editorial defences of them, like we see from Joshua Hoffman in response to critiques of this post, speak to a feeling of exasperation. I get it. But if all quarters of the Jewish people define those they don't agree with as non-Jews, which is essentially what this author has done, the small group of Jewish people (15 million?) will be fractured beyond imagination. As you said, this would be the antisemite's dream. How they would relish the pain of our family disunity! How they would smell weakness and salivate in response. One more point I wish to make. I've seen some commenters say they're done with FoJ and wish to be unsubscribed. I get the sentiment. This was an offensive post, but FoJ has also brought us many wonderful posts (mine, for example) over the past two years, which have helped us through hard times. We, too, who have been offended, should be wary of picking up the scalpel in a moment of high emotion. I think commentary is a better response to disagreement. Of course, there are limits on that perspective, too.
David, just who are the Jews of NYC (denomination speaking) who voted for Harris, believe and spew all of the Hamas talking points (ie genocide starvation apartheid colonialist oppressor etc) and who are voting for Mamdani?
Stephen, trust me, I know the problems to which you are alluding. Although I don't live in NYC, I face similar problems in Toronto, which has one of the largest Jewish Diaspora populations in the world. If you read my posts on Tackle, you will see that my perspective is probably not too different than yours. I get the frustration. I just do not think that the scalpel is the solution. Nor do I think Orthodox Judaism is the solution. When I wrote a post for FoJ some months ago, I made the point that Jews respond to antisemitism by adapting and growing stronger, which drives antisemites nuts since they are already envious SOBs. Jews earn Nobel prizes in all categories at a rate at least one order of magnitude greater than their representation in the general public. But if you want to remove atheists from this club and only keep the Orthodox Jews who, yes, go forth and multiply, then you are cutting out a vital part of the Jewish family that has contributed so much to the human family. One cannot have one's cake and eat it too.
Jews aren’t a race anymore than Christians are a race. The religion some of the person’s ancestors were part of doesn’t get passed down metaphysically in the dna. Don’t worry though, your belief that it does fits perfectly in the foundational Jewish racial mythology, so you actually share Jewish religious beliefs more than you are even aware. You and Sam are having a sectarian religious dispute about who belongs in the cult supposedly chosen by a deity who commanded the enslavement of Midianite female virgins. How cute. ☺️
I think most will agree that both elements are important or, as you say, "crucial" components. These terms, however, admit ample wiggle room. The question is whether one believes there are *necessary* conditions for "being Jewish". When one starts using the scalpel to excise parts of the Jewish community, it works through an assumption that necessary components are lacking. Therefore, "those Jews" become recategorized as "non-Jews". I think Jews who hold antizionist beliefs are part of the problem Jews are currently facing, but I don't say now let's call them non-Jews. No. By that logic, if I think they're also harming humanity, should I also redefine them as "non-humans"? They are Jews with whom I may have almost nothing in common with belief-wise, but they are still members of the tribe. Misguided ones, and perhaps ones who don't feel they are part of anything Jewish, but I think they are still members.
The title begins... "Reform Judaism isn’t Jewish." It doesn't say "Reform isn't a branch of Judaism." Also, there is such a thing called gist and another thing called implication.
Whatever I want to believe is not what Reform Judaism is as its many publications about beliefs and practices attest ( which you seem not to know or have read).
Back in the early 1970s, Orthodox Rabbi Marvin Antelman wrote "To Eliminate the Opiate". He opined that both Reform and Conservative Judaism were late-19th century and early 20th century innovations created by Communist agents, with the intent of subverting Judaism.
Orthodox Rabbi Marvin Antelman sounds like a very stupid person who likes to make things up. Both Reform and Conservative movements long predate the time when there were any communist agents. Reform Judaism originated in Germany in the early 1oth century. Conservative Judaism originated as a backlash to Reform Judaism in the United States in the late 19th century and was built by Solomon Schecter and the Jewish Theological Seminary, most certianly not "communist agents."
They weren’t ‘formed’ as such. Agreed upon, perhaps. The original text is still the same. God didn’t come back to meet with Moses and give another view. We are a people, and we are a people who are naturally inquisitive. We read, we talk, we argue, we eat. The meaning of every word in the Torah is dissected and discussed. There won’t be a quiz at the end to see who interpreted it correctly. Different sects are just groups of people who interpreted the Torah in the same way. As the world moves forward, and as long as we move forward with it, no doubt there will be many to come who will interpret the Torah differently again.
The logic of the article and your response ignore the evolution of various religious protocols that have been implemented by the sages of Judaism through millennia. Being an atheistic Jew and Israeli, I considered these thoughtfully and prudently introduced revisions the strength of our religious DNA! Christianity has been undergoing a similar process to stay relevant and spiritually nourishing of believers’ souls. Islam still has to evolve, currently being lacking relevance in the context of the palatable changes in human civilization, especially concerning the principles of individual freedoms, separation of church and state, the emancipation of women and more. No wonder that Islamic believers are still violently clashing with Christianity and Judaism, as their dogma is based on domination of world domination by Islamists. It is its weakness, which must be corrected to enable its survival and possible success as a spiritual option.
Inconsistent with the evolutionary protocols of Judaic dogma. I considered this aspect of Judaism as its strength, and the lack of it the weakness of Islam.
Up to a point. The same customs and traditions to be sure. Also the same values. As to beliefs, that is a personal matter, and to insist that only Jews who are sufficiently devout, or who practice all 613 Mitzvot, are worthy to be called Jews, is arrogant self-regard, which is itself a deviation from Jewish values.
It's fascinating to see how defensive Reform Jews get when their beliefs are challenged. I would like to know how do Reform Jews justify their adoption of DEI and Social Justice Fundamentalism - just two examples of ideologies that actually undermine Jewish values? Why on the RAC website is almost every call to action about identity politics, defying the current government, and anti-racism? Would love to hear a cogent argument in favour of these views without defensiveness.
Ultimately, maybe. But "Am Yisrael" is an identity that attaches one to other Jews - and makes it possible to choose to return to observance and commitment.
My parents didn't teach me anything about Judaism until I was in third grade: my friends and I were trying to figure out what religions meant. We "knew" from jokes that there were three religions: Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Jews celebrated Hanukah, Catholics celebrated Christmas... but that left us in a quandary about what Protestants did. Like many non-observant Jews, we had a Christmas tree, so I suggested that Protestants celebrated both. When I told my parents that I figured out that we were Protestants, they decided it was time I went to the local Reform Hebrew school.
In my twenties I started getting interested in observance, and finally became Orthodox in my early forties. I see no way for that to have happened if the Orthodox declared Reform to be a completely different religion. Similarly, outreach groups like Chabad and Aish bring lots of Reform Jews to observance - why would you break the connection that makes that possible?
Ultimately, you are a Jew based on maternal descent or halachic conversion. Torah is the "religion" of Jews. Reform was created with the theory that antisemitism was based on Jewish particularism, and that it could be ended if we abandoned our traditions. Obviously, it failed, and now we have lots of Jews who are estranged from our practices - but they still see themselves as Jews, trying to do the right thing.
The approach of outreach groups is a much better idea than casting out those who don't know better.
You were so failed by the ethos of Conformism that, as a child, you correctly identified your family looked more Protestant than Jewish.
You credit Reform as a "bridge," but your timeline reveals the tragedy: it's a 40-year detour that robs our people of their most crucial, formative years.
This is why the gentle outreach model is no longer enough. A Jewish soul is an indestructible, eternal fact. My critique isn't "casting out" a single Jew; it is an urgent call to stop validating the failed system that caused your 40-year detour.
We are in a time of incredible, holy awakening. We just saw hostages, stripped of everything, return and speak of finding God in the darkness. We see secular Israelis turning to Shabbat. The Jewish soul, when it's not being confused by a false ideology, always knows the way home.
The time for detours is over. It’s time to join the builders of the authentic path.
No, it didn't. I simply had no understanding of religion, hence the need to rely on the jokes even to identify some religions.
The question isn't, is Reform good, but rather, compared to what?
If we push the Reform Jews away, we destroy the connection that would even allow them to return. My grandfather had been president of his Reform synagogue, and did a seder (first day only) to which his sons brought their families. His father had thought of his as a religious fanatic for even being involved in a synagogue.
Our history has had unfortunate times of elitism, which drove away many Jews from Torah. We need to be reaching out, not pushing Jews away because their ancestors chose Reform.
The path back isn't easy. My primary non-work activity used to be community theater, which I had to give up to keep Shabbos. (I also had to give up cocktail shrimp and pepperoni pizza). For non-Orthodox Jews, there are sacrifices to be made, such as these. Telling them they are aren't Jewish will guarantee that they never make such a choice.
Let's be absolutely clear: I have never said anyone "isn't Jewish." A Jewish soul is indestructible.
Your beautiful, slow path of return is the authentic one.
But that is not the Reform approach.
That movement is, at its core, Conformism—a multi-generational off-ramp built for assimilation. Its antagonism to the “Orthodox” is a defense mechanism; it's an ideology that knows it's an imposter.
The proof is in the numbers.
We must love our people enough to attack this failed ideology, not the souls it has taken hostage.
No you didn't say it explicitly - but that is how people are hearing it. And no, of course Reform doesn't encourage a return to Orthodoxy. That's not what any of us are claiming.
The point, rather, is that if we want non-observant Jews to return, attacking them by denigrating their current practices is ineffective at best. Chabad and Aish seem to have found a good approach; you might want to learn from them. I highly doubt that it includes telling them that their religion isn't Judaism.
Some of us return on our own, little by little, often incentivized by things in our lives; others need guidance and patience.
Reform does not see itself as an imposter - but those in the movement know very little. Experience shows that many can be shown what they are missing and want to explore it. Attacking them only builds up resistance.
Are Sephardic Jews Israel, or are Askenazi Jews? What about Shammai vs Hillel? Chabad talks about the messiah, and they know exactly who they're talking about.
With all due respect, you're talking out your ass.
Facts! We were a people before a religion. Also, I was just hurt and offended in equal measure. I consider Judaism a front facing element of my whole being.
I guess he rightly hit a nerve. No, we are not a people before a religion. We are people with a distinct religion that G-d gave us at Sinai. Sorry to break it to you, you cannot have one without the other. Judaism is not a menu where you decide what to observe and not to.
Says who—men who say prayers they weren’t born a woman? Which religion from which era? From which country? Jews would not have survived through the millennia with such rigidity. Israel wouldn’t be Israel with such rigidity.
Funny how we survived for thousands of years with this so called ‘rigidity’ you deride. We’ve lost Jews to assimilation in the past two hundred because of wanting to assimilate with the dominant culture and because German Jews decided to water down traditional Judaism and make it more like the Protestant religion. Even secular Jews in Israel are more religious then there counterparts in the diaspora and I guess you know nothing about the religious Zionist movement in pre- State Israel by the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine Rabbi Abraham Kook and his writings. You seem to be under the misapprehension that only secular Jews played a part in Israel’s founding and its history. Religious Zionism is key element of Israeli society. When Ben Gurion founded the State he made sure to keep the following:
‘The future government will do all it can to make sure that the religious demands be answered concerning personal status issues, such as marriage, divorce, and conversions.
All government-operated kitchens (army, police, hospitals, etc.) will have kosher food.
Shabbat will be the official day of rest for Jews.
There will be autonomy in education, and the state will not intervene in religious education but will demand and regulate a minimum curriculum in secular subjects such as science, grammar and history.’ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/david-ben-gurion
Even Israelis are more religious than Reform Jews in America and other parts of the Diaspora. You obviously don’t know much about the Satmars to make such an ignorant statement. The Satmars are anti-Zionist and don’t consider religious Zionists/Orthodox Jews to be Jews. You really should get yourself a proper education before making such asinine statements. Do you just make up assumptions and numbers as you go along? See Pew: https://theworlddata.com/jewish-population-in-us/. Also the fertility rate for traditional and Orthodox Jews is higher than the other denominations. Quelle surprise. Once again, thanks for displaying your complete ignorance.
You just proved who you are and that you’re incapable of even providing a coherent and intelligent reply. I guess for your lot, ignorance is bliss. Very Erev Rav of you. Nothing has done more harm to the Jewish people than Protestantised Reform Judaism with it’s high rate of atheism and intermarriage.
I CANNOT believe there are "landsman" ridin' so high on their horses that all they kin do if we don't measure up is ta trample us an' call us non-joos--'er Christians, Protestants... er (in mah case) TWATS! (sum' mouth this EJV has, no?)
I respect the author’s right to express his opinion. It’s a provocative piece of writing.This issue of what is a Jew or who is a Jew gets to the heart of a very important matter and we see its significance reflected not only in our communal need to appropriately confront the rise of global Antisemitism and the associated troubling allegiance of elements of the secular Jewish Left to fundamentally anti-Israel and anti-Jewish causes, but also in Israel, where there is spirited ongoing disagreement between the most observant among us and those who are less observant or secular Israeli Jews as to the path forward for the country and our people.
IMHO we need each other. We can have this conversation. But this is poor (maybe the worst in 80 -95 years) timing and the wrong platform upon which to have the conversation. I’m not advocating censorship. I am advocating editorial
judgment. This is not a safe haven platform for Jews. We don’t need to argue in the front yard while an assortment of malign state actors, Islamofascists, and Nazi fan boys are manipulating social media opinion to burn down our house. The Reform community needs the Orthodox community and the Orthodox community needs the secular, Conservative and Reform Jews who support Israel as well. Sorry, not sorry. Part of what’s been left out of this conversation is the devastating effect of the Holocaust which scattered survivors across the planet and fundamentally altered Jewish geography.
Another aspect that must be considered is that we live in a time of unprecedented technological and social change and the rate of change is accelerating not slowing down. This is having massive effects upon all social institutions, individuals and the family. The Torah may be unchanging, but life for humans most definitely is in radical ways. I think adopting an exclusionary stance is a mistake and if we want to bring people together, we’re going to have to have better messaging and open minds, and consider modern reality in the equation, if simply for practical reasons.
This ties in with the need for better, more forward thinking (in the educational, political and community safety arenas) leadership in diaspora Jewish organizations. We have some stuff to fix.
You are absolutely right about the danger. The house is on fire, and our enemies are at the door. Your call for unity comes from the deepest, most essential Jewish instinct for survival.
But you've misdiagnosed the fire.
You are worried about an argument in the "front yard," but you're missing that the fire started inside the house, decades ago. The spiritual foundation was hollowed out, the fire-retardant of Torah was stripped away, and the walls were replaced with the flammable materials of Conformism. The external attacks we see today are not a new threat; they are just the flames finally reaching the roof.
This is not "bad timing." This is the blaring of the fire alarm. This is the one, desperate moment to shout that the "modern" materials have failed and that our only path to survival is a return to the original, fireproof blueprint.
The unity you're calling for—a huddling together based on shared fear—is what we've been trying. It has failed. It is a unity of victims.
The only unity that will save us is the one that has always saved us: a powerful, unapologetic unity of purpose, built on our eternal covenant. We don't need "better messaging" for a failed system. We need to be builders of a system that actually works.
But I’m not talking about fear and huddling together. I’m talking about fighting back together. Because I for one will not go peacefully. You want to point a finger at your less observant brothers or you want some help fighting Nazis? My ancestors murdered by Nazis and Communists in Poland, France, Ukraine, Russia, were modern people. They got killed just the same. They paid the same price as the ultra Orthodox. The Israelis fighting jihad are not all rabbis. We’re a small people. We need all hands on deck. And I understand your points and I agree with many of them. Ideas are constantly in conflict. If your ideas and desired outcome are losing traction, then I would suggest finding a better way to present those ideas to reverse the trends that alarm you. You say antisemitism is not new. Of course, you’re right. And what I’m saying to you is not new. And I am right too. The diaspora Jews need better leadership and a new way of thinking about how to fight for our human rights. In the meantime, let’s not encourage people who exploit our differences.
vielen danke Tanto--yer right! There are many EYES on these stacks an' ya Schpeak Trooth!
THIS sums it up:
"This is not a safe haven platform for Jews. We don’t need to argue in the front yard while an assortment of malign state actors, Islamofascists, and Nazi fan boys are manipulating social media opinion to burn down our house. The Reform community needs the Orthodox community and the Orthodox community needs the secular, Conservative and Reform Jews who support Israel as well. Sorry, not sorry. "
It does not matter if you are “hurt and offended “. You are simply coming face to face with a different opinion. You won’t accept the possibility that you could be wrong.
This pathetic response is so woke. Some of you who are ‘hurt’ and ‘offended’ sound like badly behaved children. Really? Grow up and do some investigating and learning.
You’ve put your finger on the essential point: We are Am Yisrael—a people. Let me be absolutely clear, as this is the foundation for everything: This is not about who is a Jew. If you are born of a Jewish mother, you have an eternal Jewish soul. Period. My critique is not aimed at the person, but at the system they have been taught.
Our nation was forged by a covenant. The Torah isn't just a "religious text"; it is the founding constitution of our civilization. When the Temple was destroyed, the Sages didn't invent a new Judaism; they used this same constitution—the Mesorah—to adapt within the system. The Reform movement did the opposite: it created a new system with a new goal—integration.
This is why so many feel a disconnect, a sense that "key elements" have been lost. It’s not an accident; it’s the system working as designed. It’s a framework not for continuity, but for Conformism. I urge you to direct any frustration not at those of us pointing this out, but at the ideology that has created generations of confusion.
Real unity isn’t found by blurring the lines. It’s found by rediscovering the authentic blueprint and becoming the builders our future desperately needs.
Sam, this comment is less divisive than your article. However, I still disagree with your take on post-Temple Judaism being legitimate while post-Enlightenment Judaism being illegitimate. You are assuming your own conclusion here.
Would a Temple-era Jew recognize a diaspora rabbinic Jew as being the same? I think absolutely not. How can you have Judaism without the Temple? Where are the Cohanim? Where are the sacrifices? Where is the rhythm of the land and the seasons? Where’s the language? A time traveling Temple-era Jew would be completely confused.
I’m trying to reframe your last sentence in a way I agree with. “Real unity is found by…” and I don’t have an answer. I don’t have a definition that would include my version of Judaism, your version of Judaism, but draw a line where I do, which is to disavow the anti-Zionist useful idiots supporting Hamas, but claiming the mantle of Judaism.
Let me try this. Real unity is found by argument for the sake of heaven. What we are all doing here in these comments. Holding space for each other, as Jews, even as we disagree. It won’t, can’t, divide us.
Would a Temple-era Jew recognize us? Absolutely. They wouldn’t be looking for a building; they’d be looking for the Jewish nation.
They would find us keeping Shabbat and kashrut. They’d see our close-knit communities built around daily prayer, and our study halls filled with people poring over ancient texts to apply to modern life. They would recognize our vast networks of charity that support both our own and the world at large.
They'd also understand our system of authority, since rabbinic Judaism is simply the continuation of the Sanhedrin, which always served as the judiciary while the Temple handled the sacrificial service.
That is the authentic chain of tradition that was meticulously passed down and survived 2,000 years of exile. The fundamental error is to skip over those two millennia of history, which is precisely what post-Enlightenment movements did.
To truly understand this unbroken continuity, you have to study it. I’d recommend starting with a book like Rabbi Shmuel Reichman’s The Journey to Your Ultimate Self to see how that ancient, living conversation continues today.
Sorry to burst your bubble here, but arguably Temple-era Jews would not recognize the Israeli Haredim immersed in their Torah Study halls 24x7, living separately from the rest of Jewish society, not working and expecting handouts and refusing to defend the Jewish nation. That could be arguably described as "non-Jewish" and certainly unrecognizable. But, I would never characterize them as non-Jews like you are basically saying about the Reform Jews.
Over the last 2 years of first being enchanted by Joshua's "Future of Jewish, I have been dismayed by the total shift to the 'right', losing any sense of nuance from the broader spectrum of Jewish voices that can contribute to the discussion. It is simply sad that everything devolves in to tribal bubbles. Certainly the comments come from all over the spectrum, but the original essays are simply one sided steered sharply to the right
You are correct that a Temple-era Jew would be confused by a modern Haredi lifestyle—just as he'd be confused by a smartphone.
But that confusion is superficial.
He would immediately recognize the core operating system: Shabbat, kashrut, daily prayer, and the unbroken chain of rabbinic authority. He would see a 2,000-year evolution of the exact system he lived by.
But if you showed that same Temple-era Jew the founding documents of Reform, he would find nothing recognizable.
He wouldn't see a "confusing" lifestyle; he would see a different religion—one that explicitly and intentionally dismantled the entire system of divine authority, law, and practice he lived for.
This is the real "nuance" you are missing. You are equating a 2,000-year evolution with a 200-year-old rejection.
This isn't a "shift to the right." It is a firm return to that non-negotiable, historical distinction.
AGREED! One key tenet of Judaism (from all I've known) is that you do NOT have to even "believe in G-d" to be jooish--QVESTIONS are encouraged (re Pesach & beyond). Sure, ve have "mandates" to uphold the "Big Ten" which may be done wuther yer Orthodox, Conservative, er yes REFORM! but I agree--this schplinterin' is simply WRONG.
To split us apart like the Aesop story where the bundle is stronger TOGETHER (oy, as if pollyticks ain't don' that enuf?) is criminal--yes criminal!
Growin' up Reform I'll AGREE that Sunday Skool sucked an' needs ta be fixed--no more lackluster bornin' lessons (please G-d no more KaTonTon!)... Torah is fassynatin'--nu? I needed ta larn this years after havin' kids? I could go on....
If joos were told they had ta keep kosher or "fully" do shabbos there would be even fewer of us! This is what you want? Oy. (ptooey! lol)
We don’t have to believe in G-d?! Where are you getting this nonsense from? We can argue with G-d and asks queries but belief in G-d is essential. Do you not know how to spell the word ‘Jew’ yet alone speak in bloody English? For goodness sakes what an aberration of the English language. All Jews were observant and kosher over 200 years ago which lasted for thousands of years until the Enlightenment and certain Jews wanted to assimilate with gentile culture which brought us Reform Judaism and assimilation. Your ignorance is appalling. There are few of us because of bloody assimilation you silly twat. You’re a troll so sod off.
Count me in the hurt and offended group. Also color me absolutely disgusted that you would seek to divide and/or exclude some Jews from the group.
It’s the worst piece and the most poorly timed piece I’ve read yet in FoJ.
I hope to read a rebuttal piece make the argument that we are a people first. Also, we need more proud Jews of any kind (except Messianic, but maybe that’s just me). Now more than ever.
We are being erased from our own history right now - in universities, lower schools, even Holocaust Museums. But, sure, let’s fight about who gets to be called a Jew! You are doing Hamas’ work for them - 😡!
You are never asked whether you believe in God to be Jewish. That’s the important difference between Judaism and the other 2 spin out religions — one is born Jewish, and unless specific acts are taken to leave Judaism by a deliberate act, e.g., start practicing another religion with intent. Practicing Judaic rituals or following Judaic commandments are NOT the requirements of being Jewish, being born to Jewish mother is an absolutely required and sufficient condition. Per Hasidic teachings, even being a non-practicing Jew doesn’t make one a “bad” Jew — one is still just a Jew!
Golly ya took a narsty pill an' I'm notta troll (believe what'cha want an' call me all the names ya want), an' I've been on Substack fer quite a few years an' I DO contribute thoughtful bits an' write both mah com-mints an' my stack in the vernacular fer many a good reason. (I'll spare ya why cuz ya don't know how ta act nicely, ya just ACCUSE....)
I have quite a few subscribers (over 1000 if ya count followerz) who neither hate me 'er call me a TWAT like YOU DID. Whut a lovely human bean YOU must BE. What a noble Jew settin' such a good eggzample.
I may write "funny" but you gotta POTTY MOUTH!"
I bet it goes over real well in yer schul, nu?
HONESTLY if ya don't like mah take or mah "bloody english" you could jus' skip it.... as many do. They don't have the time 'er the inclination... Guess it feels good ta take yer "fellow" joos down a notch?! Settin' a "foin" eggzample thar....
Here's a golden rule ya seem ta have vergotten: "IF you can't say something nice don't say anything AT ALL."
Thankfully some'a yer fellow Brits--if that's what'cha are given yer own "vernacular"--are quite nice ta me an' enjoy mah "vernacular." I've quite a few subscribers from across the pond who are not skeered of an act-tress who writes like Al Capp.
Not yer cuppa tea? That's fine. No need ta choke on yer crumpet an' treat another human like... wull, I'm a laydee so I won't say.
An' YES you do NOT have ta believe in God/G-d to be a joo/chew/JEW...
Here's a test.... Go pick out a secular joo with a jooish mother an' see if Israel turns 'im away as NOT bein' a JEW. (Thankfully you ain't workin' in Customs!)
You fully PROVE my disagreement with today's stack-poster who wanted ta separate "true joos" who are Orthodox or at least Conservative from....the rest of us.
MOST commenters were sayin' that they also felt that it's wrong ta accuse Reform Jews of not bein' "chewish enuf."
Seems like yer in full agree-mint an' clearly you got lots'a disdain fer Reform Judaism. Fine with me... I guess yer bein' proper Orthodox-frum means tellin' others like me that we're ignorant an' trolls an' twats. Lovely. Surely ya feel right chuffed fer talkin' down to yer "inferiors."
As to the possibility of bein' a Jew that does not BELIEVE in G-d or QUESTIONS G-d....THERE are many views on from legit sources. I heard it direct from a chabad rabbi an' wuz surprised... I did NOT say I didn't believe in G-d m'self btw but you took out yer Ginsu knives an' wanted ta do sum fierce choppin'--attackin' "fellow" Joos? GeeHaw'd away...
Are ya SURE, ya know better? Rebbe EJV.?
I ain't joinin' YOUR temple but here are quite a few view onnit:
"What is more important in Judaism: belief in God or practicing the laws of the Torah?"
"Belief in God was less central to Jews of the rabbinic era (the few centuries following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE) than it was to Jews in the Middle Ages, not because God was less important, but because belief itself was."
"Though Jews tended to believe in certain shared concepts–e.g. one God who led them out of Egypt, the eventual messianic redemption–official beliefs or dogmas were not formulated until the Middle Ages."
You've called me a TWAT an' a TROLL an' told me to SOD OFF.
LOVELY! What a dear human bean ya must be....
I've shared a fact I've larned from a gen-u-ine Rabbi an' attempted to weigh in on why I feel dividin' the jewish people an' dismissin' a lot've us is a bad idear. You simply attacked me an' called me names.
I m'self have been informin' misinformed haters fer the last few years (on a near daily basis) an' have won a few over to NOT dissin' Israel or Judaism. To BETTER understandin'. I do so with humor.
WHAT have YOU accomplished t'day with yer poison pen an' forked tongue?
(ya don't have ta answer.... )
I think more'n a few others on this stack an' others might vouch fer me...
Forgive my faux pas if I didn’t get your type of ‘humour’ but it’s like fingernails on a chalk board. Monty Python is my type of humour, or Fawlty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances, etc. But belief in G-d is essential to being living and being Jewish. We were given the 10 Commandments by G-d at Sinai. All the Jews I know believe in the Creator including myself. The female rabbi whose link you provided gave both religious and non-religious examples. I provided the only ones that matter in this case:
Adin Steinsaltz The question “What is Judaism without belief in God” can best be answered through similes. The simplest simile would be that it is like humanity without life: a collection of dead bodies, cemeteries and memorials. Judaism without belief in God is just like that: a combination of obscure historical notions such as the Shoah, a faint attachment to Israel and wonderful material for Woody Allen movies.
Martin Buber
When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
For Maimonides, one was not Jewish–at least not fully Jewish–if one did not believe in God and in the other tenets of belief that he outlined. He stated that the following principles were essential to one's Jewish identity.
A more digny-fied response dignifies a response tho' I'll say bein' called potty-mouth names is arguably worse than fingernails on a chalkboard but ta each his own (said the laydee when she kissed her cow) an' on that note, we'll put such quibbles aside.
Herewith, a few com-mints to lay this toe-pick to REST:
1. Eeeeven within the discussions ya shared the qvestion came up as a scrolled down....NOWHERE in Torah duz it say "yer notta joo if you do not believe in G-d" -- Yep, Maimonides included it (then again some said he was a heretic--no, I do NOT think he was).
Again (per my other com-mint), many rabbis (includin' Orthodox / Chabad) DO say that if you are born with a Jewish Soul (all us joos are) then yer Jewish no matter if yer belief in G-d waxes, wanes, 'er full out leaves fer a time... (There are ways ta Un-Jew yerself such as with conversion but we are NOT talkin' 'bout that)
2. It's insultin' no-end ta say those of us joos that are not "frum" enuf are simply Woody Allen fans with an obscure "notion" of the Shoah. Ben Hecht, fer eggzample, saved more chewish lives durin' the Holocaust than ANY other Jew in America. He was not particularly religious, he had two non-jooish wives, an' he fought tirelessly for the Jewish people. He lived..."jewishly" meanin' with a deep connection to our people an' makin' sacrifices (career-wise an' beyond) to save Jewish lives. I defy anybuddy ta schtate he was not a Jew... really? That'd be sum' chutzpah.
(May his memory be a blessin'!)
Also, it's insultin' ta call me ignorant (an' other cherce woids/names) when there are INDEED many rabbis that would 100% agree with mah statement about "belief" (which is a "state" which can change an' yer still a Jew when it does)
3. I'll end here with TWO quotes (both from Orthodox Sources...)
A. "According to rabbinical Judaism, a Jew is one who has a Jewish mother or one who has formally converted to Judaism. Leviticus 24:10 is often cited to give this belief credibility, although the Torah makes no specific claim in support of this tradition. "
"Some rabbis say that it has nothing to do with what the individual actually believes. These rabbis tell us that a Jew does not need to be a follower of Jewish laws and customs to be considered Jewish. In fact, a Jew can have no belief in God at all and still be Jewish based on the above rabbinical interpretation."
NOTE: Ain't sayin' ALL RABBIS see it this way but it's a legit interpretation an' I was given it from a rabbi myself.
B.
Rabbi Naftali Brawer sez:
"A born Jew is always a Jew, regardless of how committed one is to the faith and practice of Judaism. Being Jewish is an existential definition; it is who you are in your very essence and nothing can ever change that. This is because at your core is a Jewish soul bequeathed to you by your Jewish forbears. It is, to put it in other terms, your spiritual DNA."
"In the same way you cannot change your physiological make-up, you cannot alter the fact that deep within you resides a Jewish essence. Furthermore, being Jewish is an all-or-nothing scenario. You either are or you are not. There is no such thing as varying gradations of Jewishness. "
"The scrupulously observant Jew is no more Jewish in essence than the most non- observant Jew. Where these two Jews differ greatly is in their commitment to Judaism."
"The observant Jew takes his Judaism seriously. He is steeped in its history, culture and traditions and he structures his life around its teachings. The non-observant Jew on the other hand does not live his life in accordance with Torah’s teachings. This may make him an apathetic Jew but it in no way detracts from his core Jewishness."
"The question you ought to be asking is not whether you are Jewish but whether or not you are living life Jewishly. One of the most important expressions of Judaism is the feeling of responsibility and connectedness to other Jews."
GIVEN THAT LAST SENTENCE we here, lookin' at this Substack CLEARLY identify as jewish an' feel BOTH " responsibility and connectedness to other Jews" wuther we are Orthodox... or not.
Who wants ta cast the first stone?
ps ALL this disagree-mint came from one skinny little line--my statin' that a Rabbi told me that to be jooish you do not need to believe in G-d. * More'n one Chabad Rabbi backs this up. Some do so by sayin' "you believe even if you think you don't".... I'm no theologian but I'm happy to embrace our "Tribe" no matter how frum...or not they are.
*I would say that Judaism is unique in this way an' imho Hashem knew that human beans would have times of disbelief, uncertainty, an' faith as life's ups & downs come/go....knowin' our faith uniquely duz NOT abandon us if we qvestion or even reject fer a time... is a strength, not a weakness...
"You do you" an' dis-miss whom ya like. Again, the bundle of sticks, per Aesop, is much stronger than the individual sticks that are more easily broken--together we ARE stronger an' I'll STICK to that!
"Take comfort in the teaching of our sages, that every Jew is a “believer, the child of believers,” and there’s nothing you can do to change that. Even Jews that believe they’re atheists are innate, profound believers."
"So it’s okay to feel once in a while that 'maybe I don’t really believe.' Because, even then, He’s still there. And so is your connection to Him. G‑d doesn’t disappear like a figment of imagination, and neither does your Jewish soul."
"And, besides, He believes in you, just as He did yesterday. "
Me? I think this is bee-u-tee-full. Thus, yes, even if there are times ya don't believe...or yer not sure.... G-d has our backs an' that duz not change our "Jewish Soul" (amen!)
I think GB raises some very interesting points in this debate.
The world has evolved, and so too has Judaism.
Miracle of miracles, the 1948 rebirth of modern day Israel in its original homeland, against all odds, and with that rebirth, a flourishing strong economy as a wonder to the world.
Israel’s strongly patriotic population ingathered from across the globe, are a first world democracy in a neighbourhood whose countries values and lifestyles are so very different.
The years have evolved post enlightenment, with industrialisation, modernity post WW2 at an ever increasing pace and globalisation. When coupled with not having our homeland for over 2000 years, Jewish people have found themselves spread across the world, having to master the ever changing environment of their home nations. All the while, adhering to the Judaism they knew and were taught.
A very good friend once said to me, Christians may all believe, but they don’t belong, whereas Jews may not all believe on the same level, but they all belong.
The Rebbe himself would disagree with the entire premise of this post. As my local Chabad rabbi says, “Labels are for clothes, not for Jews.” You can have problems with Reform Judaism’s philosophy (and I do, trust me) without writing off every Jew who is part of a Reform community. This antagonism of your fellow Jew needs to stop. The antisemites don’t know if you keep kosher or are shomer Shabbat— they just care if you are Jewish in any form. We need unity to face our enemies. This post is so disappointing.
As someone who grew up with lifeless Reform Judaism, I can attest to what Joshua has written. Luckily my mother zt”sent me to a religious day school for junior and part of high school which planted the seeds for me becoming a modern Orthodox Jew in the 1980s. My first trip to Israel in 1982 with the Sephardic Educational Center was the spark that lit the fire that returned me, a Ba’al Teshuvah to what being an authentic Jew is. If what Joshua has written has upset or offended you, good. There would be no Judaism if we’d thrown away the rituals, observing Shabbat etc. Being a ‘cultural’ Jew without the nuts and bolts of what it takes to live as an observant Jew is frankly a joke and meaningless and ultimately leads to assimilation.
Every Baal Teshuvah has a story about their family and community of origin and what motivated them to move to a life of Torah observance . The key is to avoid theological disputes take Halachic stances that are necessary but by all means don’t act or be judgmental but rather sad that far too many of our brothers and sisters know more about the important details of the Holocaust ( and in some cases have received a universalistic approach to the uniquely Jewish aspects of t he Holocaust) but have very little knowledge as to the basic texts and teachings of Judaism
Exactly, mine was going to a Jewish day school and then to Israel with a religious Sefardi group which changed everything. Being in Israel changed everything for me. I didn’t become a Ba’al Teshuva overnight, I took my journey in steps. But by the late 1980s I made it and I never looked back.
My journey began by attending NCSY Shabbatonim and conventions becoming Shomer Shabbos and attending YU where I received the tools in in learning Torah and a college education
If I had to attend university again I would probably do YU or apply to Bar Ilan. I went to Hebrew University for my third year from 1983-84. I went from Reform to Conservative for a time and then found it hypocritical, then became friends with some Rabbis, Chabad and modern Orthodox and became friends with the head Librarian of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and started becoming Shomer Shabbat. I became researcher at SWC in 1994.
Fascinating! Once upon a time Barnard was where many Modern Orthodox women went to college and Hebrew U was where sons went for a junior year abroad but as you pointed out its faculty is at best a very mixed bag with respect to Judaism and classical Jewish texts .Barnard is is now a decidedly hostile and culturally and socially unsafe environment for Jewish students . There was a report by two graduates of Harvard and MIT who in about 2007 warned about these issues in the Ivies and it was thus an easy decision four children to go to Touro and Stern . Our younger daughter worked for many years in YU’s Gottesman Library where you can see students Roshei Yeshiva and researchers in all aspects of Jewish life on any given day
The so called ‘Enlightenment’ which you think of as being so grand has lead us to where western society is today. G-dless, narcissistic, unmoored, feelings of isolation, drug addiction, mental health problems etc. It was the Enlightenment that allowed for the Shoah to occur. ‘The death of G-D’. So much for being ‘enlightened’ when the oldest hatred, that of Jews, has reached tsunami levels…
We can indeed blame the Enlightenment created by humans which lead to rationalising everything and then to agnosticism, then atheism and now to narcissism and hedonism and generation Z embracing a jihadist death cult mixed in with Marxism. As for the brave men and women in the IDF, they are more religious than those in the Reform movement because most of them believe in G-d and adhere to some Jewish rituals while living and serving in Israel, the holy land of the Jewish people. There no comparison between them and secular diaspora Jews. You might want to read the from the newly released hostages and what sustained them these past few years. It was their faith and belief in G-d.
I don't know what Reform synagogue you visited or what Rabbi you spoke with. I've been a Reform jew all my life and we've never been taught what you're alleging, and I've been to many shuls due to having a father in the military. Please take you story down. We don't need our enemies using it against all of us. And they will.
At this time in our history, we don't need more hate. We need togetherness and connection.
I saw nothing that was an expression of hate. Surely we all know that there are vast differences between what orthodox Jews believe and how they live compared to how Jews who think of themselves as belonging to other "denominations" believe and live. Sam Mitzmann has described his conceptual framework for these differences. He is not telling anyone to stop thinking of themselves as Jewish.
I have to say that I think he kind of is saying that. He appears to see Reform as essentially a breakaway sect, which heavily implies that it isn't Judaism anymore.
You would have done better to spend the time actually making the world around you better rather than create this divisive, exclusionary drivel. Enjoy life on your tiny little island - the rest of us Jews will be out here if you decide to engage.
That's how most people used to be going back 100 years and before then. The secular folks have less and less kids. Having many kids used to be seen as a sign of strength (and in Israel, it still is). Many secular people see kids as a liability (i.e. financial), not an asset. I think we have a lot to learn from religious Jews on this.
There was a recent study which found that a high percentage of conservative men valued marriage and family, while only a small percentage of liberal women valued marriage and family. Could that be the crux of the problem?
yes, much ta "larn" but duz not mean that we need to emulate everythang.... wanna wear a Schtreimel? (It'll cost ya 2 months' rent!) Laydees a Shaidel? Not fer moi. More kids! IF ONLY! Fer many of us it's GELT an' if jooish charities stopped fundin' causes contrary to keepin' anti-jooish immigration of Muslims & MyGrunts goin' (Hias which I call HighAss) or abandoned all Lefty causes throwin' $$$ at folks that will not return the favor--THEN perhaps there COULD be money ta help famblies that would otherwise struggle ta have more kids... 'er afford the SPACE for 'em! (real eschtate ain't cheap even fer renters :-(
ALSO...elephant in the room! Fertility is vastly harmed by the VAXXES. Look up Dr. Zev Zelenko may his memory be a blessing! He traveled to Israel to BEG them not ta take the jabs.... Look up Naomi Wolf and the studies dun on the jabbed and fertility. Rabbis (such a shonda) took pharma $$$ to promote them, Israel bent over to PffffiZer (I believe BB did this not ta sterilize joos but ta improve his legacy jus' like DJT did Warp Speed--both believin' the hype they were fed). I won't go on HERE about the cancers, the heart issues.... MANY Orthodox in NYC were shunned fer resistin'--may they be fruitful as too many joos no longer CAN reproduce (sorry it's troo--also look up Dr James Thorpe)
Thats a different article than what was written. Your point is about demographic outcomes. Worldwide, when women receive the education needed to gain highly compensated jobs, that ultimately results in lower birthrates. Are you arguing against education for women?
Male college enrollment has been declining since the 1980s. Now men account for only 39% of college enrollment. Do you think in terms of what has happened to men, or only about what has happened to women?
You seem to express hostility to observant Jews. Why? Do you disagree with this statement: "For thousands of years, Judaism meant one thing: the life and law of a people living by the covenant forged at Sinai. It was a complete system for living, encompassing the civil, the ritual, and the spiritual. It included rich and diverse variations — Yemenite, Sephardic, Hasidic, Lithuanian — but never fundamental contradiction."
You write as though we do not have enough issues dividing us from each other already. You write from ignorance of modern day Reform synagogues, which are very different from those of ‘Classical Reform’ synagogues in the 19th century. You ignore and/or denigrate other, unaffiliated Jews who do not follow ‘Orthodox’ practices, such as secular Israelis. You deny the validity of the love which most non-‘Orthodox' Jews have for Torah, for Jewish values and traditions. You ignore the very real differences between practices of the various ‘Orthodox' sects. You barely mention the Conservative movement at all. It is kind of you to offer a welcome us back into the ‘fold’ of your brand of Judaism, and I can state confidently that we ‘Reform’ Jews feel the same about you. May all Jews be blessed with more love than judgment, more understanding than censure, more acceptance of and respect for each other. On occasion we disappoint ourselves as much as we disappoint you. We judge each other at least as often as you judge us, but my Reform shul combines love of Torah, respect for tradition and a sense of community that encourage me to grow as a Jew. We have our priorities, especially right now, ordered very differently than yours, and I am okay with that.
She means that no matter how frum we were/warn't we are all joos--of COURSE Hitler ain't a barometer of that but on a "soiten" level... we ARE an' our genes might speak out in unexpected ways too. Many of the excedin'ly ASS-imilated jews in Nazi Germany were shocked that their hidin' their jooishness didn't save them. Many then & since embraced who they were realizin' that one cannot really hide from the haters... I look at famous folks like Francois Truffaut, Tom Stoppard, Christopher Hitchens an' zo many others from whom their jooish origins were hidden by frightened famblies--all THREE (there are more!) emmerged as proud joos! An' that COUNTS!
What a shame for the future of Israel and the Jewish people in general that people like you are writing such divisive stuff. Do Reform Jews not venerate the Torah? Whether they think of it as divinely inspired with humans doing the actually writing and codifying of it, they still learn from it and read from it every Shabbat just like you do. If we don't think of Chaverim Kol Yisrael, we are doomed.
Well, one could reasonably argue that Reform Judaism has, for decades now, been sowing the seeds of Jewish division by creating a disproportionate of "anti-Zionist Jews" and/or Jews who do not see Israel as a core part of their Jewish identity.
Thats a different article than what was written. Your article would examine the outcomes of different denominations regarding their attachment to Zionism (and please define what kind of Zionism you mean). I expect hat soon you will therefore be critiquing ultraOrthodoxy and its less than stellar attitude to Zionism in the past and present, right?
No actual Synagogue going Jews in a real Reform (not some breakaway leftist bs pretend Synagogue) preaches anti-Zionism. Jews do not become anti-Zionists from going to Reform services. I grew up with dozens upon dozens of kids educated at Reform synagogues. They were taught to love and support Israel as was I educated at a Conservative Hebrew School.
Let them. They are still Jews. Many of the anti-Zionist Jews aren't affiliated anywhere. Are you saying that if you think everything Israel does is perfect and acceptable, you are Jewish and if not you're not Jewish?
I'm saying exactly what I said: Reform Judaism has, for decades now, been sowing the seeds of Jewish division by creating a disproportionate of "anti-Zionist Jews" and/or Jews who do not see Israel as a core part of their Jewish identity.
No need to infer anything else from this statement.
You are exactly correct Joshua. They know nothing about Jewish history or religion making them easily susceptible to the pro-Palestinian narrative. Their atheism doesn’t help them either.
I'm sorry, but the Orthodox have also been "sowing the seeds of Jewish division" also for decades, by denigrating any other "flavor" of Judaism that isn't theirs. It has been working both ways "for decades." Why do you think so many non-Orthodox Israelis are disgusted with the direction the country has gone with this current government? It's all part of the sectarian split in Israel and the Diaspora.
Thats a different article, Josh. Thats an article in which you should ask Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a leading rabbi and Zionist leader in Reform Judaism, to critique the Reform movement about how it has educated about Zionism, which he has written about and held conferences about and given sermons about for many years now. But why would he bother to write for a substack calling itself the "Future of Judaism" when it starts by declaring that Reform Judaism isn't Judaism? I refuse to engage with militant and uninformed anti-Zionism. With this stance, your substack is veering into militant and uninformed as well.
You're conflating cause and effect. What is your evidence that it's the Reform movement that is creating a disproportion of "anti-Zionist Jews," versus "anti-Zionist" Jews who gravitate toward less prescriptive forms of Judaism? It seems far more likely that anti-Zionist Jews are those whose families have assimilated excessively, are ignorant of most, if not all,Jewish history, culture and tradition, and have the most tenuous identification with Judaism to begin with.
I am familiar with several Reform congregations in the Us, whose Rabbis and members are fiercely Zionist.
Conversely, what of the ultra-Orthodox who are also anti-Zionist, believing that only the coming of the Messiah can justify the return of Jews as a sovereign nation in the land of Israel?
Mitzmann's positions are self-regarding and divisive of our people. I'm reminded of the divisions of the Jews of Judea into Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes or Zealots, prior to the Roman conquest of 70 AD. Historians agree widely that these divisions contributed significantly to the defeat then, and in the Bar Kochba revolt some 60 years later.
This isn't about dividing our people. This is about loving our people enough to be honest. What has been stolen is the clarity about what Judaism is. My critique is aimed at the ideology that created this confusion, not at the wonderful Jews caught within it. Real unity requires a shared truth to unite around, and I believe we love our people more by offering them that truth than by offering a comfortable falsehood.
Let's be precise about the historical model. Reform ideology was born in 19th-century Germany not to make Judaism stronger, but to make it less inconvenient for Jews who desperately wanted acceptance into the dominant German culture. Like the Sadducees of old, the goal was to maintain a minimal, respectable connection to a heritage while maximizing the benefits and comfort of the surrounding non-Jewish world.
It functions as a multi-generational exit ramp. It eases families out of the covenant by systematically dismantling every "on-ramp" back to tradition. Binding commandments become optional "symbols." The mandate for deep Torah study is replaced with palatable ethical sermons. The system isn't designed to pull you closer; it is engineered to manage your departure with dignity, letting you feel Jewish as you drift away.
This is the very heart of the cause-and-effect argument. The cause is the creation of a religious structure with no theological immune system, designed to harmonize with the outside world. The predictable effect, generations later, is widespread assimilation and a loss of the very knowledge that would make one want to stay. It's a system that doesn't fight assimilation—it rebrands it.
The fiercely Zionist Reform Jews you know are a testament to the power of the Jewish soul, but they are Zionist in spite of their movement’s framework, not because of it. As for anti-Zionist Haredim, the comparison proves my point. One group rejects the covenant itself; the other argues from a radical interpretation of the covenant. They are polar opposites.
You've constructed a tautology. First, you define "True" Judaism according to your particular interpretation. Then you dismiss as Jews those whose interpretations differ from yours. You may be more comfortable in the company of those who worship and believe precisely as you do. That's your privilege. But please specify the moment when God anointed you as judge and juror of your fellow Jews.
I state categorically that my devotion to Judaism and the Jewish nation is no less deep than yours. You cannot prove otherwise, certainly not with the sweeping assertions you have offered.
The divisiveness you're sowing is well reflected in the many comments here.
You might want to look up the term Erev Rav because that’s what they are and it equally applies to the Neuteria Karta anti-Zionist Jews. He’s not saying everything Israel does is perfect. No country is. However the majority of anti-Zionist Jews are to be found in the Reform movement because they are ignorant of Jewish history and religion. It’s a fact. Nothing controversial about it.
The Reform movement in the early 20th Century was pretty much anti the establishment of the State of Israel. It is my understanding that the movement itself changed their stance many decades ago. Whether individual Reform JEWS are upset with Israel is a different issue.
I was a rabid Zionist for many years but currently I am disappointed in the direction Israel is headed and I worry that what it is heading toward can barely be called a democracy. It's been more or less a theocracy for many years with secular Israelis having to leave the country to get married if they don't want a religious wedding, with Haredi youth not serving in the IDF, with Israeli Arabs being treated as second class citizens, etc. That is not a democracy AND nevertheless, that doesn't mean Israel does not have a special place in my neshama.
Israel is doing just fine and more of a Democracy than the insanity that’s taking place in the West. Israel will be just fine. It isn’t perfect, no country is. Where do you get your information from? The self hating Ha’aretz😽
don't blame "Reform"--it's the misinterpretation of Tikkun Olam that has poisoned Conservative Judaism too--the "we must help them all".... HONESTLY mah old temple (Emanu-El) 'fore we left NYC is Uber-Zionist. Their "woke-izm" is a problem but they are BEYOND supportive of Israel.
Blame the Univershitties an' the Communist Indoctrination an' the self-hatin' joos (FINKelstein etc) but do NOT blame Reform Judaism. I grew up Reform with the little tin can to collect for Israel, we planted trees, I tagged along with my bubbie collectin' fer Hadassah).
Arguably, of the about 220 Jewish Nobel Prize winners they have been disproportionately non-orthodox. Their contribution to humanity have been vast and as a Jew, I am proud of that.
There are ultra orthodox Jews who don’t venerate Israel and thousands of them don’t serve in the IDF, defending the land we all love. I grew up reform, and that was not my experience of the faith.
I’ve enjoyed many of your posts, Joshua, but this one was deeply offensive. Holier than thou is not a very Jewish ideal.
My family was a member of the reform synagogue in what is arguably the most liberal city in America. I had 17 years of Jewish “Sunday school”, culminating in a trip to Israel. I was bat mitzvahed there. The Torah was revered.
I feel deeply connected to Israel & my entire extended Jewish family.
I can’t believe you published something so deeply insulting and divisive at all, but especially not now.
My brother, raised in the same synagogue as I was, has alternated between Chabad & a conservative synagogue.
I’m stunned at the shitty way Israelis treat diaspora Jews. We are the ones on the frontline of the information war against Israel & all Jews. Most reform Jews still feel connected to Israel & their Jewishness. Maybe you should examine the decades long infiltration of American schools by terrorists & their funders instead of opening fire in a circular firing squad.
Thankful for everyone else who has responded similarly. Glad you guys are out there, Jew fam!
If you want to argue that Jews need to educate their children better on Jewish identity, write about that. But that’s not the same thing as Reform Judaism. Don’t imagine
The author is not sowing division; he is merely articulating what is self-evident. America is a contradiction: it used to be the best place for Jews to live (as the Goldene Medina) but within 200 years became the worst (assimilation and acculturation). The present demographic reality of American liberalized Jewry speaks for itself, and indicates that you have 50 years to get your act together—or else become a historical footnote.
Wow! This is incredibly offensive. Who are you to tell us whether Jews who don’t practice YOUR way aren’t Jews?
Antisemites don’t care which shul we belong to (or if we are unaffiliated).
My Judaism and how I practice is no concern of yours. It’s pretty arrogant to consider oneself the arbiter of everyone else’s religion. That behavior, seems to me, to be very un-Jewish.
Absolutely disgusting to be sowing internal division at a time of rising hatred left and right. Did we learn nothing from the fall of the second temple?? This is lashon hara.
So we can see in a few short comments how one Jewish law, Loshan Hara, is argued as to what it exactly means…. That exercise is a fundamental part of being Jewish and show how alike and different
I am very disappointed that you seem to forget something absolutely fundamental and existential in that we Jews, were a people (leaving Egypt) before we were a religion (Sinai). Jews are a family and peoplehood is essential to who we are. As written in the Talmud (the famous kosher oven story), G-d has given us the individual responsibility (free-will) to faithfully try to understand why G-d wants from us and lead our lives in this covenant. Families often disagree but it must be our mission to remain a united family in all its greatest traditions.
So, I guess I should just go away. Shoo fly, don’t bother me. I guess my congregation of 1200 member units, some 2500 or more individuals should just give our time and our money to some other country other than Israel, stop our congregational trips there, just hang it up. Inspiring essay. Thanks.
Sam Mitzmann did not say that anyone should stop thinking that they are Jewish or stop supporting Israel. There is nothing stopping anyone from thinking of themselves as Jewish and supporting Israel.
I think he said exactly that, in a slightly roundabout way. "A different God"? With that as the author's position, what connection is a reform Jew supposed to have to Israel?
I consider the lens of the rabbinic interpretation of the Torah to be one kind of reform. Without that, all Jews would be Karaite Jews. Great! Now, Jews can eat Chicken Parmesan and stone their insolent children, since both are permitted by the Torah.
This is, by far, the single worst article I've read on this substack. It is highly devisive, which is just the thing Jews don't need. Jews lost Jerusalem once because of internal division. That's not something that should be repeated.
You are 100% correct. The internal division that "lost Jerusalem" is our people's greatest existential threat. The events of October 7th were another agonizing reminder that when we are divided, we are vulnerable.
This shared commitment to unity is sacred.
But it forces us to ask the most serious question: What is true unity?
Is it a superficial "peace" that demands silence, forcing us to ignore the very ideologies that are leading us apart?
Or is it the deeper, more difficult work of loving your fellow Jew enough to challenge a failed framework and show the path back to our shared foundation?
A 19th-century ideology that formally broke with 2,000 years of tradition is not "just another reform." It was the original division. My article is a historical critique of that ideology, based on its own founding documents—documents that explicitly renounced Jewish peoplehood and allegiance to Israel.
My critique is not the cause of the division; it is the diagnosis of it.
We cannot heal this divide by pretending its historical roots don't exist. True unity can only be rebuilt on the uncompromised truth that kept us whole for millennia.
"This is, by far, the single worst article I've read on this substack. It is highly devisive, which is just the thing Jews don't need. Jews lost Jerusalem once because of internal division. That's not something that should be repeated."
ps I do NOT think even the most Ultra of Orthodox believe anybuddy should be stoned ;-) -- tho' Bob Dylan (usually quite proud of his jooishness!) wrote a GREAT song 'bout gettin' stoned lol!
This article is arrogant and vile! Yes there is a wide divide between Orthodoxy and Reform (I’ve been both.). Reform’s legitimacy isn’t based on the ramblings of the author it’s based on alignment with the Jewish faith, history and calendar, the Jewish world etc etc. Yes it’s fair to say Reform is not Torahcentric but the Torah is present in Temple after Temple after Temple. It’s read by aspiring learners.
So while I agree and learn from your political articles this one is so insulting it’s that bridge too far. Please remove from this circulation and be sure to not renew me in the future.
Agree with all but the last sentence... Joshua here has done mahvelously featurin' SO many wonderful writers an' idears... an' this open forum in "da com-mints" section shows a true variety of scenty mints!
I don't take kindly ta bein' told I ain't a joo but we hear a LOT worse from the haters so I'll take this in stride an' am GLAD that you an' many others among us are cryin' FOUL. (itz okay ta "squawk!")
I must vehemently disagree. I will just use one major and one minor examples:
1. the Haredim in the State of Israel. They perform every mitzvah you can or cannot imagine, they live in their own neighbourhoods. They are the full package you seem to approve of. And they are a disgrace to the Jewish People. I decided that, but for the circumcision and their Jewish mothers - both eventually irrelevant- , they are not truly Jews. They rob the state's children, orphans and widows, the health care, education, they blackmail the government for billions that go to sustain parasites that would have made Ben-Gurion weep. Ben-Gurion stipulated that 400 brilliant young students would be maintained by the State and study in yeshivas. The offensive situation today is the massive conglomeration that exists for power purposes. They are anti-Zionists and they refuse to serve in any capacity. Some do. But the vast majority belligerently refuses. Our ancestors, the ones who gave us the Torah, fought for the Land of Israel. This is history. The Haredim have excluded themselves from Israel whilst taking every material advantage by political force.
2. The Diaspora. My grandparents were modern Orthodox. I adored them. They were proud Zionists. My zeide built institutions in two Diasporas. But there were things I learned about their Judaism- my dad would tell me as amusing stories- that made no sense to me, and often disappointed me. For example, if they were merchants, to avoid losing money by closing their business on Shabbat, they would " sell" their business fictitiously to a non-Jew on Friday and buy it back on Sunday. This, supposedly, avoided " breaking the Law" they so zealously kept. Or did they? God was not watching? The legal fictions of such Judaism are embedded in the State of Israel as well, as the Hametz is " sold" to foreign countries prior to Passover. Not a terrible thing, but a trait that encouraged anti-Judaism, as the religion was perceived as over-legalistic and insincere.
As for Reform, may they continue to grow the Jewish People. Bring converts, learn Torah, sing songs, support Israel. So many ways to be Jewish.
Your first point is a foundational myth. Your second point is the entire problem.
Your Haredi caricature is the hollow comfort that a consumer-based ideology must teach to justify its rejection of the covenant. You are using a tribal caricature to deflect from the article's historical argument.
But you are 100% right about your grandfather.
The Judaism he taught—a system of legal fictions to "sell" a business, where God is seemingly not watching—is the exact same hollow comfort I am fighting.
That is not the Judaism of the covenant. That is a passive, consumer-based religion, hollowed out and reduced to technical loopholes. It has no engine. It is just as much of a spiritual dead end as the Reform ideology.
We have been offered two failed paths: an ideology that openly rejects the covenant, or a cultural Orthodoxy that keeps the rules while losing the purpose. Both are a deflection from the real thing: the "builder's" Judaism of divine purpose, sacred challenge, and a covenant that is real, alive, and non-negotiable.
You end by saying there are "so many ways to be Jewish."
This is the central myth of consumer-based identity. It offers the hollow comfort of conformism, where all choices are equally valid and nothing is non-negotiable.
My argument is that this ideology is a spiritual dead end. There are not "so many ways." There is one covenant. The time for all detours is over.
Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about or how it relates to my comment. You seem not to be much aware of the Haredim in Israel, the abuse they have inflicted on the rest of Israel, the injustice their self-appointed privileged status that depresses and demoralises the rest of Israel, particularly the sight of those who die to continue permitting their parasitical life of useless yeshiva study. It is a tragedy for the Covenant. They don't fulfil the Covenant. Their economic blackmail cheats the proverbial orphans and widows, they lie and deceive their own people, the " other" Jews, for money, and anyone who cannot see this or prefers to deny it is as much outside of the Covenant as the Haredim are.
My article is about the history and theology of the Reform movement, based on its own founding documents. You are responding with political anger about a group of people in Israel today. These are two separate subjects. Your anger about one does not refute the history of the other.
This is the central deflection that is weakening our people. You are using your frustration with one political failure to justify clinging to a theological one.
A Judaism that is hollowed out and reduced to political blackmail is a spiritual dead end. A Judaism that is hollowed out and reduced to "so many ways" and consumer comfort is also a spiritual dead end. They are the same disease. One is not the cure for the other.
The way forward is not to choose between failed models—whether it's the political tribalism you reject, the "legal fictions" of hollowed-out Orthodoxy, or the consumer comfort of Reform. The way forward is to stop being consumers of ideology and become owners of the covenant.
The "builder mindset Judaism" that gave our ancestors purpose was not about political tribes or comfortable loopholes. It was about divine purpose, sacred challenge, and a covenant that is real, alive, and non-negotiable. The only path home is to go discover that Judaism. The evidence in my article stands.
So you don't like Reform.That's what your entire irrelevant diatribe is about.You confuse points and allege things that were not said.I have no idea what your Covenant is.Your inability to see one of the greatest sides of Judaism,the ability to reflect ,change, interpret and re-interpret, create meaning and its gift of continuity through change makes me think your " Covenant" obsession is artificial.Where was the "Covenant"when the obedient covenantal Orthodox were slaughtered in the Shoa? Blessed are the Reform,the Conservative,the Reconstructionist,the Orthodox and also the Gentiles who support Israel.They are covenantal.The 18th century Haredi misfits insisting in their convenience at everyone else's expense are outside of the Covenant.The Covenant promised The Land and instructed to fight for it.
The secular Jews who defend the State of Israel are the ones inside the covenant.And they are Reform.
BTW, there was nothing hollow about those Orthodox Jews who went around the legalistic hurdles out of God fearing respect. They were as devoutly Jewish as they wanted to be. They made us look bad, and thus I commented about that problematic side, but they were true to themselves and their Judaism. They raised generations of committed Jews. But theirs was not the only way to be Jewish. The vast majority of Jews in Israel prove that. They are not hollow or any less Jewish. Perhaps more.
We are told to scream "Never Again." October 7th is the brutal proof that "Never Again" as a political slogan is a hollow comfort. Yelling, marching, and fighting for social acceptance is not the solution. It has failed.
It failed because the problem isn't political; it's spiritual. This brings us to the "hard truth" you are demanding. You have confused continuity with assimilation.
The Covenant is not an "artificial obsession." It is the law of our national existence—our owner's manual for survival. The Shema—our core national creed, the last words of our martyrs, the very framework of the Covenant you call 'artificial'—states clearly that if we abandon our divine purpose to chase other ideals, we will be scattered and perish. This is not a "cruel threat." It is the physics of our mission: the non-negotiable consequence of our collective destiny.
My argument is that the Shoah is not proof this law is false; it is the most horrific proof that it is true.
The 19th-century ideology you defend—the one of "reflect, change, interpret"—was the organized, programmatic abandonment of the Covenant. It was a framework for spiritual dissolution that hollowed out European Jewry long before the first shots were fired.
When the enemy came, they did not find a nation united by divine purpose. They found a collection of hollowed-out "consumers" who had already been spiritually disarmed by their own ideology. Blaming the Covenant for the physical destruction that ideology pioneered is the final, tragic error of the framework itself.
We are one soul. We are rewarded, and we are punished, collectively. That is the true, non-negotiable "unity." My argument is not an attack; it is a warning, because this ideology is a spiritual dead end that endangers all of us.
The only "Never Again" that has ever existed is the Covenant. The only solution is to return to the divine purpose that this conformist, consumer ideology was invented to reject.
This has become tiring. You don't listen. Thus you proceed to any irrelevant tangent. I said YOUR idea of the Covenant is artificial and an obsession for you, not generically. Then you expand on spirituality, as if it had anything to do with either Covenant, Orthodox ways or the reality, for example,of spirituality in Israel. It's all over the place. You make ridiculous claims. Such as continuity leading to assimilation. It's exactly the opposite. You make absolutely no sense.I will not reply further.
Ah, you lost the thread right in the title. Judaism pre-dates western concepts of religion. We’re a peoplehood, a civilization, a tribe. We are “Am Yisrael” - the people of Israel.
You may be unhappy that some of us don’t observe the way the orthodox do, but we are all one. Especially now, we need to pull together rather than splinter apart.
We cannot be “Am Yisrael” - the people of Israel - without subscribing to the same customs, traditions, beliefs, etc. "Whatever I want to believe" is not “Am Yisrael” IMO.
I’m also going to address the substance here because as a Reform Jew this article rubs me the wrong way.
There are occasional civilizational shifts where we have to redefine how to be Jewish. The most obvious was the destruction of the Second Temple, the diaspora, and the rise of rabbinic Judaism.
I think we’re in a new one these past ~200 years with the development of the nation-state and universal citizenship. Jews are no longer *required* to live in ghettos or in the pale of settlement. Jews are no longer banned from certain occupations. It is possible to integrate into the local society and still retain a Jewish identity, even if that is not all day/every day. At least, that’s the concept behind the development of Reform Judaism. If you engage with the Reform community you'll find there's a lot of underlying logic in what they keep and how they practice that goes beyond "whatever you want." It's really not unlike how the ancient rabbis had to figure out how to be Jewish without the Temple.
Maybe Reform Judaism went too far and failed to pass on key elements to younger generations. I’m struggling with that now as an adult. But that’s fixable if we do the work of embracing all Jews and showing them the beauty of Judaism, not denigrating them by calling them Christians by another name.
Maybe this entire conception is wrong, and Jews can’t partly assimilate. Maybe the rise in antisemitism now will force Jews to isolate. I hope not, but it’s possible. Even if that comes to pass, the majority of Israeli Jews are not strictly dati. So there’s still plenty of room for secular Jews in a fully-Jewish community.
Joshua - as an aside, I love what you've built on this Substack and this is one of the rare voices you've posted that I disagree with.
What is your opinion of the Jews that will vote for Zohran Mamdani?
I think they're idiots.
As you imply, it is the direct result of Reform Judaism.
You can be a reform Jew and not vote for an antisemite.
No its not. Its the result of secular leftist indoctrination. I doubt very many of the Jews who will vote for Mamdani have set foot in a synsgogue probably ever but certainly not as adults, Reform or otherwise.
Anyone who votes for Mamdani is an idiot. A Jew who votes for him is pure scum.
Almost all are secular/atheist!
Would you call the Satmar rebbe an atheist? He invited Mamdani into his sukkah.
Doltish and or Ignorant! Or maybe, he hates Israel and sides with Communist Marxist Mamdani
THIS!!!!
"Maybe Reform Judaism went too far and failed to pass on key elements to younger generations. I’m struggling with that now as an adult. But that’s fixable if we do the work of embracing all Jews and showing them the beauty of Judaism, not denigrating them by calling them Christians by another name."
Me too! I've mentioned that mah Reform "sunday school" edu-muck-cation wuz sorely lackin' (boring as all heck) but I've been listenin' to Naomi Wolf read Torah an' I'm MESMERIZED! I've learned so much on my OWN that I could'a learned all those boring Sundays. They can surely FIX Sunday School!
Ta throw us all out an' call us names is not a good tactic... (oy, lotta cwazies here :-)
Daisy - Good Religious schools are thriving in many Reform and Conservative congregations. They're only as good as the people you hire.
BUT, no matter how good they are, it's also true that it's generally easier to teach adults who come to the topic because they want to learn, than it is to teach kids who would rather sleep in or play soccer on Sunday mornings.
I'm so glad you've found someone like Naomi Wolf!
I remember when Naomi Wolf was a rabid feminist. Then some of us MRAs let her know that if her husband got prostate cancer, she would find out that feminists in Congress made sure there was three times more funding for breast cancer than prostate cancer. Fortunately, she got it - immediately.
I know "gornischt" about this but she's not at all rabid (yeesh--she's happily married with grown up kids afaik) an' comes off as lovely + thoughtful an' is not even talkin' about this stuff now. Folks grow up, they change, no?
She's fluent in Hebrew an' to her credit been readin' chapters aloud an' translating where the English is not so hot... this alone has been a "mitzvah" for me... as a kid I missed out on all this!
Agreed! Only as good as the folks ya hire but I've compared notes with friends an' many've us compare Sunday School to attendin' a SLEEP CLINIC! (minus the electrodes lol)
My best memories are a) singin' (that part was fun! but they cut it off in 7th grade :-(, b) holiday shows (Purim Spiels, plays, etc), an' c) schnecken! Most of those "long hours" were (sadly) not interestin' but could have been.... I think the "teachers" were mostly parent volunteers.
By contrast, I used ta read Jewish Folk Tales to my girls an' we'd discuss history in E. Europe an' so much more. I'd play klezmer records, etc. But me? 11 years in Sunday School an' not one instructor read us "real" folk tales which are hilarious & teach morals too! Not one instructor introduced us to ANY Jewish Music, Art, History (except the most generalized version) etc. Meh.
I regret they didn't even teach us to "read" Hebrew properly (it was like site readin'/not phonics an' as of 2025 I'm only able ta manage a dreidel).
YES adults are easier but I'm sure they could'a done a lot better, it felt very random. Perhaps some are "better" now? I do HOPE so! IMHO it makes ALL the difference!
I have reform often serves exactly the opposite as the author implies, it serves as the on-ramp for Jews who grew up secular to want more Judiasm and more tradition in their life. When they hunger for more than what they get, they become more observant. Reform plays a really important role in keeping secular assimilated jews connected to Am Ysrael
EXACTLY Jacob. Reform Judaism welcomes the Jews who grew up utterly outside of Judaism, assimilated in the Diaspore. Perhaps unable to read or understand ANY Hebrew. Reform Judaism serves a purpose in welcoming people.
I find your comment insulting and divisive. Jews are our own worst enemies. Be it Orthodox, Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist we should welcome each and every Jew to the tribe and stop judging the quality of their worship. No antisemite will stop to question which denomination to which a Jew belongs. We are too few as it is. For too long we have looked down our noses as those who wished to convert, and it was the Reform movement that accepted patrilineal descent. A child born into those other denominations whose mother was not Jewish was not considered Jewish even if raised Jewish. Catholics would accept that child with open arms. No wonder our numbers are declining. We need to become accessible, embrace and teach Jewish joy and perhaps it will make learning about Judaism more meaningful.
Bullshit. Either Jews are a people, members of a tribe, or we are a religion, people of a shared belief system. You can't conveniently invoke one or the other as you see fit. I'm sure in past FoJ posts I've read how we're a people first and a religion second. Now, with this moronic post that you, in poor judgment, are defending, you are throwing the earlier, and much more important and unifying Peoplehood position out, whether you realize it or not. So now, according to Hoffman, we all need to have the same beliefs to be the people of Israel. You said it, not me. Good luck with that! And, yes, this was the worst post I ever read on FoJ. Sometimes editors make bad calls, but what amazes me is how you are defending this nonsense and how tone deaf you are to the hurtful effect it is having. And for the record, I am not a Reform Jew. But according to my genetic test, I'm 98.something% Ashkenazi Jew. I don't believe my beliefs were extracted from my blood sample.
Judaism is not just a tribe or a culture; it’s a religion based on Torah. That doesn’t mean your lineage or DNA is erased, but it does mean that the name “Judaism” describes a set of core beliefs and practices, not just belonging to a people. If we’re honest, calling something Judaism while rejecting its foundations is exactly why so much confusion and anger persist in our community.
Being born Jewish connects you to the people; practicing Torah is what makes that connection active and true. Reform is a different religion, not just another style of Judaism. And naming that openly is the first step to real clarity and unity, not more illusion. No insult intended but the boundaries need to be clear. If we want authentic answers and a stronger future, this distinction can’t be avoided any longer.
That's your view, and you are entitled to it and to express it, as you have. However, you express these views as if they are immutable facts, which they are not. As I said in response to another commenter, a key issue is whether one regards being Jewish as having certain necessary attributes. Different Jews and non-Jews have different views on this question. Some believe there are necessary attributes, but they disagree on what they are. Others do not believe there are necessary attributes and that "Jewish" is a fuzzy set, with the prototypicality of inclusion depending on the presence or absence of various attributes, none of which is necessary on its own. What makes your Jewish connection active and true may not be what makes another Jew's connection "active and true," as you say. This is the part you don't seem to get. I understand that you perceive Reform to be a threat to Judaism, but again, my point is that's just your perspective. What irks me is how you dress that up in terms like "authentic answers" and assume your view is what will deliver a "stronger future". I think you should practice more intellectual humility and adopt more skeptical priors regarding what will deliver prosperity for the Jewish community in the future. You also say "no insult intended", yet you casually proceed with your scalpel, apparently not concerned about the hurt you've inflicted. Even after reading the comments, you seem un-phased by the consequences of your actions. I just found it unenlightening and dogmatic.
David, let me reframe this. My bluntness isn't about my 'view' vs. yours, or an intent to "insult." It comes from a shared, genuine fear for our "stronger future."
You just drew a hard line at anti-Zionism, because it's a clear existential threat. I agree.
My argument is that our 3,000-year-old core—Shabbat, kashrut, the divine Torah—is our spiritual operating system. It's the only reason we've survived exile to even have this debate.
My question is this: Can a Judaism with no non-negotiable requirements actually survive? What happens to our grandchildren when we teach them our entire survival code is just one "perspective" in a "fuzzy set"?
Sam, I appreciate your measured response to my comments, and I hope this exchange serves as an example of how dialogue amongst Jews (and more generally, people) who partly disagree with one another can unfold. I share your concern about the future of Jewish; how it will survive and how Jews can thrive in this world. Like you, I'm sure, I care about Jews in Israel and Jews in the Diaspora. I care about Jews who are religious, and I care about Jews who are not. I believe that Jews need Israel to be healthy and strong. We have seen in the last two years what Jews can accomplish when they exercise command and control over their own military. In contrast, we see the anxiety and precariousness of the fate of Jews who live in Diaspora populations where blatant Jew hatred is normalized with reward and no negative consequence. I think that antizionist Jews are a threat to the Jewish community, but I see them as an insider threat. They are, in my view, still Jews. I think they were miseducated and, sadly, the victims of a radicalized education system that brainwashed them with bad ideas and false truths--views that are currently eating away at the fabric of Western civilization, a civilization founded on Judeo-Christian values and principles. This doesn't absolve them of responsibility, but nor does it locate a dispositional kernel of evil in them. They are, as Stalin put it, naive dupes.
Thankfully, the proportion of Jews who identify as antizionist is small. In a recent Canadian survey, 94% of respondents indicated that Israel was important to their Jewish identity. A few percent said don't know, leaving only about 3% that openly reject Israel. That's 3% too much, but still, it's a small minority who are themselves a small minority of the people on this planet. They are not the central problem, and we do not have to spend our time and energy cutting them out of the Jewish project, let alone much larger groupings, such as Reform Jews, that are not actively opposed to Zionism.
You say that Reform is a different religion. It is not a part of Judaism, but that is a careful dodge, in my view. On the one hand, you aren't coming out and saying that Reform congregants aren't Jewish. They just don't practice Judaism. On the other hand, you are saying that Judaism, as practiced for a few millennia, is essentially intertwined with being Jewish. If you put the two hands together, as many of FoJ readers have done, it is clear that the implication is not only that Reform isn't a form of Judaism, but Reform Jews are not real Jews. By that token, although you picked on Reform, atheist Jews are also not Jews, and indeed any Jew that is not religiously observant in the way you define is not a Jew. Theodor Herzl was not a Jew, then, as he was an atheist. And neither were most of those Nobel laureates who were mistakenly described as Jews. So, whereas I would not exclude even the most vile antizionist Jew from the Jewish family, even though I would be happy to repudiate their beliefs, you seem willing to cut away a large proportion of the Jewish population as a solution to making the remaining part stronger and purer. With some clicks of your keyboard, many of us Jews aren't Jews any longer, and the editor of FoJ is there to back you up. This, to me, is as vile as the antizionist Jew. Worse, in fact, since you carry much more force within the family of Jews than those fringe, naive dupes.
I do not believe you have bad intentions, just as I do not believe the misguided antizionist Jews have bad intentions. To the contrary, I think you all have the best of intentions. But many people who cause suffering have what they think are the best of intentions. They just don't factor in the probability of being wrong. This is why, above all, I am an anti-utopian thinker and a skeptic.
I realize that what I wrote does not offer a solution to the threats to the Jewish people that you, I, and others here perceive. I think the problem is much more widespread and reflects a breakdown in religious belief within the Judeo-Christian sphere. The impulse is to reassert the need for such a belief, but I don't see that as viable. This is a complex issue, and I cannot explain my views in a couple of paragraphs (and what I wrote is already long!), but I will say this exchange has been helpful to me, at least in highlighting the importance of addressing this issue. Maybe I will get back to writing on Tackle (my Substack) and try to take up this challenge, or it can be a project for when I retire and have less divided attention.
There is something else I have observed about Reform Judaism: it seems to have embraced feminism, with it's celebration of women and it's dismissal of men. I remember seeing the survey in which a majority of conservative men valued marriage and family, while only a small minority of liberal (i.e., feminist) women valued marriage and family. Have you noticed these events, too?
David, I couldn’t agree more.
Non Jews have recently tried to separate Ashkenazi Jews from all others. In a horrible divisive way. A well known tactic, divide and conquer. The OP just supported this. I think of us as a people. We live all over the world so naturally we do things differently, we speak differently. We have different cultures that we fit into. But ultimately, we are one. We support each other and we cannot be divided.
Oh, how the antisemites would love that; us divided like Catholics and Protestants, turning on one another, doing their job for them.
I’m not quite sure what the motivation was in writing this post.
Elle, thanks for your comment. I suspect the motivation was with good intentions. The idea (approximately) being that sometimes, to keep a family strong, you have to exile members who are tearing it apart. The problem with this formulation is that everyone is confident they know who to exile, and what you have left at the end of the process is a broken family with a lot of hurt feelings. Scalpels are useful tools, but they must be used only when necessary. Surgeons tend to know when they are necessary. Social commentators, not so much. I think posts like this and editorial defences of them, like we see from Joshua Hoffman in response to critiques of this post, speak to a feeling of exasperation. I get it. But if all quarters of the Jewish people define those they don't agree with as non-Jews, which is essentially what this author has done, the small group of Jewish people (15 million?) will be fractured beyond imagination. As you said, this would be the antisemite's dream. How they would relish the pain of our family disunity! How they would smell weakness and salivate in response. One more point I wish to make. I've seen some commenters say they're done with FoJ and wish to be unsubscribed. I get the sentiment. This was an offensive post, but FoJ has also brought us many wonderful posts (mine, for example) over the past two years, which have helped us through hard times. We, too, who have been offended, should be wary of picking up the scalpel in a moment of high emotion. I think commentary is a better response to disagreement. Of course, there are limits on that perspective, too.
David, just who are the Jews of NYC (denomination speaking) who voted for Harris, believe and spew all of the Hamas talking points (ie genocide starvation apartheid colonialist oppressor etc) and who are voting for Mamdani?
Stephen, trust me, I know the problems to which you are alluding. Although I don't live in NYC, I face similar problems in Toronto, which has one of the largest Jewish Diaspora populations in the world. If you read my posts on Tackle, you will see that my perspective is probably not too different than yours. I get the frustration. I just do not think that the scalpel is the solution. Nor do I think Orthodox Judaism is the solution. When I wrote a post for FoJ some months ago, I made the point that Jews respond to antisemitism by adapting and growing stronger, which drives antisemites nuts since they are already envious SOBs. Jews earn Nobel prizes in all categories at a rate at least one order of magnitude greater than their representation in the general public. But if you want to remove atheists from this club and only keep the Orthodox Jews who, yes, go forth and multiply, then you are cutting out a vital part of the Jewish family that has contributed so much to the human family. One cannot have one's cake and eat it too.
Jews aren’t a race anymore than Christians are a race. The religion some of the person’s ancestors were part of doesn’t get passed down metaphysically in the dna. Don’t worry though, your belief that it does fits perfectly in the foundational Jewish racial mythology, so you actually share Jewish religious beliefs more than you are even aware. You and Sam are having a sectarian religious dispute about who belongs in the cult supposedly chosen by a deity who commanded the enslavement of Midianite female virgins. How cute. ☺️
I think most will agree that both elements are important or, as you say, "crucial" components. These terms, however, admit ample wiggle room. The question is whether one believes there are *necessary* conditions for "being Jewish". When one starts using the scalpel to excise parts of the Jewish community, it works through an assumption that necessary components are lacking. Therefore, "those Jews" become recategorized as "non-Jews". I think Jews who hold antizionist beliefs are part of the problem Jews are currently facing, but I don't say now let's call them non-Jews. No. By that logic, if I think they're also harming humanity, should I also redefine them as "non-humans"? They are Jews with whom I may have almost nothing in common with belief-wise, but they are still members of the tribe. Misguided ones, and perhaps ones who don't feel they are part of anything Jewish, but I think they are still members.
The title begins... "Reform Judaism isn’t Jewish." It doesn't say "Reform isn't a branch of Judaism." Also, there is such a thing called gist and another thing called implication.
Whatever I want to believe is not what Reform Judaism is as its many publications about beliefs and practices attest ( which you seem not to know or have read).
Back in the early 1970s, Orthodox Rabbi Marvin Antelman wrote "To Eliminate the Opiate". He opined that both Reform and Conservative Judaism were late-19th century and early 20th century innovations created by Communist agents, with the intent of subverting Judaism.
Orthodox Rabbi Marvin Antelman sounds like a very stupid person who likes to make things up. Both Reform and Conservative movements long predate the time when there were any communist agents. Reform Judaism originated in Germany in the early 1oth century. Conservative Judaism originated as a backlash to Reform Judaism in the United States in the late 19th century and was built by Solomon Schecter and the Jewish Theological Seminary, most certianly not "communist agents."
They weren’t ‘formed’ as such. Agreed upon, perhaps. The original text is still the same. God didn’t come back to meet with Moses and give another view. We are a people, and we are a people who are naturally inquisitive. We read, we talk, we argue, we eat. The meaning of every word in the Torah is dissected and discussed. There won’t be a quiz at the end to see who interpreted it correctly. Different sects are just groups of people who interpreted the Torah in the same way. As the world moves forward, and as long as we move forward with it, no doubt there will be many to come who will interpret the Torah differently again.
Joshua, shalom,
The logic of the article and your response ignore the evolution of various religious protocols that have been implemented by the sages of Judaism through millennia. Being an atheistic Jew and Israeli, I considered these thoughtfully and prudently introduced revisions the strength of our religious DNA! Christianity has been undergoing a similar process to stay relevant and spiritually nourishing of believers’ souls. Islam still has to evolve, currently being lacking relevance in the context of the palatable changes in human civilization, especially concerning the principles of individual freedoms, separation of church and state, the emancipation of women and more. No wonder that Islamic believers are still violently clashing with Christianity and Judaism, as their dogma is based on domination of world domination by Islamists. It is its weakness, which must be corrected to enable its survival and possible success as a spiritual option.
How do you address this challenge?
Thanks!
Oscar
Joshua, shalom,
Inconsistent with the evolutionary protocols of Judaic dogma. I considered this aspect of Judaism as its strength, and the lack of it the weakness of Islam.
How do you respond to this challenge?
Thanks!
Oscar
Up to a point. The same customs and traditions to be sure. Also the same values. As to beliefs, that is a personal matter, and to insist that only Jews who are sufficiently devout, or who practice all 613 Mitzvot, are worthy to be called Jews, is arrogant self-regard, which is itself a deviation from Jewish values.
It's fascinating to see how defensive Reform Jews get when their beliefs are challenged. I would like to know how do Reform Jews justify their adoption of DEI and Social Justice Fundamentalism - just two examples of ideologies that actually undermine Jewish values? Why on the RAC website is almost every call to action about identity politics, defying the current government, and anti-racism? Would love to hear a cogent argument in favour of these views without defensiveness.
Ultimately, maybe. But "Am Yisrael" is an identity that attaches one to other Jews - and makes it possible to choose to return to observance and commitment.
My parents didn't teach me anything about Judaism until I was in third grade: my friends and I were trying to figure out what religions meant. We "knew" from jokes that there were three religions: Judaism, Catholicism and Protestantism. Jews celebrated Hanukah, Catholics celebrated Christmas... but that left us in a quandary about what Protestants did. Like many non-observant Jews, we had a Christmas tree, so I suggested that Protestants celebrated both. When I told my parents that I figured out that we were Protestants, they decided it was time I went to the local Reform Hebrew school.
In my twenties I started getting interested in observance, and finally became Orthodox in my early forties. I see no way for that to have happened if the Orthodox declared Reform to be a completely different religion. Similarly, outreach groups like Chabad and Aish bring lots of Reform Jews to observance - why would you break the connection that makes that possible?
Ultimately, you are a Jew based on maternal descent or halachic conversion. Torah is the "religion" of Jews. Reform was created with the theory that antisemitism was based on Jewish particularism, and that it could be ended if we abandoned our traditions. Obviously, it failed, and now we have lots of Jews who are estranged from our practices - but they still see themselves as Jews, trying to do the right thing.
The approach of outreach groups is a much better idea than casting out those who don't know better.
Your story proves the thesis perfectly.
You were so failed by the ethos of Conformism that, as a child, you correctly identified your family looked more Protestant than Jewish.
You credit Reform as a "bridge," but your timeline reveals the tragedy: it's a 40-year detour that robs our people of their most crucial, formative years.
This is why the gentle outreach model is no longer enough. A Jewish soul is an indestructible, eternal fact. My critique isn't "casting out" a single Jew; it is an urgent call to stop validating the failed system that caused your 40-year detour.
We are in a time of incredible, holy awakening. We just saw hostages, stripped of everything, return and speak of finding God in the darkness. We see secular Israelis turning to Shabbat. The Jewish soul, when it's not being confused by a false ideology, always knows the way home.
The time for detours is over. It’s time to join the builders of the authentic path.
No, it didn't. I simply had no understanding of religion, hence the need to rely on the jokes even to identify some religions.
The question isn't, is Reform good, but rather, compared to what?
If we push the Reform Jews away, we destroy the connection that would even allow them to return. My grandfather had been president of his Reform synagogue, and did a seder (first day only) to which his sons brought their families. His father had thought of his as a religious fanatic for even being involved in a synagogue.
Our history has had unfortunate times of elitism, which drove away many Jews from Torah. We need to be reaching out, not pushing Jews away because their ancestors chose Reform.
The path back isn't easy. My primary non-work activity used to be community theater, which I had to give up to keep Shabbos. (I also had to give up cocktail shrimp and pepperoni pizza). For non-Orthodox Jews, there are sacrifices to be made, such as these. Telling them they are aren't Jewish will guarantee that they never make such a choice.
Let's be absolutely clear: I have never said anyone "isn't Jewish." A Jewish soul is indestructible.
Your beautiful, slow path of return is the authentic one.
But that is not the Reform approach.
That movement is, at its core, Conformism—a multi-generational off-ramp built for assimilation. Its antagonism to the “Orthodox” is a defense mechanism; it's an ideology that knows it's an imposter.
The proof is in the numbers.
We must love our people enough to attack this failed ideology, not the souls it has taken hostage.
No you didn't say it explicitly - but that is how people are hearing it. And no, of course Reform doesn't encourage a return to Orthodoxy. That's not what any of us are claiming.
The point, rather, is that if we want non-observant Jews to return, attacking them by denigrating their current practices is ineffective at best. Chabad and Aish seem to have found a good approach; you might want to learn from them. I highly doubt that it includes telling them that their religion isn't Judaism.
Some of us return on our own, little by little, often incentivized by things in our lives; others need guidance and patience.
Reform does not see itself as an imposter - but those in the movement know very little. Experience shows that many can be shown what they are missing and want to explore it. Attacking them only builds up resistance.
Are Sephardic Jews Israel, or are Askenazi Jews? What about Shammai vs Hillel? Chabad talks about the messiah, and they know exactly who they're talking about.
With all due respect, you're talking out your ass.
Facts! We were a people before a religion. Also, I was just hurt and offended in equal measure. I consider Judaism a front facing element of my whole being.
I guess he rightly hit a nerve. No, we are not a people before a religion. We are people with a distinct religion that G-d gave us at Sinai. Sorry to break it to you, you cannot have one without the other. Judaism is not a menu where you decide what to observe and not to.
Says who—men who say prayers they weren’t born a woman? Which religion from which era? From which country? Jews would not have survived through the millennia with such rigidity. Israel wouldn’t be Israel with such rigidity.
Funny how we survived for thousands of years with this so called ‘rigidity’ you deride. We’ve lost Jews to assimilation in the past two hundred because of wanting to assimilate with the dominant culture and because German Jews decided to water down traditional Judaism and make it more like the Protestant religion. Even secular Jews in Israel are more religious then there counterparts in the diaspora and I guess you know nothing about the religious Zionist movement in pre- State Israel by the first Chief Rabbi of Palestine Rabbi Abraham Kook and his writings. You seem to be under the misapprehension that only secular Jews played a part in Israel’s founding and its history. Religious Zionism is key element of Israeli society. When Ben Gurion founded the State he made sure to keep the following:
‘The future government will do all it can to make sure that the religious demands be answered concerning personal status issues, such as marriage, divorce, and conversions.
All government-operated kitchens (army, police, hospitals, etc.) will have kosher food.
Shabbat will be the official day of rest for Jews.
There will be autonomy in education, and the state will not intervene in religious education but will demand and regulate a minimum curriculum in secular subjects such as science, grammar and history.’ https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/david-ben-gurion
So you will disgard around 90 percent of Jews including the majority of Israelis. Good luck with that. Why join the Satmars. You seem to think alike.
Even Israelis are more religious than Reform Jews in America and other parts of the Diaspora. You obviously don’t know much about the Satmars to make such an ignorant statement. The Satmars are anti-Zionist and don’t consider religious Zionists/Orthodox Jews to be Jews. You really should get yourself a proper education before making such asinine statements. Do you just make up assumptions and numbers as you go along? See Pew: https://theworlddata.com/jewish-population-in-us/. Also the fertility rate for traditional and Orthodox Jews is higher than the other denominations. Quelle surprise. Once again, thanks for displaying your complete ignorance.
Get lost you divisive loser.
You just proved who you are and that you’re incapable of even providing a coherent and intelligent reply. I guess for your lot, ignorance is bliss. Very Erev Rav of you. Nothing has done more harm to the Jewish people than Protestantised Reform Judaism with it’s high rate of atheism and intermarriage.
thanks fer appropriately addressin' this judgeMENTAL "CommonTater" ;-)
After receivin' quite a dose of unfiltered bile I responded back...(scroll down 'er here's a jump-link:)
https://www.futureofjewish.com/p/reform-judaism-isnt-jewish-its-an/comment/168541863
I CANNOT believe there are "landsman" ridin' so high on their horses that all they kin do if we don't measure up is ta trample us an' call us non-joos--'er Christians, Protestants... er (in mah case) TWATS! (sum' mouth this EJV has, no?)
Honestly I'm kinda floored....
I think we were a people who were given a religion by G-d. So we are both, but I think we are people first.
I respect the author’s right to express his opinion. It’s a provocative piece of writing.This issue of what is a Jew or who is a Jew gets to the heart of a very important matter and we see its significance reflected not only in our communal need to appropriately confront the rise of global Antisemitism and the associated troubling allegiance of elements of the secular Jewish Left to fundamentally anti-Israel and anti-Jewish causes, but also in Israel, where there is spirited ongoing disagreement between the most observant among us and those who are less observant or secular Israeli Jews as to the path forward for the country and our people.
IMHO we need each other. We can have this conversation. But this is poor (maybe the worst in 80 -95 years) timing and the wrong platform upon which to have the conversation. I’m not advocating censorship. I am advocating editorial
judgment. This is not a safe haven platform for Jews. We don’t need to argue in the front yard while an assortment of malign state actors, Islamofascists, and Nazi fan boys are manipulating social media opinion to burn down our house. The Reform community needs the Orthodox community and the Orthodox community needs the secular, Conservative and Reform Jews who support Israel as well. Sorry, not sorry. Part of what’s been left out of this conversation is the devastating effect of the Holocaust which scattered survivors across the planet and fundamentally altered Jewish geography.
Another aspect that must be considered is that we live in a time of unprecedented technological and social change and the rate of change is accelerating not slowing down. This is having massive effects upon all social institutions, individuals and the family. The Torah may be unchanging, but life for humans most definitely is in radical ways. I think adopting an exclusionary stance is a mistake and if we want to bring people together, we’re going to have to have better messaging and open minds, and consider modern reality in the equation, if simply for practical reasons.
This ties in with the need for better, more forward thinking (in the educational, political and community safety arenas) leadership in diaspora Jewish organizations. We have some stuff to fix.
You are absolutely right about the danger. The house is on fire, and our enemies are at the door. Your call for unity comes from the deepest, most essential Jewish instinct for survival.
But you've misdiagnosed the fire.
You are worried about an argument in the "front yard," but you're missing that the fire started inside the house, decades ago. The spiritual foundation was hollowed out, the fire-retardant of Torah was stripped away, and the walls were replaced with the flammable materials of Conformism. The external attacks we see today are not a new threat; they are just the flames finally reaching the roof.
This is not "bad timing." This is the blaring of the fire alarm. This is the one, desperate moment to shout that the "modern" materials have failed and that our only path to survival is a return to the original, fireproof blueprint.
The unity you're calling for—a huddling together based on shared fear—is what we've been trying. It has failed. It is a unity of victims.
The only unity that will save us is the one that has always saved us: a powerful, unapologetic unity of purpose, built on our eternal covenant. We don't need "better messaging" for a failed system. We need to be builders of a system that actually works.
But I’m not talking about fear and huddling together. I’m talking about fighting back together. Because I for one will not go peacefully. You want to point a finger at your less observant brothers or you want some help fighting Nazis? My ancestors murdered by Nazis and Communists in Poland, France, Ukraine, Russia, were modern people. They got killed just the same. They paid the same price as the ultra Orthodox. The Israelis fighting jihad are not all rabbis. We’re a small people. We need all hands on deck. And I understand your points and I agree with many of them. Ideas are constantly in conflict. If your ideas and desired outcome are losing traction, then I would suggest finding a better way to present those ideas to reverse the trends that alarm you. You say antisemitism is not new. Of course, you’re right. And what I’m saying to you is not new. And I am right too. The diaspora Jews need better leadership and a new way of thinking about how to fight for our human rights. In the meantime, let’s not encourage people who exploit our differences.
vielen danke Tanto--yer right! There are many EYES on these stacks an' ya Schpeak Trooth!
THIS sums it up:
"This is not a safe haven platform for Jews. We don’t need to argue in the front yard while an assortment of malign state actors, Islamofascists, and Nazi fan boys are manipulating social media opinion to burn down our house. The Reform community needs the Orthodox community and the Orthodox community needs the secular, Conservative and Reform Jews who support Israel as well. Sorry, not sorry. "
Tanks fer this, Kemosabe! ;-)
It does not matter if you are “hurt and offended “. You are simply coming face to face with a different opinion. You won’t accept the possibility that you could be wrong.
This pathetic response is so woke. Some of you who are ‘hurt’ and ‘offended’ sound like badly behaved children. Really? Grow up and do some investigating and learning.
Me too - hurt and offended at the same time.
You’ve put your finger on the essential point: We are Am Yisrael—a people. Let me be absolutely clear, as this is the foundation for everything: This is not about who is a Jew. If you are born of a Jewish mother, you have an eternal Jewish soul. Period. My critique is not aimed at the person, but at the system they have been taught.
Our nation was forged by a covenant. The Torah isn't just a "religious text"; it is the founding constitution of our civilization. When the Temple was destroyed, the Sages didn't invent a new Judaism; they used this same constitution—the Mesorah—to adapt within the system. The Reform movement did the opposite: it created a new system with a new goal—integration.
This is why so many feel a disconnect, a sense that "key elements" have been lost. It’s not an accident; it’s the system working as designed. It’s a framework not for continuity, but for Conformism. I urge you to direct any frustration not at those of us pointing this out, but at the ideology that has created generations of confusion.
Real unity isn’t found by blurring the lines. It’s found by rediscovering the authentic blueprint and becoming the builders our future desperately needs.
Sam, this comment is less divisive than your article. However, I still disagree with your take on post-Temple Judaism being legitimate while post-Enlightenment Judaism being illegitimate. You are assuming your own conclusion here.
Would a Temple-era Jew recognize a diaspora rabbinic Jew as being the same? I think absolutely not. How can you have Judaism without the Temple? Where are the Cohanim? Where are the sacrifices? Where is the rhythm of the land and the seasons? Where’s the language? A time traveling Temple-era Jew would be completely confused.
I’m trying to reframe your last sentence in a way I agree with. “Real unity is found by…” and I don’t have an answer. I don’t have a definition that would include my version of Judaism, your version of Judaism, but draw a line where I do, which is to disavow the anti-Zionist useful idiots supporting Hamas, but claiming the mantle of Judaism.
Let me try this. Real unity is found by argument for the sake of heaven. What we are all doing here in these comments. Holding space for each other, as Jews, even as we disagree. It won’t, can’t, divide us.
Would a Temple-era Jew recognize us? Absolutely. They wouldn’t be looking for a building; they’d be looking for the Jewish nation.
They would find us keeping Shabbat and kashrut. They’d see our close-knit communities built around daily prayer, and our study halls filled with people poring over ancient texts to apply to modern life. They would recognize our vast networks of charity that support both our own and the world at large.
They'd also understand our system of authority, since rabbinic Judaism is simply the continuation of the Sanhedrin, which always served as the judiciary while the Temple handled the sacrificial service.
That is the authentic chain of tradition that was meticulously passed down and survived 2,000 years of exile. The fundamental error is to skip over those two millennia of history, which is precisely what post-Enlightenment movements did.
To truly understand this unbroken continuity, you have to study it. I’d recommend starting with a book like Rabbi Shmuel Reichman’s The Journey to Your Ultimate Self to see how that ancient, living conversation continues today.
Sorry to burst your bubble here, but arguably Temple-era Jews would not recognize the Israeli Haredim immersed in their Torah Study halls 24x7, living separately from the rest of Jewish society, not working and expecting handouts and refusing to defend the Jewish nation. That could be arguably described as "non-Jewish" and certainly unrecognizable. But, I would never characterize them as non-Jews like you are basically saying about the Reform Jews.
Over the last 2 years of first being enchanted by Joshua's "Future of Jewish, I have been dismayed by the total shift to the 'right', losing any sense of nuance from the broader spectrum of Jewish voices that can contribute to the discussion. It is simply sad that everything devolves in to tribal bubbles. Certainly the comments come from all over the spectrum, but the original essays are simply one sided steered sharply to the right
You are correct that a Temple-era Jew would be confused by a modern Haredi lifestyle—just as he'd be confused by a smartphone.
But that confusion is superficial.
He would immediately recognize the core operating system: Shabbat, kashrut, daily prayer, and the unbroken chain of rabbinic authority. He would see a 2,000-year evolution of the exact system he lived by.
But if you showed that same Temple-era Jew the founding documents of Reform, he would find nothing recognizable.
He wouldn't see a "confusing" lifestyle; he would see a different religion—one that explicitly and intentionally dismantled the entire system of divine authority, law, and practice he lived for.
This is the real "nuance" you are missing. You are equating a 2,000-year evolution with a 200-year-old rejection.
This isn't a "shift to the right." It is a firm return to that non-negotiable, historical distinction.
So you call not defending your nation nor supporting your basic family needs as superficial. What's up with that?
AGREED! One key tenet of Judaism (from all I've known) is that you do NOT have to even "believe in G-d" to be jooish--QVESTIONS are encouraged (re Pesach & beyond). Sure, ve have "mandates" to uphold the "Big Ten" which may be done wuther yer Orthodox, Conservative, er yes REFORM! but I agree--this schplinterin' is simply WRONG.
To split us apart like the Aesop story where the bundle is stronger TOGETHER (oy, as if pollyticks ain't don' that enuf?) is criminal--yes criminal!
Growin' up Reform I'll AGREE that Sunday Skool sucked an' needs ta be fixed--no more lackluster bornin' lessons (please G-d no more KaTonTon!)... Torah is fassynatin'--nu? I needed ta larn this years after havin' kids? I could go on....
If joos were told they had ta keep kosher or "fully" do shabbos there would be even fewer of us! This is what you want? Oy. (ptooey! lol)
We don’t have to believe in G-d?! Where are you getting this nonsense from? We can argue with G-d and asks queries but belief in G-d is essential. Do you not know how to spell the word ‘Jew’ yet alone speak in bloody English? For goodness sakes what an aberration of the English language. All Jews were observant and kosher over 200 years ago which lasted for thousands of years until the Enlightenment and certain Jews wanted to assimilate with gentile culture which brought us Reform Judaism and assimilation. Your ignorance is appalling. There are few of us because of bloody assimilation you silly twat. You’re a troll so sod off.
Count me in the hurt and offended group. Also color me absolutely disgusted that you would seek to divide and/or exclude some Jews from the group.
It’s the worst piece and the most poorly timed piece I’ve read yet in FoJ.
I hope to read a rebuttal piece make the argument that we are a people first. Also, we need more proud Jews of any kind (except Messianic, but maybe that’s just me). Now more than ever.
We are being erased from our own history right now - in universities, lower schools, even Holocaust Museums. But, sure, let’s fight about who gets to be called a Jew! You are doing Hamas’ work for them - 😡!
You are never asked whether you believe in God to be Jewish. That’s the important difference between Judaism and the other 2 spin out religions — one is born Jewish, and unless specific acts are taken to leave Judaism by a deliberate act, e.g., start practicing another religion with intent. Practicing Judaic rituals or following Judaic commandments are NOT the requirements of being Jewish, being born to Jewish mother is an absolutely required and sufficient condition. Per Hasidic teachings, even being a non-practicing Jew doesn’t make one a “bad” Jew — one is still just a Jew!
Golly ya took a narsty pill an' I'm notta troll (believe what'cha want an' call me all the names ya want), an' I've been on Substack fer quite a few years an' I DO contribute thoughtful bits an' write both mah com-mints an' my stack in the vernacular fer many a good reason. (I'll spare ya why cuz ya don't know how ta act nicely, ya just ACCUSE....)
I have quite a few subscribers (over 1000 if ya count followerz) who neither hate me 'er call me a TWAT like YOU DID. Whut a lovely human bean YOU must BE. What a noble Jew settin' such a good eggzample.
I may write "funny" but you gotta POTTY MOUTH!"
I bet it goes over real well in yer schul, nu?
HONESTLY if ya don't like mah take or mah "bloody english" you could jus' skip it.... as many do. They don't have the time 'er the inclination... Guess it feels good ta take yer "fellow" joos down a notch?! Settin' a "foin" eggzample thar....
Here's a golden rule ya seem ta have vergotten: "IF you can't say something nice don't say anything AT ALL."
Thankfully some'a yer fellow Brits--if that's what'cha are given yer own "vernacular"--are quite nice ta me an' enjoy mah "vernacular." I've quite a few subscribers from across the pond who are not skeered of an act-tress who writes like Al Capp.
Not yer cuppa tea? That's fine. No need ta choke on yer crumpet an' treat another human like... wull, I'm a laydee so I won't say.
An' YES you do NOT have ta believe in God/G-d to be a joo/chew/JEW...
Here's a test.... Go pick out a secular joo with a jooish mother an' see if Israel turns 'im away as NOT bein' a JEW. (Thankfully you ain't workin' in Customs!)
You fully PROVE my disagreement with today's stack-poster who wanted ta separate "true joos" who are Orthodox or at least Conservative from....the rest of us.
MOST commenters were sayin' that they also felt that it's wrong ta accuse Reform Jews of not bein' "chewish enuf."
Seems like yer in full agree-mint an' clearly you got lots'a disdain fer Reform Judaism. Fine with me... I guess yer bein' proper Orthodox-frum means tellin' others like me that we're ignorant an' trolls an' twats. Lovely. Surely ya feel right chuffed fer talkin' down to yer "inferiors."
As to the possibility of bein' a Jew that does not BELIEVE in G-d or QUESTIONS G-d....THERE are many views on from legit sources. I heard it direct from a chabad rabbi an' wuz surprised... I did NOT say I didn't believe in G-d m'self btw but you took out yer Ginsu knives an' wanted ta do sum fierce choppin'--attackin' "fellow" Joos? GeeHaw'd away...
Are ya SURE, ya know better? Rebbe EJV.?
I ain't joinin' YOUR temple but here are quite a few view onnit:
Must Jews believe in God?
https://www.sefaria.org/sheets/229735?lang=bi
from the above:
"What is more important in Judaism: belief in God or practicing the laws of the Torah?"
"Belief in God was less central to Jews of the rabbinic era (the few centuries following the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE) than it was to Jews in the Middle Ages, not because God was less important, but because belief itself was."
"Though Jews tended to believe in certain shared concepts–e.g. one God who led them out of Egypt, the eventual messianic redemption–official beliefs or dogmas were not formulated until the Middle Ages."
You've called me a TWAT an' a TROLL an' told me to SOD OFF.
LOVELY! What a dear human bean ya must be....
I've shared a fact I've larned from a gen-u-ine Rabbi an' attempted to weigh in on why I feel dividin' the jewish people an' dismissin' a lot've us is a bad idear. You simply attacked me an' called me names.
I m'self have been informin' misinformed haters fer the last few years (on a near daily basis) an' have won a few over to NOT dissin' Israel or Judaism. To BETTER understandin'. I do so with humor.
WHAT have YOU accomplished t'day with yer poison pen an' forked tongue?
(ya don't have ta answer.... )
I think more'n a few others on this stack an' others might vouch fer me...
"yalla bye"
Forgive my faux pas if I didn’t get your type of ‘humour’ but it’s like fingernails on a chalk board. Monty Python is my type of humour, or Fawlty Towers, Keeping Up Appearances, etc. But belief in G-d is essential to being living and being Jewish. We were given the 10 Commandments by G-d at Sinai. All the Jews I know believe in the Creator including myself. The female rabbi whose link you provided gave both religious and non-religious examples. I provided the only ones that matter in this case:
Adin Steinsaltz The question “What is Judaism without belief in God” can best be answered through similes. The simplest simile would be that it is like humanity without life: a collection of dead bodies, cemeteries and memorials. Judaism without belief in God is just like that: a combination of obscure historical notions such as the Shoah, a faint attachment to Israel and wonderful material for Woody Allen movies.
Martin Buber
When two people relate to each other authentically and humanly, God is the electricity that surges between them.
For Maimonides, one was not Jewish–at least not fully Jewish–if one did not believe in God and in the other tenets of belief that he outlined. He stated that the following principles were essential to one's Jewish identity.
https://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/332555/jewish/Maimonides-13-Principles-of-Faith.htm
For lengthier discussions see here:
https://judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/139163/can-a-jew-not-believe-in-g-d
A more digny-fied response dignifies a response tho' I'll say bein' called potty-mouth names is arguably worse than fingernails on a chalkboard but ta each his own (said the laydee when she kissed her cow) an' on that note, we'll put such quibbles aside.
Herewith, a few com-mints to lay this toe-pick to REST:
1. Eeeeven within the discussions ya shared the qvestion came up as a scrolled down....NOWHERE in Torah duz it say "yer notta joo if you do not believe in G-d" -- Yep, Maimonides included it (then again some said he was a heretic--no, I do NOT think he was).
Again (per my other com-mint), many rabbis (includin' Orthodox / Chabad) DO say that if you are born with a Jewish Soul (all us joos are) then yer Jewish no matter if yer belief in G-d waxes, wanes, 'er full out leaves fer a time... (There are ways ta Un-Jew yerself such as with conversion but we are NOT talkin' 'bout that)
2. It's insultin' no-end ta say those of us joos that are not "frum" enuf are simply Woody Allen fans with an obscure "notion" of the Shoah. Ben Hecht, fer eggzample, saved more chewish lives durin' the Holocaust than ANY other Jew in America. He was not particularly religious, he had two non-jooish wives, an' he fought tirelessly for the Jewish people. He lived..."jewishly" meanin' with a deep connection to our people an' makin' sacrifices (career-wise an' beyond) to save Jewish lives. I defy anybuddy ta schtate he was not a Jew... really? That'd be sum' chutzpah.
(May his memory be a blessin'!)
Also, it's insultin' ta call me ignorant (an' other cherce woids/names) when there are INDEED many rabbis that would 100% agree with mah statement about "belief" (which is a "state" which can change an' yer still a Jew when it does)
3. I'll end here with TWO quotes (both from Orthodox Sources...)
A. "According to rabbinical Judaism, a Jew is one who has a Jewish mother or one who has formally converted to Judaism. Leviticus 24:10 is often cited to give this belief credibility, although the Torah makes no specific claim in support of this tradition. "
"Some rabbis say that it has nothing to do with what the individual actually believes. These rabbis tell us that a Jew does not need to be a follower of Jewish laws and customs to be considered Jewish. In fact, a Jew can have no belief in God at all and still be Jewish based on the above rabbinical interpretation."
NOTE: Ain't sayin' ALL RABBIS see it this way but it's a legit interpretation an' I was given it from a rabbi myself.
B.
Rabbi Naftali Brawer sez:
"A born Jew is always a Jew, regardless of how committed one is to the faith and practice of Judaism. Being Jewish is an existential definition; it is who you are in your very essence and nothing can ever change that. This is because at your core is a Jewish soul bequeathed to you by your Jewish forbears. It is, to put it in other terms, your spiritual DNA."
"In the same way you cannot change your physiological make-up, you cannot alter the fact that deep within you resides a Jewish essence. Furthermore, being Jewish is an all-or-nothing scenario. You either are or you are not. There is no such thing as varying gradations of Jewishness. "
"The scrupulously observant Jew is no more Jewish in essence than the most non- observant Jew. Where these two Jews differ greatly is in their commitment to Judaism."
"The observant Jew takes his Judaism seriously. He is steeped in its history, culture and traditions and he structures his life around its teachings. The non-observant Jew on the other hand does not live his life in accordance with Torah’s teachings. This may make him an apathetic Jew but it in no way detracts from his core Jewishness."
"The question you ought to be asking is not whether you are Jewish but whether or not you are living life Jewishly. One of the most important expressions of Judaism is the feeling of responsibility and connectedness to other Jews."
GIVEN THAT LAST SENTENCE we here, lookin' at this Substack CLEARLY identify as jewish an' feel BOTH " responsibility and connectedness to other Jews" wuther we are Orthodox... or not.
Who wants ta cast the first stone?
ps ALL this disagree-mint came from one skinny little line--my statin' that a Rabbi told me that to be jooish you do not need to believe in G-d. * More'n one Chabad Rabbi backs this up. Some do so by sayin' "you believe even if you think you don't".... I'm no theologian but I'm happy to embrace our "Tribe" no matter how frum...or not they are.
*I would say that Judaism is unique in this way an' imho Hashem knew that human beans would have times of disbelief, uncertainty, an' faith as life's ups & downs come/go....knowin' our faith uniquely duz NOT abandon us if we qvestion or even reject fer a time... is a strength, not a weakness...
"You do you" an' dis-miss whom ya like. Again, the bundle of sticks, per Aesop, is much stronger than the individual sticks that are more easily broken--together we ARE stronger an' I'll STICK to that!
ps Chabad Rabbi Tzvi Freeman opines:
"Take comfort in the teaching of our sages, that every Jew is a “believer, the child of believers,” and there’s nothing you can do to change that. Even Jews that believe they’re atheists are innate, profound believers."
"So it’s okay to feel once in a while that 'maybe I don’t really believe.' Because, even then, He’s still there. And so is your connection to Him. G‑d doesn’t disappear like a figment of imagination, and neither does your Jewish soul."
"And, besides, He believes in you, just as He did yesterday. "
Me? I think this is bee-u-tee-full. Thus, yes, even if there are times ya don't believe...or yer not sure.... G-d has our backs an' that duz not change our "Jewish Soul" (amen!)
I think GB raises some very interesting points in this debate.
The world has evolved, and so too has Judaism.
Miracle of miracles, the 1948 rebirth of modern day Israel in its original homeland, against all odds, and with that rebirth, a flourishing strong economy as a wonder to the world.
Israel’s strongly patriotic population ingathered from across the globe, are a first world democracy in a neighbourhood whose countries values and lifestyles are so very different.
The years have evolved post enlightenment, with industrialisation, modernity post WW2 at an ever increasing pace and globalisation. When coupled with not having our homeland for over 2000 years, Jewish people have found themselves spread across the world, having to master the ever changing environment of their home nations. All the while, adhering to the Judaism they knew and were taught.
A very good friend once said to me, Christians may all believe, but they don’t belong, whereas Jews may not all believe on the same level, but they all belong.
💜✡️ 💙🇮🇱
The Rebbe himself would disagree with the entire premise of this post. As my local Chabad rabbi says, “Labels are for clothes, not for Jews.” You can have problems with Reform Judaism’s philosophy (and I do, trust me) without writing off every Jew who is part of a Reform community. This antagonism of your fellow Jew needs to stop. The antisemites don’t know if you keep kosher or are shomer Shabbat— they just care if you are Jewish in any form. We need unity to face our enemies. This post is so disappointing.
As someone who grew up with lifeless Reform Judaism, I can attest to what Joshua has written. Luckily my mother zt”sent me to a religious day school for junior and part of high school which planted the seeds for me becoming a modern Orthodox Jew in the 1980s. My first trip to Israel in 1982 with the Sephardic Educational Center was the spark that lit the fire that returned me, a Ba’al Teshuvah to what being an authentic Jew is. If what Joshua has written has upset or offended you, good. There would be no Judaism if we’d thrown away the rituals, observing Shabbat etc. Being a ‘cultural’ Jew without the nuts and bolts of what it takes to live as an observant Jew is frankly a joke and meaningless and ultimately leads to assimilation.
Every Baal Teshuvah has a story about their family and community of origin and what motivated them to move to a life of Torah observance . The key is to avoid theological disputes take Halachic stances that are necessary but by all means don’t act or be judgmental but rather sad that far too many of our brothers and sisters know more about the important details of the Holocaust ( and in some cases have received a universalistic approach to the uniquely Jewish aspects of t he Holocaust) but have very little knowledge as to the basic texts and teachings of Judaism
Exactly, mine was going to a Jewish day school and then to Israel with a religious Sefardi group which changed everything. Being in Israel changed everything for me. I didn’t become a Ba’al Teshuva overnight, I took my journey in steps. But by the late 1980s I made it and I never looked back.
My journey began by attending NCSY Shabbatonim and conventions becoming Shomer Shabbos and attending YU where I received the tools in in learning Torah and a college education
If I had to attend university again I would probably do YU or apply to Bar Ilan. I went to Hebrew University for my third year from 1983-84. I went from Reform to Conservative for a time and then found it hypocritical, then became friends with some Rabbis, Chabad and modern Orthodox and became friends with the head Librarian of the Simon Wiesenthal Center and started becoming Shomer Shabbat. I became researcher at SWC in 1994.
Fascinating! Once upon a time Barnard was where many Modern Orthodox women went to college and Hebrew U was where sons went for a junior year abroad but as you pointed out its faculty is at best a very mixed bag with respect to Judaism and classical Jewish texts .Barnard is is now a decidedly hostile and culturally and socially unsafe environment for Jewish students . There was a report by two graduates of Harvard and MIT who in about 2007 warned about these issues in the Ivies and it was thus an easy decision four children to go to Touro and Stern . Our younger daughter worked for many years in YU’s Gottesman Library where you can see students Roshei Yeshiva and researchers in all aspects of Jewish life on any given day
How did you find Conservative Judaism hypocritical? Genuinely curious because I grew up in a Conservative community in a pretty observant family.
The so called ‘Enlightenment’ which you think of as being so grand has lead us to where western society is today. G-dless, narcissistic, unmoored, feelings of isolation, drug addiction, mental health problems etc. It was the Enlightenment that allowed for the Shoah to occur. ‘The death of G-D’. So much for being ‘enlightened’ when the oldest hatred, that of Jews, has reached tsunami levels…
We can indeed blame the Enlightenment created by humans which lead to rationalising everything and then to agnosticism, then atheism and now to narcissism and hedonism and generation Z embracing a jihadist death cult mixed in with Marxism. As for the brave men and women in the IDF, they are more religious than those in the Reform movement because most of them believe in G-d and adhere to some Jewish rituals while living and serving in Israel, the holy land of the Jewish people. There no comparison between them and secular diaspora Jews. You might want to read the from the newly released hostages and what sustained them these past few years. It was their faith and belief in G-d.
Correction: you might want to read the stories from the newly released hostages to see how their faith sustained them. https://www.theyeshivaworld.com/news/israel-news/2461362/matan-angrest-began-davening-3-times-a-day-memorized-chamisha-chumshei-torah.html
& .. your point is ? ..
I don't know what Reform synagogue you visited or what Rabbi you spoke with. I've been a Reform jew all my life and we've never been taught what you're alleging, and I've been to many shuls due to having a father in the military. Please take you story down. We don't need our enemies using it against all of us. And they will.
At this time in our history, we don't need more hate. We need togetherness and connection.
I saw nothing that was an expression of hate. Surely we all know that there are vast differences between what orthodox Jews believe and how they live compared to how Jews who think of themselves as belonging to other "denominations" believe and live. Sam Mitzmann has described his conceptual framework for these differences. He is not telling anyone to stop thinking of themselves as Jewish.
I have to say that I think he kind of is saying that. He appears to see Reform as essentially a breakaway sect, which heavily implies that it isn't Judaism anymore.
That is precisely what he is saying.
And I am left wondering why he was eager to imply this...
It sure feels that way. Reread it again. He has distain for Reform Jews. He practically called us Pagans.
He clearly loathes any progressive form of Judaism.
Not hate but it is very divisive at a time when this is the last thing we need.
Remove the post. That kind of division is just what our enemies need next to tear us down.
You would have done better to spend the time actually making the world around you better rather than create this divisive, exclusionary drivel. Enjoy life on your tiny little island - the rest of us Jews will be out here if you decide to engage.
Actually, the religious Jewish community is growing. The Reform Jewish community is not.
The religious community is growing because they are fruitful and multiply....a lot.
That's how most people used to be going back 100 years and before then. The secular folks have less and less kids. Having many kids used to be seen as a sign of strength (and in Israel, it still is). Many secular people see kids as a liability (i.e. financial), not an asset. I think we have a lot to learn from religious Jews on this.
Financial reasons are not the only reasons to not have more kids. Surely you can imagine them, but i'll be glad to elucidate if you can't.
There was a recent study which found that a high percentage of conservative men valued marriage and family, while only a small percentage of liberal women valued marriage and family. Could that be the crux of the problem?
yes, much ta "larn" but duz not mean that we need to emulate everythang.... wanna wear a Schtreimel? (It'll cost ya 2 months' rent!) Laydees a Shaidel? Not fer moi. More kids! IF ONLY! Fer many of us it's GELT an' if jooish charities stopped fundin' causes contrary to keepin' anti-jooish immigration of Muslims & MyGrunts goin' (Hias which I call HighAss) or abandoned all Lefty causes throwin' $$$ at folks that will not return the favor--THEN perhaps there COULD be money ta help famblies that would otherwise struggle ta have more kids... 'er afford the SPACE for 'em! (real eschtate ain't cheap even fer renters :-(
ALSO...elephant in the room! Fertility is vastly harmed by the VAXXES. Look up Dr. Zev Zelenko may his memory be a blessing! He traveled to Israel to BEG them not ta take the jabs.... Look up Naomi Wolf and the studies dun on the jabbed and fertility. Rabbis (such a shonda) took pharma $$$ to promote them, Israel bent over to PffffiZer (I believe BB did this not ta sterilize joos but ta improve his legacy jus' like DJT did Warp Speed--both believin' the hype they were fed). I won't go on HERE about the cancers, the heart issues.... MANY Orthodox in NYC were shunned fer resistin'--may they be fruitful as too many joos no longer CAN reproduce (sorry it's troo--also look up Dr James Thorpe)
it would be easier to read your posts if you wrote plain english.
Very enjoyable read, thank you.
yer most "velcome!"
I have no idea if you are saying anything useful, because you are so fucknig painful to read.
Thats a different article than what was written. Your point is about demographic outcomes. Worldwide, when women receive the education needed to gain highly compensated jobs, that ultimately results in lower birthrates. Are you arguing against education for women?
Male college enrollment has been declining since the 1980s. Now men account for only 39% of college enrollment. Do you think in terms of what has happened to men, or only about what has happened to women?
Could that be that liberal Judaism has embraced feminism, with the resultant decline in population?
But telling us we’re not “real Jews?” That kind of gatekeeping is absolute 💩.
You seem to express hostility to observant Jews. Why? Do you disagree with this statement: "For thousands of years, Judaism meant one thing: the life and law of a people living by the covenant forged at Sinai. It was a complete system for living, encompassing the civil, the ritual, and the spiritual. It included rich and diverse variations — Yemenite, Sephardic, Hasidic, Lithuanian — but never fundamental contradiction."
Sinai = Sin
What in the world does that mean?
Nasty.
You write as though we do not have enough issues dividing us from each other already. You write from ignorance of modern day Reform synagogues, which are very different from those of ‘Classical Reform’ synagogues in the 19th century. You ignore and/or denigrate other, unaffiliated Jews who do not follow ‘Orthodox’ practices, such as secular Israelis. You deny the validity of the love which most non-‘Orthodox' Jews have for Torah, for Jewish values and traditions. You ignore the very real differences between practices of the various ‘Orthodox' sects. You barely mention the Conservative movement at all. It is kind of you to offer a welcome us back into the ‘fold’ of your brand of Judaism, and I can state confidently that we ‘Reform’ Jews feel the same about you. May all Jews be blessed with more love than judgment, more understanding than censure, more acceptance of and respect for each other. On occasion we disappoint ourselves as much as we disappoint you. We judge each other at least as often as you judge us, but my Reform shul combines love of Torah, respect for tradition and a sense of community that encourage me to grow as a Jew. We have our priorities, especially right now, ordered very differently than yours, and I am okay with that.
AMEN!!!!!
Hitler didn’t distinguish between denominations. We were all Jews in his eyes. Let’s leave it at that.
So Hitler is the barometer of Judaism and Jewishness? I don't see the connection between our enemies and our traditions.
She means that no matter how frum we were/warn't we are all joos--of COURSE Hitler ain't a barometer of that but on a "soiten" level... we ARE an' our genes might speak out in unexpected ways too. Many of the excedin'ly ASS-imilated jews in Nazi Germany were shocked that their hidin' their jooishness didn't save them. Many then & since embraced who they were realizin' that one cannot really hide from the haters... I look at famous folks like Francois Truffaut, Tom Stoppard, Christopher Hitchens an' zo many others from whom their jooish origins were hidden by frightened famblies--all THREE (there are more!) emmerged as proud joos! An' that COUNTS!
What a shame for the future of Israel and the Jewish people in general that people like you are writing such divisive stuff. Do Reform Jews not venerate the Torah? Whether they think of it as divinely inspired with humans doing the actually writing and codifying of it, they still learn from it and read from it every Shabbat just like you do. If we don't think of Chaverim Kol Yisrael, we are doomed.
Well, one could reasonably argue that Reform Judaism has, for decades now, been sowing the seeds of Jewish division by creating a disproportionate of "anti-Zionist Jews" and/or Jews who do not see Israel as a core part of their Jewish identity.
Thats a different article than what was written. Your article would examine the outcomes of different denominations regarding their attachment to Zionism (and please define what kind of Zionism you mean). I expect hat soon you will therefore be critiquing ultraOrthodoxy and its less than stellar attitude to Zionism in the past and present, right?
No actual Synagogue going Jews in a real Reform (not some breakaway leftist bs pretend Synagogue) preaches anti-Zionism. Jews do not become anti-Zionists from going to Reform services. I grew up with dozens upon dozens of kids educated at Reform synagogues. They were taught to love and support Israel as was I educated at a Conservative Hebrew School.
Let them. They are still Jews. Many of the anti-Zionist Jews aren't affiliated anywhere. Are you saying that if you think everything Israel does is perfect and acceptable, you are Jewish and if not you're not Jewish?
I'm saying exactly what I said: Reform Judaism has, for decades now, been sowing the seeds of Jewish division by creating a disproportionate of "anti-Zionist Jews" and/or Jews who do not see Israel as a core part of their Jewish identity.
No need to infer anything else from this statement.
You are exactly correct Joshua. They know nothing about Jewish history or religion making them easily susceptible to the pro-Palestinian narrative. Their atheism doesn’t help them either.
More baseless hatred to your fellow Jews.
I'm sorry, but the Orthodox have also been "sowing the seeds of Jewish division" also for decades, by denigrating any other "flavor" of Judaism that isn't theirs. It has been working both ways "for decades." Why do you think so many non-Orthodox Israelis are disgusted with the direction the country has gone with this current government? It's all part of the sectarian split in Israel and the Diaspora.
Thats a different article, Josh. Thats an article in which you should ask Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, a leading rabbi and Zionist leader in Reform Judaism, to critique the Reform movement about how it has educated about Zionism, which he has written about and held conferences about and given sermons about for many years now. But why would he bother to write for a substack calling itself the "Future of Judaism" when it starts by declaring that Reform Judaism isn't Judaism? I refuse to engage with militant and uninformed anti-Zionism. With this stance, your substack is veering into militant and uninformed as well.
You're conflating cause and effect. What is your evidence that it's the Reform movement that is creating a disproportion of "anti-Zionist Jews," versus "anti-Zionist" Jews who gravitate toward less prescriptive forms of Judaism? It seems far more likely that anti-Zionist Jews are those whose families have assimilated excessively, are ignorant of most, if not all,Jewish history, culture and tradition, and have the most tenuous identification with Judaism to begin with.
I am familiar with several Reform congregations in the Us, whose Rabbis and members are fiercely Zionist.
Conversely, what of the ultra-Orthodox who are also anti-Zionist, believing that only the coming of the Messiah can justify the return of Jews as a sovereign nation in the land of Israel?
Mitzmann's positions are self-regarding and divisive of our people. I'm reminded of the divisions of the Jews of Judea into Sadducees, Pharisees, Essenes or Zealots, prior to the Roman conquest of 70 AD. Historians agree widely that these divisions contributed significantly to the defeat then, and in the Bar Kochba revolt some 60 years later.
This isn't about dividing our people. This is about loving our people enough to be honest. What has been stolen is the clarity about what Judaism is. My critique is aimed at the ideology that created this confusion, not at the wonderful Jews caught within it. Real unity requires a shared truth to unite around, and I believe we love our people more by offering them that truth than by offering a comfortable falsehood.
Let's be precise about the historical model. Reform ideology was born in 19th-century Germany not to make Judaism stronger, but to make it less inconvenient for Jews who desperately wanted acceptance into the dominant German culture. Like the Sadducees of old, the goal was to maintain a minimal, respectable connection to a heritage while maximizing the benefits and comfort of the surrounding non-Jewish world.
It functions as a multi-generational exit ramp. It eases families out of the covenant by systematically dismantling every "on-ramp" back to tradition. Binding commandments become optional "symbols." The mandate for deep Torah study is replaced with palatable ethical sermons. The system isn't designed to pull you closer; it is engineered to manage your departure with dignity, letting you feel Jewish as you drift away.
This is the very heart of the cause-and-effect argument. The cause is the creation of a religious structure with no theological immune system, designed to harmonize with the outside world. The predictable effect, generations later, is widespread assimilation and a loss of the very knowledge that would make one want to stay. It's a system that doesn't fight assimilation—it rebrands it.
The fiercely Zionist Reform Jews you know are a testament to the power of the Jewish soul, but they are Zionist in spite of their movement’s framework, not because of it. As for anti-Zionist Haredim, the comparison proves my point. One group rejects the covenant itself; the other argues from a radical interpretation of the covenant. They are polar opposites.
You've constructed a tautology. First, you define "True" Judaism according to your particular interpretation. Then you dismiss as Jews those whose interpretations differ from yours. You may be more comfortable in the company of those who worship and believe precisely as you do. That's your privilege. But please specify the moment when God anointed you as judge and juror of your fellow Jews.
I state categorically that my devotion to Judaism and the Jewish nation is no less deep than yours. You cannot prove otherwise, certainly not with the sweeping assertions you have offered.
The divisiveness you're sowing is well reflected in the many comments here.
And I say this is incorrect.
Are Reform Jews the primary supporters of Zohran Mamdani?
No. Entirely unreligious leftist Jews are the supporters of Mamdani.
Non Jews are the primary supporters of him. Actual non Jews, not the Jews rejected by Sam and Joshua.
Thank you. I heard that several rabbis signed a letter in support of Mamdani, and those rabbis may have a following.
He's obviously not saying that. He's criticizing Reform's weakness for politicization, and usually in a dysfunctional manner.
ahem. the title of his article is that Reform Judaism is not Jewish. did you miss that?
I was talking about Joshua's comment, not the article.
He actually pretty much says that if you put his article and his comment together.
He didn't write the article.
You might want to look up the term Erev Rav because that’s what they are and it equally applies to the Neuteria Karta anti-Zionist Jews. He’s not saying everything Israel does is perfect. No country is. However the majority of anti-Zionist Jews are to be found in the Reform movement because they are ignorant of Jewish history and religion. It’s a fact. Nothing controversial about it.
The Reform movement in the early 20th Century was pretty much anti the establishment of the State of Israel. It is my understanding that the movement itself changed their stance many decades ago. Whether individual Reform JEWS are upset with Israel is a different issue.
I was a rabid Zionist for many years but currently I am disappointed in the direction Israel is headed and I worry that what it is heading toward can barely be called a democracy. It's been more or less a theocracy for many years with secular Israelis having to leave the country to get married if they don't want a religious wedding, with Haredi youth not serving in the IDF, with Israeli Arabs being treated as second class citizens, etc. That is not a democracy AND nevertheless, that doesn't mean Israel does not have a special place in my neshama.
Israel is doing just fine and more of a Democracy than the insanity that’s taking place in the West. Israel will be just fine. It isn’t perfect, no country is. Where do you get your information from? The self hating Ha’aretz😽
from Israelis!! I rarely read Ha'aretz. I never used to think Israel could do no wrong. I have taken off my rose colored glasses.
don't blame "Reform"--it's the misinterpretation of Tikkun Olam that has poisoned Conservative Judaism too--the "we must help them all".... HONESTLY mah old temple (Emanu-El) 'fore we left NYC is Uber-Zionist. Their "woke-izm" is a problem but they are BEYOND supportive of Israel.
Blame the Univershitties an' the Communist Indoctrination an' the self-hatin' joos (FINKelstein etc) but do NOT blame Reform Judaism. I grew up Reform with the little tin can to collect for Israel, we planted trees, I tagged along with my bubbie collectin' fer Hadassah).
Don't dump the baby with the bathwarter ;-)
Arguably, of the about 220 Jewish Nobel Prize winners they have been disproportionately non-orthodox. Their contribution to humanity have been vast and as a Jew, I am proud of that.
There are ultra orthodox Jews who don’t venerate Israel and thousands of them don’t serve in the IDF, defending the land we all love. I grew up reform, and that was not my experience of the faith.
I’ve enjoyed many of your posts, Joshua, but this one was deeply offensive. Holier than thou is not a very Jewish ideal.
My family was a member of the reform synagogue in what is arguably the most liberal city in America. I had 17 years of Jewish “Sunday school”, culminating in a trip to Israel. I was bat mitzvahed there. The Torah was revered.
I feel deeply connected to Israel & my entire extended Jewish family.
I can’t believe you published something so deeply insulting and divisive at all, but especially not now.
My brother, raised in the same synagogue as I was, has alternated between Chabad & a conservative synagogue.
I’m stunned at the shitty way Israelis treat diaspora Jews. We are the ones on the frontline of the information war against Israel & all Jews. Most reform Jews still feel connected to Israel & their Jewishness. Maybe you should examine the decades long infiltration of American schools by terrorists & their funders instead of opening fire in a circular firing squad.
Thankful for everyone else who has responded similarly. Glad you guys are out there, Jew fam!
If you want to argue that Jews need to educate their children better on Jewish identity, write about that. But that’s not the same thing as Reform Judaism. Don’t imagine
Some Jews aren't Jews? WTF?
exactly. WTF.
The author is not sowing division; he is merely articulating what is self-evident. America is a contradiction: it used to be the best place for Jews to live (as the Goldene Medina) but within 200 years became the worst (assimilation and acculturation). The present demographic reality of American liberalized Jewry speaks for itself, and indicates that you have 50 years to get your act together—or else become a historical footnote.
I notice that Reform Judaism has also been called "liberal Judaism". I think you are on to something.
Wow! This is incredibly offensive. Who are you to tell us whether Jews who don’t practice YOUR way aren’t Jews?
Antisemites don’t care which shul we belong to (or if we are unaffiliated).
My Judaism and how I practice is no concern of yours. It’s pretty arrogant to consider oneself the arbiter of everyone else’s religion. That behavior, seems to me, to be very un-Jewish.
Absolutely disgusting to be sowing internal division at a time of rising hatred left and right. Did we learn nothing from the fall of the second temple?? This is lashon hara.
Lashon hara is not "words I disagree with." It is baseless hate. The argument the author makes is not baseless; constructive criticism is fair game.
Constructive criticism is a different article that isnt titled Reform Judaism is not Judaism. Either you are disingenuous or misinformed or both.
Lashon Hara is harmful speech, even if it is true. I would think that someone more observant than me would know the basic definition of it.
Lashon Hara is gossip. Whether true or not.
So we can see in a few short comments how one Jewish law, Loshan Hara, is argued as to what it exactly means…. That exercise is a fundamental part of being Jewish and show how alike and different
We can be and will continue to be.
I am very disappointed that you seem to forget something absolutely fundamental and existential in that we Jews, were a people (leaving Egypt) before we were a religion (Sinai). Jews are a family and peoplehood is essential to who we are. As written in the Talmud (the famous kosher oven story), G-d has given us the individual responsibility (free-will) to faithfully try to understand why G-d wants from us and lead our lives in this covenant. Families often disagree but it must be our mission to remain a united family in all its greatest traditions.
Bravo. I loved the insight that we were a people before we had the Torah. Amazing. Never thought of it.
There is too much inaccuracy about Reform and about Jewish history to deal with in a comment.
That aside, the same spurious arguments were used in Christianity eg Roman Catholicism is the only true faith…the Protestants are all heretics.
So, I guess I should just go away. Shoo fly, don’t bother me. I guess my congregation of 1200 member units, some 2500 or more individuals should just give our time and our money to some other country other than Israel, stop our congregational trips there, just hang it up. Inspiring essay. Thanks.
Sam Mitzmann did not say that anyone should stop thinking that they are Jewish or stop supporting Israel. There is nothing stopping anyone from thinking of themselves as Jewish and supporting Israel.
I think he said exactly that, in a slightly roundabout way. "A different God"? With that as the author's position, what connection is a reform Jew supposed to have to Israel?
I consider the lens of the rabbinic interpretation of the Torah to be one kind of reform. Without that, all Jews would be Karaite Jews. Great! Now, Jews can eat Chicken Parmesan and stone their insolent children, since both are permitted by the Torah.
This is, by far, the single worst article I've read on this substack. It is highly devisive, which is just the thing Jews don't need. Jews lost Jerusalem once because of internal division. That's not something that should be repeated.
You are 100% correct. The internal division that "lost Jerusalem" is our people's greatest existential threat. The events of October 7th were another agonizing reminder that when we are divided, we are vulnerable.
This shared commitment to unity is sacred.
But it forces us to ask the most serious question: What is true unity?
Is it a superficial "peace" that demands silence, forcing us to ignore the very ideologies that are leading us apart?
Or is it the deeper, more difficult work of loving your fellow Jew enough to challenge a failed framework and show the path back to our shared foundation?
A 19th-century ideology that formally broke with 2,000 years of tradition is not "just another reform." It was the original division. My article is a historical critique of that ideology, based on its own founding documents—documents that explicitly renounced Jewish peoplehood and allegiance to Israel.
My critique is not the cause of the division; it is the diagnosis of it.
We cannot heal this divide by pretending its historical roots don't exist. True unity can only be rebuilt on the uncompromised truth that kept us whole for millennia.
Agreeeeeeeed!
"This is, by far, the single worst article I've read on this substack. It is highly devisive, which is just the thing Jews don't need. Jews lost Jerusalem once because of internal division. That's not something that should be repeated."
ps I do NOT think even the most Ultra of Orthodox believe anybuddy should be stoned ;-) -- tho' Bob Dylan (usually quite proud of his jooishness!) wrote a GREAT song 'bout gettin' stoned lol!
This article is arrogant and vile! Yes there is a wide divide between Orthodoxy and Reform (I’ve been both.). Reform’s legitimacy isn’t based on the ramblings of the author it’s based on alignment with the Jewish faith, history and calendar, the Jewish world etc etc. Yes it’s fair to say Reform is not Torahcentric but the Torah is present in Temple after Temple after Temple. It’s read by aspiring learners.
So while I agree and learn from your political articles this one is so insulting it’s that bridge too far. Please remove from this circulation and be sure to not renew me in the future.
Harvey Cohen
Agree with all but the last sentence... Joshua here has done mahvelously featurin' SO many wonderful writers an' idears... an' this open forum in "da com-mints" section shows a true variety of scenty mints!
I don't take kindly ta bein' told I ain't a joo but we hear a LOT worse from the haters so I'll take this in stride an' am GLAD that you an' many others among us are cryin' FOUL. (itz okay ta "squawk!")
I must vehemently disagree. I will just use one major and one minor examples:
1. the Haredim in the State of Israel. They perform every mitzvah you can or cannot imagine, they live in their own neighbourhoods. They are the full package you seem to approve of. And they are a disgrace to the Jewish People. I decided that, but for the circumcision and their Jewish mothers - both eventually irrelevant- , they are not truly Jews. They rob the state's children, orphans and widows, the health care, education, they blackmail the government for billions that go to sustain parasites that would have made Ben-Gurion weep. Ben-Gurion stipulated that 400 brilliant young students would be maintained by the State and study in yeshivas. The offensive situation today is the massive conglomeration that exists for power purposes. They are anti-Zionists and they refuse to serve in any capacity. Some do. But the vast majority belligerently refuses. Our ancestors, the ones who gave us the Torah, fought for the Land of Israel. This is history. The Haredim have excluded themselves from Israel whilst taking every material advantage by political force.
2. The Diaspora. My grandparents were modern Orthodox. I adored them. They were proud Zionists. My zeide built institutions in two Diasporas. But there were things I learned about their Judaism- my dad would tell me as amusing stories- that made no sense to me, and often disappointed me. For example, if they were merchants, to avoid losing money by closing their business on Shabbat, they would " sell" their business fictitiously to a non-Jew on Friday and buy it back on Sunday. This, supposedly, avoided " breaking the Law" they so zealously kept. Or did they? God was not watching? The legal fictions of such Judaism are embedded in the State of Israel as well, as the Hametz is " sold" to foreign countries prior to Passover. Not a terrible thing, but a trait that encouraged anti-Judaism, as the religion was perceived as over-legalistic and insincere.
As for Reform, may they continue to grow the Jewish People. Bring converts, learn Torah, sing songs, support Israel. So many ways to be Jewish.
Your first point is a foundational myth. Your second point is the entire problem.
Your Haredi caricature is the hollow comfort that a consumer-based ideology must teach to justify its rejection of the covenant. You are using a tribal caricature to deflect from the article's historical argument.
But you are 100% right about your grandfather.
The Judaism he taught—a system of legal fictions to "sell" a business, where God is seemingly not watching—is the exact same hollow comfort I am fighting.
That is not the Judaism of the covenant. That is a passive, consumer-based religion, hollowed out and reduced to technical loopholes. It has no engine. It is just as much of a spiritual dead end as the Reform ideology.
We have been offered two failed paths: an ideology that openly rejects the covenant, or a cultural Orthodoxy that keeps the rules while losing the purpose. Both are a deflection from the real thing: the "builder's" Judaism of divine purpose, sacred challenge, and a covenant that is real, alive, and non-negotiable.
You end by saying there are "so many ways to be Jewish."
This is the central myth of consumer-based identity. It offers the hollow comfort of conformism, where all choices are equally valid and nothing is non-negotiable.
My argument is that this ideology is a spiritual dead end. There are not "so many ways." There is one covenant. The time for all detours is over.
Honestly, I have no idea what you're talking about or how it relates to my comment. You seem not to be much aware of the Haredim in Israel, the abuse they have inflicted on the rest of Israel, the injustice their self-appointed privileged status that depresses and demoralises the rest of Israel, particularly the sight of those who die to continue permitting their parasitical life of useless yeshiva study. It is a tragedy for the Covenant. They don't fulfil the Covenant. Their economic blackmail cheats the proverbial orphans and widows, they lie and deceive their own people, the " other" Jews, for money, and anyone who cannot see this or prefers to deny it is as much outside of the Covenant as the Haredim are.
My article is about the history and theology of the Reform movement, based on its own founding documents. You are responding with political anger about a group of people in Israel today. These are two separate subjects. Your anger about one does not refute the history of the other.
This is the central deflection that is weakening our people. You are using your frustration with one political failure to justify clinging to a theological one.
A Judaism that is hollowed out and reduced to political blackmail is a spiritual dead end. A Judaism that is hollowed out and reduced to "so many ways" and consumer comfort is also a spiritual dead end. They are the same disease. One is not the cure for the other.
The way forward is not to choose between failed models—whether it's the political tribalism you reject, the "legal fictions" of hollowed-out Orthodoxy, or the consumer comfort of Reform. The way forward is to stop being consumers of ideology and become owners of the covenant.
The "builder mindset Judaism" that gave our ancestors purpose was not about political tribes or comfortable loopholes. It was about divine purpose, sacred challenge, and a covenant that is real, alive, and non-negotiable. The only path home is to go discover that Judaism. The evidence in my article stands.
So you don't like Reform.That's what your entire irrelevant diatribe is about.You confuse points and allege things that were not said.I have no idea what your Covenant is.Your inability to see one of the greatest sides of Judaism,the ability to reflect ,change, interpret and re-interpret, create meaning and its gift of continuity through change makes me think your " Covenant" obsession is artificial.Where was the "Covenant"when the obedient covenantal Orthodox were slaughtered in the Shoa? Blessed are the Reform,the Conservative,the Reconstructionist,the Orthodox and also the Gentiles who support Israel.They are covenantal.The 18th century Haredi misfits insisting in their convenience at everyone else's expense are outside of the Covenant.The Covenant promised The Land and instructed to fight for it.
The secular Jews who defend the State of Israel are the ones inside the covenant.And they are Reform.
BTW, there was nothing hollow about those Orthodox Jews who went around the legalistic hurdles out of God fearing respect. They were as devoutly Jewish as they wanted to be. They made us look bad, and thus I commented about that problematic side, but they were true to themselves and their Judaism. They raised generations of committed Jews. But theirs was not the only way to be Jewish. The vast majority of Jews in Israel prove that. They are not hollow or any less Jewish. Perhaps more.
We are told to scream "Never Again." October 7th is the brutal proof that "Never Again" as a political slogan is a hollow comfort. Yelling, marching, and fighting for social acceptance is not the solution. It has failed.
It failed because the problem isn't political; it's spiritual. This brings us to the "hard truth" you are demanding. You have confused continuity with assimilation.
The Covenant is not an "artificial obsession." It is the law of our national existence—our owner's manual for survival. The Shema—our core national creed, the last words of our martyrs, the very framework of the Covenant you call 'artificial'—states clearly that if we abandon our divine purpose to chase other ideals, we will be scattered and perish. This is not a "cruel threat." It is the physics of our mission: the non-negotiable consequence of our collective destiny.
My argument is that the Shoah is not proof this law is false; it is the most horrific proof that it is true.
The 19th-century ideology you defend—the one of "reflect, change, interpret"—was the organized, programmatic abandonment of the Covenant. It was a framework for spiritual dissolution that hollowed out European Jewry long before the first shots were fired.
When the enemy came, they did not find a nation united by divine purpose. They found a collection of hollowed-out "consumers" who had already been spiritually disarmed by their own ideology. Blaming the Covenant for the physical destruction that ideology pioneered is the final, tragic error of the framework itself.
We are one soul. We are rewarded, and we are punished, collectively. That is the true, non-negotiable "unity." My argument is not an attack; it is a warning, because this ideology is a spiritual dead end that endangers all of us.
The only "Never Again" that has ever existed is the Covenant. The only solution is to return to the divine purpose that this conformist, consumer ideology was invented to reject.
This has become tiring. You don't listen. Thus you proceed to any irrelevant tangent. I said YOUR idea of the Covenant is artificial and an obsession for you, not generically. Then you expand on spirituality, as if it had anything to do with either Covenant, Orthodox ways or the reality, for example,of spirituality in Israel. It's all over the place. You make ridiculous claims. Such as continuity leading to assimilation. It's exactly the opposite. You make absolutely no sense.I will not reply further.
Surely this will convince a million Jews to become just like you!