Shalom!
What is the point of all these denominations today? There is a new thing called non-denominational Judaism, trans-denominational Judaism, what is that all about?
Well, I grew up with an orthodox education through seventh grade, my youth groups were conservative. I was trained by the flagship conservative seminary. I spent two summers in a wonderful reformed camp. My father was a re-constructionist. I served; I think the only synagogue in the world that is affiliated with both the re-constructionists conservative movement. You know my view of all this, basically? Who knows if it is going to exist 200 years from now. I mean, these terms have only existed since the early part of the 19th century. We have had 4000 years of Judaism. We have plenty of other names before that have disappeared, the Sadducees, the Pharisees, the Yetsins, hasi the haskanash and there seems to be a lot of bridging in the gap, on the edges. For example, the reformed movement, when I grew up, it, almost all English Sidour that opened from the English side. We could not wear a cape or a talise. They celebrated thriftiness honestly, serving ham at the seminaries to rabbinical students. But nowadays, it is hard to tell them apart sometimes, I mean they do not have all the right prayers in my mind but reformed service, the Sidour looks like a conservative Sidour. You see plenty of people with Talitote and Kipot. They are growing fast. There is some renewed emphasis on Jewish study and using the word Mitzvoth.
The conservative movement, certainly the lay people are basically the same, I mean there may be a few more that keep Kosher, and they may want services with a little more Hebrew, but despite all the theology of the conservative movement, the people are basically living as choosing their own Mitzvoth which is the whole market of reform. When I was growing up, the re-constructionists movement celebrated the fact, they did not believe in a personal God and now, I am told you can actually believe in a personal God and attempt to reconstruct your seminary. The services are not that different then, some reformed and some conservative and there is a big argument in the re-constructionists movement about how much tradition they should put back in the liturgy.
Orthodoxy is going both ways; there is an interesting book about orthodoxy recently. There is thought about the wide variety, but you have some orthodoxy on the edges which is getting close to traditional conservative. Of course in the fanatic orthodoxy. So, among the purest, there may be some ideological differences, there are a lot of people who have jobs at stake in maintaining these denominational differences. But honesty, these terms have been five percent of Jewish history, and most Jews want to go to the closest synagogue, sometimes it is, they will travel a little bit further if they like the Rabbi, or their friends go there. But most Jews are not denominationally motivated, the orthodox may be, and the people that grew up with us starts movement, maybe. Of course, personal life factors may influence it, for example. People think that they are more welcome if they are inter-married or gay in a reformed or re-constructionist synagogue, maybe. Any case, there are some synagogues right now that pry themselves to being unaffiliated. That they can appeal to all Jews, sometimes if they only show in town. I know some synagogues would be reformed Friday night and conservative “Saturday morning.” But that is kind of how to understand this unfolding idea of non-denominationalism or trans-denominationalism. There is a book by Samuel Friedman, Jew versus Jew, which discusses various issues in the American Jewish community. It is very interesting. In the end of the book, you basically prophesize that in the end of the matter, there will be a reshuffling of the decks here of affiliations because of the way which the American Jewish community is speaking with its feet. What is the marketplace telling us? Seems to be telling us that non-denominationalism is something that is more important to American Jews and that denominational affiliation may not be that significant, and the long hall of Jewish history.
Transcription by:
Scribe4you Transcription Services