Close Up
SraFF,vAr
D
IHE DETROIT JEWIS H NEWS
ecember's early morn-
ing rain poured down
over Temple Israel.
Inside the West
Bloomfield synagogue, a hushed
minyan of eight men and two
women gathered in the library
for Shachrit, the morning ser-
vice held at Temple Israel Mon-
day through Thursday at 7:30
a.m.
The congregants' voices car-
ried traces of just-awakened
gruffness. After reciting the
Sh'ma, they turned to Page 7 in
their prayer books to read:
We have no choice in daily
life, but to live from one minute
to another, to eliminate from our
minds everything but that
which is immediately ahead of
us ... In worship, however, we
are freed from the pressure of
life. We can now allow our spir-
itual needs to take precedence ...
The meditation seems just as
appropriate for the 1990s as the
service itself. Both acknowledge
the importance of tradition for
many of today's Reform Jews:
The trend toward a more ob-
servant variation of Reform
started more than a decade ago.
Rabbis say it indicates a major
break from the movement's past
and, in part, from the very roots
of Reform.
"There's a revolution going
on," said Dr. Alfred Gottschalk,
longtime president of Hebrew
Union College, the Reform sem-
inary. "It's a quiet revolution —
though some of our constituents
don't think so."
The revolution takes the form
of kippot and tallitot. It re-
sounds in the voices of congre-
gants chanting, not speaking,
prayers like the Ve'a'havta and
the Amidah.
RCITOIlltiOftS
Reform Jews once behaved
quite differently. In his book,
Why I Am A Reform Jew, for-
mer Detroiter Rabbi Daniel
Syme documented the move-
ment's genesis. It began with
the liberation of European Jews
in the late 18th century. When
Jews left the ghetto, the com-
munity changed drastically and
Reform Judasim, "a liberal and
modern expression of an an-
cient faith, began to take root,"
he wrote.
Many European Jews were
influenced by the writings of
Jewish philosopher Moses
Mendelssohn, who believed that
Jews should keep their tradi-
tions but not remain isolated
from the rest of the communi-
ty. Isolation was dangerous and
unhealthy, he said.
After they were liberated,
Jews began to assimilate. Many
shaved their beards, cut off their
payot, dispensed with yar-
mulkes and gave up other iden-
tifying attributes. They
introduced organ music at ser-
vices, which were conducted in
their native languages, not He-
brew.
Many of these Reform Jews
were anti-Zionist. They
staunchly opposed the creation
of a Jewish homeland. Jews of
Europe felt that they would be
accused of dual loyalty if a Jew-
ish state were established.
"They didn't want a nation-
ality of their own," said Ernst
Conrad, rabbi emeritus of Tem-
ple Kol Ami.
These Jews felt Zionism con-
tradicted one of their basic be-
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz conducts a
children's service. (right)
Temple Israel members gather for
Shachrt(below)
The trend toward tradition uproots
much of the classical movement,
but leaves the basics intact