CLOSE-UP

Rabbi Dannel Schwartz speaks to his Shir Shalom congregation.

thodox have a code —
Halachah — it is in a sense
easier to live an Orthodox
lifestyle than a Reform
one, he said. There are
guides to life for the
Reform Jew, but, he said,
they are not presented as a
code of law.
"I know as an Orthodox
Jew how many times a day
I have to go to shul, how
and when to lay my
tefillin," said Rabbi Syme.
"The difference is that a
person who is Reform
follows custom because he
wants to, not because he
has to. But with this comes
a disadvantage, also, be-
cause the guidelines by
which Reform live can be
vague?'
"The Reform movement
is an entryway for people
into Jewish life," said
Nancy Kaplan, who, along
with her husband, Dr.
Michael Kaplan, and two
children are Beth El mem-
bers. "If a person chooses
Reform, it doesn't mean he
is lacking in spirituality."
The Kaplan family is in-
volved in temple activities,
including learning.
That's also the case for Dr.

"The Reform
movement is an
entry way for people
into Jewish life.
If a person chooses
Reform, it doesn't
mean he is lacking
in spirituality."
Nancy Kaplan

The Kaplan family: A conviction for the movement.

Allen and Batya Berlin, ac-
tive Temple Israel mem-
bers. Mrs. Berlin, Temple
Israel's adult education
chairman, said tradition is
pervasive in the move-
ment. Something pulls
large crowds of Reform
Jews to temple for services,
she said. It's not only spirit
she feels, but "deeper per-
sonal significance."
The Berlins have a son,
who grew up Reform, but
who is now an Orthodox
Jew. Mrs. Berlin said she

and her son have a common
need to express themselves
Jewishly. They just chose
different ways to reach it.

"Being a Reform Jew is a
matter of what I can do in-
stead of what I don't do,"
said Mrs. Berlin. "I consider
my faith not an obligation
but an offering. I think a lot
of things out, and if
something doesn't work for
me, I'll work on it harder. I
don't do what I do for a nar-
cissistic easy way out. I

learn, I study because it
feels right for me."
Mrs. Berlin told of a
Talmud class that was being
held one Shabbat at Temple
Israel. She said it turned in-
to one of the most sensitive
experiences of her life when
those involved started talk-
ing about what they be-
lieved and how they related
to God.
Both the Berlins and
Kaplans talked about the
social action and social
awareness of their temples.

Temple Beth El for 50
years has hosted the B.
Benedict Glazer Institute,
a direct outreach to the
area's Christian clergy,
among other social action
efforts. Temple Israel, the
state's largest Jewish con-
gregation with some 2,400
members, is also deeply in-
volved in social action. Its
"Building Bridges" pro-
gram is an ongoing at-
tempt to bring its members
to a common ground with
the neighboring Chaldean
Community Center on
Walnut Lake Road. This
summer, the synagogue
will opens its facilities for a
week as a homeless shelter.
It is also the area's only
synagogue to employ a
full-time director in the
area of social action, Dr.
Nancy Gad-Harf.
"Reform Judaism is a
process of informed
choice," Dr. Gad-Harf said.
"And while worshiping in
a Reform service is spiri-
tually uplifting, we under-
stand that spirituality can
also come from helping
others."
Dr. Gad-Harf pointed to
the notion of tikkun olam,

