Reform
liefs. "It was felt that there
form Jews defined themselves
would never be a personal mes-
in negative terms: We don't
siah," Rabbi Conrad said. "We
keep kosher. We don't wear kip-
were to be the light unto the na-
pot. The very ideology of Reform
tions."
has changed," said Temple Beth
That's why some Reform con-
El's Rabbi Daniel Polish. "Now,
gregations did not display the
it's an ideology of choice. We en-
Israeli flag. Some members of
courage people to become cog-
the former Temple Beth Jacob
nizant of a whole spectrum of
in Pontiac formed an anti-Israel
Jewish tradition. It's all there
group during the mid-1940s.
for them to choose if it enhances
But today, the scene is dif-
the quality of their religious
ferent. At Temple Shir Shalom,
life."
Rabbi Dannel Schwartz wears
Temple Beth El offers differ-
ent types of services. Some are
a tallit. At Congregatiou Shir
more ritualistic, with more He-
Tikvah in Troy; Rabbi Arnie
brew, more song. Rabbis also
Sleutelberg wears A 16PP.111:11-1r-
in
1,-c•S-."-SO-di) more than
conduct services that appeal to
of the men who've gathered
congregants who identify with
to pray at a Troy church, where
the old-line Reform — the clas-
the congregation temporarily
sical Reform — movement.
holds services. • — _Sometimes these differing alle-
At Temple Beth El, nearly 30
giances toc-M .8biced-or
-
tradi-
people show up for a weekly
tional Reform engender tension
Torah study at 9:30 a.m. Sat-
among congregants. For in-
urday. They flip through pages
stance, at Temple Shir Shalom,
of responsa, their eyes scour bib-
Rabbi Schwartz will provide a
lical text and they volley around
Reform get, a Jewish certificate
insights into the Torah's stance
of divorce, generally associated
on molech, or the concept of
with the Orthodox and Conser-
adopting traditions of the
vative movements. The prac-
stranger.
tice, as applied to Reform, has
"There was a time when Re-
raised some eyebrows at Shir
Shalom.
"This is, to some
people, a very weird
thing, but it's who
we are," he said.
What accounts for
this revolution in
Reform? Why are in-
creasing numbers of
formerly non-obser-
vant Jews enrolling
in Hebrew classes,
studying Torah and
encouraging their
children to have
b'nai mitzvah?
Rabbi Schwartz
has a theory. He
looks to the post-
World War II era
when Reform Jews
reacted to the Holo-
caust by focusing on
butial arfinn endeavors in hopes
of precluding another, sinin.L.,-
atrocity, he said.
"They became proactive —
progenitors of a messianic era.
You had a lot of Reform Jews
supporting civil rights and a lot
of Reform rabbis marching,"
Rabbi Schwartz said.
But as the civil rights move-
ment became more militant,
and some of its proponents ac-
tually turned against Jews, Re-
form began its retreat.
"I've seen the Vietnam War
and civil rights movement kill
the social action concept," he
said. "The more militant it be-
came, the less Jews had to do
with it."
As Reform Jews began turn-
ing inward, they looked more
toward rituals and customs to
bind them, Rabbi Schwartz
said.
Dr. Gottschalk of HUC has a
different explanation. He at-
tributes the trend partly to the
way Reform rabbis are educat-
ed.
More than a decade ago, Re-
form rabbinic candidates began
spending their first year of
study in Israel. This opened
them up to many different types
of Jews and a variety of reli-
gious practices. It was a much-
needed change, he said.
"Classical Reform had become
closed to innovation."
Dr. Gottschalk also believes
that interdenominational fo-
rums — like camp, youth
Rabbi Daniel Polish says Reform Jews
don't just define themselves in
negative terms.
Susan Greener and Carolyn Davidson
of Shir Tlkvah partake in soup before
Shabbat services.The congregation
temporarily gathers at a church in
Troy to celebrate simchas and
11010 ServiC*S.
groups and colleges — have ex-
posed Reform Jews to other
ways of carrying on the faith.
But not everyone is pleased
about this.
"There was and is a major
upheaval in the Reform move-
ment. There are those who say
we're becoming too Orthodox
and those who say we're not tra-
ditional enough. There's a split
and some people are very upset
by it," Rabbi Schwartz said.
Julian Greenebaum, a mem-
ber of Temple Beth El, says he
is open to change. After all,
that's what Reform is all about.
But he wishes there were some
middle ground between classi-
cal and traditional. Many old-
line Reform Jews, including
himself, feel ignored during typ-
ical Friday night services. The
Hebrew, which is foreign to
them, lessens rather than
heightens the spiritual experi-
ence.
"They don't know Hebrew,
can't follow along with the
prayers and feel left out," he
said. "I'm very concerned about
people who have been left by the
wayside due to the lack of flex-
ibility and accommodation."
In addition to weekly Shab-
bat services at Beth El, Mr.
Greenebaum attends the tem-
ple's classical Reform service,
held once a month. This service
uses the Union Prayer Book,
precedessor to Gates of Prayer,
which is used by mainstream
congregations.
About five years ago, a Tem-
ple Israel committee rigorous-
ly discussed whether to allow
shellfish (which is not kosher)
at temple receptions. At Tem-
ple Emanu-El, the question
was: Should kippot be placed in
plain view outside of the sanc-
tuary door?
Temple Emanu-El Educator
Ira Wise said the yarmulke de-
bate did not reflect a rift in Re-
form. Rather, he said, it
demonstrated members' con-
cern about sending the wrong
message. Prominently dis-
played kippot might make peo-
ple feel compelled to wear them.
"But it's antithetical for a Re-
form congregation to tell its
members how to act," he said.
The temple decided to put the
yarmulkes inside the sanctuary
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