EDITOR'S WATCH It's A Matter of Principle is a proposal, not a platform. It's And that's exactly the response rooted in principle, not law. Levy, the Los Angeles Hillel Council But to be a proposal of princi- director, said he hoped to elicit. ples at this point in the nearly What fueled the controversy was 200-year-old history of Reform Levy's call for Reform Jews to commit Judaism is to ignite a healthy firestorm to studying.Torah, reading Hebrew, within the liberal movement. observing Shabbat, keeping Caught in the clash of a kosher home, celebrating beliefs are Classical Reform the holidays and making Jews who subscribe to a more aliyah. assimilated experience and The Ten Principles of other Reform Jews who Reform Judaism, already choose a more observant amended amid dissent since lifestyle. their March release, may At issue is Rabbi Richard never become only the Levy's "Ten Principles for fourth formal guide to the Reform Judaism" — and theology and practice of the ROBERT A. what God, Torah, ritual and Reform Movement since SKLAR mitzvot mean to Reform Jews. Rabbi Kaufmann Kohler Editor Levy, president of the penned the Pittsburgh Plat- Central Conference of form in 1885. American Rabbis, drafted the Ten And they shouldn't, without con- Principles in hopes of imbuing more sensus support from the movement, commanded obligations into a move- which has 1.5-million members in ment that has placed higher priority North America. on ethical choices. Still, the recurring theme of As he perceptively put it: "I think reclaiming once-rejected practices in Reform Jews have tended to interpret pursuit of holiness and social justice you have autonomy,' as 'you don't cries out for robust debate. have to.' We need to find a balance Some Reform Jews are repulsed by between the call of tradition and our what they consider creeping tradition- own understanding of what Judaism alism into their spiritually unbridled requires of us." lives. Others embrace the proposed Regardless of whether the Ten Prin- endorsement.of ritual observance — ciples survive the scrutiny they're from wearing kippot and tallit to lay- encountering in temples across the ing tefillin, keeping kosher and country, Reform Jews who never immersing in a mikvah. before bared their neshama, their Jew- A pillar of Reform Judaism is ish soul, are speaking up and out on acceptance of all Jews, whatever their this issue. PRINCIPLE onpage 37 I Ten Principles for Reform Judaism — A Draft Proposal, By Rabbi Richard Levy Preamble: WHO ARE WE REFORM JEWS? . . . We do not attempt to legislate a code of belief or conduct for Reform Jews, or presume to advocate a single mode of religious expres- sion for all. As Reform Jews, we are open to the entirety of our tradition, commanded to engage in the study and practice that will embody that tradition in a manner appropriate to our different situations ... TOWARD GOD First Created by the Holy One, we are seekers after God Second: Having stood at Sinai, we respond to the call of mitzvot amid modernity Third: We were redeemed from Egypt to help repair the world TOWARD TORAH Fourth: We are committed to Shabbat, which elevates our work and frees us from it Fifth: We are committed to learning and seasonal celebration Sixth: We are open to expanding the mitzvot of Reform Jewish prac- tice TOWARD ISRAEL, PEOPLE & LAND Seventh: We are members of a holy people, from whom we learn, whom we can teach Eighth: Members of a holy people, we are rooted in a holy land Ninth: Members of a holy people, we are heirs to a holy tongue Tenth: We are committed to the equality of all the people of God The full text of the draft platform is available in the Winter 1998 edi- tion of Reform Judaism magazine and on the World Wide Web at www.ccarnet.org/platforms/tenpri.html LETTERS and his able staff. Akiva, like all privately funded Jew- ish day schools, has its challenges. Meeting those challenges is unques- tionably a daunting task. With a new modernized school, our ongoing suc- cessful capital campaign and the con- tinued enthusiasm of our parent body, we are certain that the year 2000 will see a vital and viable Akiva. Over the past few years, we have graduated a number of National Merit Scholar finalists and the vast majority of our graduates attend and excel at universities of their choice, including the University of Michigan, Brandeis, Harvard, Columbia, Penn, Yeshiva University and other notable schools of higher learning. Teaching our students to cherish tra- ditional Jewish ideals, excel in all secu- lar endeavors and embrace the modern 1/S 1999 34 Detroit Jewish News State of Israel is our mandate. In addi- tion, our graduates, many of whom are now leaders in their own communities in Israel and throughout the United States, will continue to be our contri- bution to the Jewish community. The Executive Committee Akiva Hebrew Day School Lathrup Village Balance Is Needed Your Jan. 1 article on Akiva thorough- ly recounted the school's problems. Unfortunately, the article was far less successful in conveying Akiva's strengths. This created an inaccurate picture of Akiva and particularly of its fine principal, Rabbi Karmi Gross. Rabbi Gross is Akiva school's single greatest asset, not a liability as your article seems to imply. He is a learned, dedicated and innovative Jewish edu- cator who has instilled an excitement about learning in Akiva's students and developed an outstanding Judaic stud- ies program, which are unparalleled in recent years. Rabbi Gross was hired because of these strengths, not to espouse any particular philosophy within Ortho- dox Judaism. [We] parents who choose to send our children to Akiva or any other day school have decided to make an excellent Torah education our priority. None of us is blind to the fact that few Orthodox day schools or yeshivot have the resources to match the secular course offerings of a public school and realize that some compro- mises will be required. Yes, the Akiva parent body realizes that the secular high school curriculum still needs improvement and is actively working towards that goal. The same is equally true of most other yeshivot of similar size and resources. There is always room for improvement, but Akiva remains the best choice for a large number in Detroit's observant Jewish community Mark D. Faber Southfield Commitment, Confidence As a former president of Yeshivat Akiva, I think The Jewish News' cover story on Akiva draws the wrong con- clusion. Perhaps it is because The Jew- ish News doesn't understand the parent body that is attracted to the school.