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“Where is my light? My light is in me.
Where is my hope? My hope is in me.
Where is my strength? My strength is in me — and in you.”

— RABBI SHERWIN WINE
Humanistic Judaism 
Timeline
• 1963: A small group of Temple 
Beth El members began to meet 
and then hold services with Rabbi 
Sherwin Wine. They developed an 
alternative approach to Judaism 
without a belief in God and began 
using a new non-theistic liturgy 
developed by Wine in 1964.
• 1969: The Society of Humanistic 
Judaism was incorporated in 
Michigan to provide an umbrella 
for interested groups of humanistic 
Jews in multiple locations.
• 1970: Representatives of three 
Humanistic congregations located 
in Michigan, Illinois and Connecticut 
met for the first time.
• 1990: Educational programs were 
established for Humanistic rabbis 
and officiants.
• 1993: The first Humanistic rabbi 
completed studies and was 
ordained.

OVERVIEW OF HUMANISTIC 
JUDAISM TODAY
• 25 congregations in the U.S. and 
Canada, with six in formation
• 15 rabbis ordained
• Approximately 1,900 member 
families

CORE BELIEFS OF HUMANISTIC 
JUDAISM
• Human beings possess the power 
and responsibility to shape 
their own lives independent of 
supernatural authority.
• A Jew is a person who identifies 
with the history, culture and future 
of the Jewish people.
• Jewish history is a human saga, 
a testament to the significance of 
human power and responsibility.
• Jewish identity is best preserved in 
a free, pluralistic environment.
• The freedom and dignity of the 
Jewish people must go hand in 
hand with the freedom and dignity 
of every human being.

— Selections from the Society for Humanistic 

Judaism website. 

Humanistic 
Jewish rabbis and 
officiants were 
among the first to 
marry interfaith 
couples, which 
was a divisive 
issue even for 
some Reform con-
gregations at the time. Rabbi 
Miriam Jerris, Ph.D., the first 
executive director of the Society 
for Humanistic Judaism, began 
officiating at weddings at the 
Birmingham Temple in 1985. 
The willingness of Humanistic 
Jewish clergy to marry inter-
faith couples, especially in the 
early years, “was a big draw. You 
don’
t have to give up your iden-
tity,” she explained. Many of the 
interfaith couples married at the 
Birmingham Temple joined the 
congregation and raised their 
children there.
Rabbi David Nelson, rabbi 
emeritus at the Conservative 
Congregation Beth Shalom in 
Oak Park, remembers sharing 
wedding services with Wine. 
When a couple wanted a tradi-
tional Jewish wedding, but one 
person had a connection with 
Humanistic Judaism, Nelson 
would conduct the traditional 
ceremony and recite the Jewish 
blessings. Then Wine would 
speak to the couple about their 
marriage without references to 
God’
s role. 
“He was brilliant and a won-
derful teacher although I don’
t 
say he was right in some of his 
ideas. We had a wonderful dia-
logue during all of the years I 
was here,” Nelson says.
Rabbi Daniel Syme, rabbi emer-
itus at Temple Beth El, remembers 
first hearing and being startled by 
Wine’
s philosophy while attending 
a Reform Judaism conclave as a 
teenager. “It appeared that he had a 
staunch group of followers who had 
found a certain spiritual home,” he 
says. 
Humanistic congregations were 

early supporters of inclusivity — 
welcoming members with diverse 
gender and sexual identities. There 
is a strong focus on social justice 
or social action. The Birmingham 
Temple has established itself as a 
sanctuary for immigrants and helps a 
family of Syrian refugees living in the 
Detroit area. 

Along with the appeal of 
Humanistic Judaism concepts 
to some Jews, founder Wine’
s 
brilliance and charisma were 
major factors in its growth. “He 
trained us,” Jerris says. After 
Wine’
s death in a car crash 
in 2007, there was great con-
cern about who would replace 
him. Chalom, one of the first 
ordained Humanistic rabbis, 
responded, “None of us and all 
of us.” 
Wine’
s teachings and publica-
tions continue to be a founda-
tion for Humanistic Judaism and 
the book A Life of Courage — 
Sherwin Wine and Humanistic 
Judaism, was given to conference 
attendees.

THE FUTURE OF THE MOVEMENT
Similar to other streams of 
Judaism, Humanistic Judaism 
has been challenged in recent 
years to attract and retain partic-
ipants and members. According 
to Golin, about 2,500 families 
were part of the Humanistic 
Judaism movement in 2000, 
but that number is now about 
1,900. However, new groups of 
Humanistic Jews continue to 
meet and organize in several 
states.
Most branches of Judaism as 
well as other religions in the 
U.S. are facing similar affiliation 
challenges due in part to chang-
ing ideas about religion and 
congregational affiliations, espe-
cially among younger people, 
according to the Pew Research 
Center. A panel of millennial 
Humanistic Jewish leaders at 
the conference reaffirmed the 
value and appeal of Humanistic 
Judaism for recognizing “human 
power and potential” and that there 
are “multiple ways of being Jewish.” 
They expressed a need for religious 
literacy — familiarity with Jewish 
traditions and symbols — and sup-
ported Humanistic Judaism’
s affir-
mation of all families and couples, 
whether intermarried or gay, and its 

Rabbi Adam 

Chalom

TOP: Rabbi Miriam Jerris holds a portrait of Rabbi Sherwin 

Wine. ABOVE: At the conference, the Jews for a Secular 

Democracy Constitutional Defender Award was presented to 

Rachel Laser, the first Jewish president and CEO of Americans 

United for Separation of Church and State. Shown: Sheila Sabor, 

chair of Jews for a Secular Democracy; Rachel Laser, awardee; 

Paul Golin, executive director, Society for Humanistic Judaism.

