Origins and Growth of Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism has been a modern addition to Judaism that has been inevitable in its formation. ... The reform movement started in central Europe by a layman after he recognized the need for a religious revival and concluded that the best way to do that was to make the traditional Orthodox services more understandable and enjoyable for the common people. After the reform movement had gained popularity in Europe it started gaining momentum in the United States as well, but with more acceptance and speed. Two men played a significant role in Reform Judaism in the U. ... Wise differed from Einhorn by being more practical in his belief of what Reform Judaism should be, he was considered to be the leader in moderate Reform Judaism that became the mainstream belief system. Einhorn, on the other hand, was a radical reform rabbi; he was inflexible and believed in the principles concerning moral issues instead of practical success. Both Wise and Einhorn contributed greatly to the reform movement. Their influences as well as those of others developed the principles of Reform Judaism that would be laid down in contract at platforms across America and Europe leading up to the Pittsburgh Platform in 1885. But first one should examine the origins and the development of Reform Judaism that led up the 1885 conference.
Reform Judaism originally started in central Europe at the beginning of the 19th century. ... While Christians were able to become more religious, the consequence of Jews becoming less religious in the past left them in a world outside Judaism and unwilling or unable to re-adopt the traditional Jewish practices (Meyer 54). “Some tried to reconcile their religious heritage with their new social surroundings by reforming traditional Judaism to meet their new needs and to express their spiritual yearnings” (Kaplan 7). These alterations of traditional Judaism by the individual laymen led to the movement of Reform Judaism with practices that were expected as much as the practices from traditional Judaism were expected.
The majority of the reform movement occurred in Germany, with the first active step occurring in Berlin in 1810 by Israel Jacobson. ... After arriving in Berlin he wanted to start a new movement in response to so many Jews converting to Christianity because of the inflexibility of traditional Judaism. ... Because Reform Judaism had not been an organized religion at that time all services were held in private homes. ...
Even though it seemed like the reform movement was gaining a lot of ground in Berlin it was met with dedicated opposition from the German government as well as the Orthodox branch of Judaism. Jacobson and others tried to open a reform synagogue in Berlin, however the Orthodox rabbis from Berlin “condemned [reform services] as ‘sinful’ and in 1817 called upon the government to put a stop to them. ... ’ Thus reform worship in Berlin had to cease” (Schwartzman 42). Even though Reform Judaism had confronted a set back in Berlin it was apparent to the orthodox party that Reform Judaism had made a strong and permanent foothold. Unfortunate to the Jewish religion, the prohibiting of the more lenient party made many Jews “became lost to Judaism altogether either by absolute indifference or by being converted to Christianity” (Philipson 26). Even after the noticeable rise in conversions to Christianity the Orthodox Rabbis were still blind to the need for change in Judaism. ... People from all over Europe would attend the services and then bring back the information to their own reform congregations. People who had not attended services in years now found it enjoyable to attend reform services. ... While the movement was making fantastic steps in having the meetings more enjoyable for the members it was having a few problems keeping the ideas of Reform Judaism in tact and coinciding with other reform temples, which is why is was a very important occasion when the reformers united to establish common ideas.
“It was also in Germany, in the first half of the nineteenth century, that the basic principles of Reform Judaism were laid down. Of these, among the most significant were the ideas that Judaism was by nature dynamic, rightfully changing in response to an ever clearer perception of God’s will, that religion was not merely a service of God, but rather intended to elevate the moral and spiritual life of the individual, and that Judaism was ultimately universal in its aspirations, aiming at a messianic goal that embraces peace for all humanity” (Meyer and Plaut viii).
This is just one of the many meetings that were organized to establish the principles and reasons behind the reform movement.
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