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Hashanah instead of one,
59 percent provide kippot,
and 95 percent say the
blessing over bread before
communal meals. Almost
all Reform temples have
members light Shabbat
candles at Friday night
services, and more than 20
percent require board
members to attend ser-
vices.
But with this increase in
spirituality came modern
decisions which included
the ordination of women as
rabbis and cantors since
1973; the decision to allow
non-Jewish spouses to par-
ticipate in temple services;
and the mandate making
children of Jewish fathers
and gentile mothers, Jews.
The issue of intermar-
riage is also pervasive.
Since 1985, twice as many
Jews have married gentiles
than have married other
Jews. Only 28 percent of
the children of intermar-
riages are being raised as
Jews.
"Intermarriage is some-
thing that is discussed,"
said Rabbi Syme. "We're
living in an open society
and people meet. There
was little intermarriage in
the past because Jews lived
in the ghetto among Jews.
Now we as Jews send our
children to college, and
they meet non-Jews. The
question is not whether
they will meet non-Jews,
but what are we going to do
about it. We can say we op-
pose intermarriage, but we
also have to look at it as a
way to gain Jews. Again,
we don't encourage it, but
when someone comes to us
and says, 'I want to become
part of the Jewish people,'
we have an obligation to
reach out with love."

Rabbi Syme also has no
problem with the issue of
patrilineal descent. He said
it enables fathers to have a
rightful place in Jewish
life.
"I'm not apologetic about
it," he said. "Biblically, it
was always the father who
was referred to. What we've
done is gone back to biblical
times. It's difficult to over-
come habits, and the habit
was judging descent accor-
ding to the mother. But
getting back to intermar-
riage, what we're seeing
now are well-educated,

wonderful people choosing
Reform Judaism as their
faith."
The movement is seeing
an increase in Reform by
choice. These are actively
Reform Jews who find
through the movement a
spiritually uplifting way of
life.
"The Reform movement
is maturing and growing
up," said Rabbi Lane B.
Steinger of Temple Emanu-
El. "It's only 150 years old,
and when you put that in
the context of Jewish histo-
ry, it's a blip on the screen.
It doesn't have to prove
anything now to itself or to
others. We have a profound
insight into our Jewish
people. Reform Judaism is
a creative and dynamic ex-
pression of the Jewish peo-
ple."
Rabbi Daniel Polish of
Temple Beth El said the

Reform movement teaches
that Judaism has to be rel-
evant to one's life, not only
when it comes to ritual
practices but in the con-
temporary 1990s. People,
he said, used to imagine
that Reform was an affir-
mation of what Jews don't
do.
"What we don't do is
clear; what we do isn't," he
said. "Through social
issues, we recognize a re-
ligious need for human be-
ings. It is possible to
achieve a spiritual level
through helping the
homeless, getting involved
in issues such as abortion
and AIDS. Also, it's impor-
tant that we reach out to
and communicate with
members of other faiths.
"So what is clear about
Reform is that it is respon-
sive to change," he said.
"Judaism evolves, and it

must be responsive to the
social environment."
Change and adaptability
to that change is the
lifeblood of Reform, accor-
ding to Temple Kol Ami's
Rabbi Norman Roman.
Judaism, he said, should be
taking a leading role in
helping these changes.
Reform, therefore, is a pro-
gressive, modern form of
Judaism.
"Each in his or her own
way is a reflection of God's
living voice among us,"
Rabbi Roman said.
Reform Judaism has its
roots in Germany with the
18th century Haskalah
(enlightenment) movement
of philosopher Moses
Mendelssohn. This was a
time after the French
Revolution when Jews
were allowed to leave their
shtetls and ghettos and en-
joy a different level of

"The Reform
movement is
maturing and
growing up. It's only
150 years old, and
when you put that in
the context of
Jewish history, it's a
blip on the screen."

Rabbi Lane B. Steinger

Rabbi Dannel Schwartz: "Connecting with a better self."

Rabbi Norman Roman: "A movement driven by emancipation."

economic and political
freedom. It was dangerous
for Jews to remain isolated.
Until then, Jews largely
lived according to the
Shulchan Aruch, a
prescribed routine of daily
life.
Many Jews also con-
verted to Christianity. In
1801, Israel Jacobson, a
German banker, started a
Jewish Free School for the
teaching of secular sub-
jects. Nine years later, he
financed the construction
of the first Reform temple.
Men and women prayed
sitting next to one another,
and an organ was used.
This was just the beginn-
ing of the changes.
In the United States, the
movement traces its roots
to 1824 and Charleston,
S.C.
"The feelings of the early
Reform Jews were driven
by emancipation," Rabbi
Roman said. "There were
those who felt that Reform
was a way to undermine
anti-Semitism, to be more
acceptable and understan-
dable to non-Jews. If a non-
Jew takes his hat off dur-
ing a service, let's do that
also. If a church is holding
services in the holy tongue
of the land, we should do
that also so people can get
something out of the ser-
vice.
"Reform was seen as a
break away from Or-
thodoxy," he continued.
"Orthodox Jews believe
that God wrote and gave
the Ten Commandments to
the Jews. Ours is not a
God-concept in the same
way. It's more of an under-
standable approach to God.
Our liturgy is in English so
that people will under-
stand it. In the last 10 to 15
years we've had a specific
appeal to mixed marriages,
especially to the non-
Jewish spouse. We want
them to know that they can
be part of our family also —
we'll take them in."
It was freedom of choice
that attracted Rabbi Syme
to Reform from Orthodoxy.
"I was able to make deci-
sions about life not because
this is the way it always
was, but because I wanted
it," he said.
Rabbi Syme said the big-
gest challenge facing
Reform comes down to
structure. Because the Or-

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