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Top Document: soc.culture.jewish FAQ: Reform Judaism (10/12) Previous Document: Question 18.1.4: How is Reform Judaism structured in the North America? Next Document: Question 18.1.6: How big is Reform Judaism? See reader questions & answers on this topic! - Help others by sharing your knowledge
Answer:
The world organization for Reform Judaism is the [5]World Union for
Progressive Judaism ([6]http://www.rj.org/wupj/), which is
headquartered in Jerusalem. Outside of North America, Reform is also
known as "Progressive" or "Liberal" Judaism. A list of all the
affiliates of the WUPJ may be found at
[7]http://uahc.org/cgi-bin/wupjaffil.pl; this list includes members
from Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Singapore,
Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain,
Switzerland, UK, Former Soviet Union, Belarus, Georgia, Estonia,
Ukraine, Russia, Israel, Argentina, Aruba, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile,
Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatamala, Honduras, Jamaica, Panama, Puerto
Rico, Dominican Republic, Saint Maarten, St. Thomas, USA, Canada, and
South Africa.
The confusion about the terms "Reform" or "Liberal" comes from a split
in England's Reform movement. In 1842 the English Reform movement
split into two factions, one of which was more traditional, while the
other was more liberal. The more traditional Reform Judaism faction
called themselves simply 'Reform'. Their prayer services are much more
traditional than the faction that split off, and their laity is in
general more observant than the other faction. Thus their prayer
services are much like American Conservative shuls and English Masorti
shuls, but they still are what we Americans call Reform (i.e.
Classical halakha is not considered binding by its rabbinate or
laity.) The more liberal Reform Judasim faction seceded, and renamed
their movement as "Liberal Judaism". They are are more in the mode of
Classic German Reform. They generally have less Hebrew in their
services, and are less observant.
Progressive Jewish congregations are to be found throughout the Jewish
world, from Europe to Asia, from South America to India and from
Africa to Australasia. In Israel, in addition to urban congregations,
there are also two Progressive kibbutzim and a Progressive village
settlement.
Where appropriate there are regional umbrella organizations such as
the [8]Australian and New Zealand Union for Progressive Judaism
([9]http://www.anzupj.com.au); the Union of Progressive Jews in
Germany, Austria and Switzerland; Union of Liberal Jewish
Congregations in the Netherlands ([10]http://www.xs4all.nl/~ljg), etc.
The following are some specific regional notes:
* United Kingdom. In the United Kingdom, Progressive/Reform Judaism
is represented by the Union of Liberal and Progressive Synagogues
([11]http://www.ulps.org/), known generally as the Liberal
movement. As part of a process of becoming part of the Progressive
movement, some Liberal Synagogues changed their name from Liberal
to Progressive some years back. Yet the distinctions are difficult
to draw.
Members of reform congregations in the UK are likely to see
themselves closer in beliefs to the US Reform movement and not to
the Conservative. In halachic terms, little now separates the UK
Reform and Liberal movements, and *both* are affiliated to WUPJ.
Indeed proposals to merge the two movements arise from time to
time. The Leo Baeck College is sponsored by both movements, and
its graduates officiate in both Liberal and Reform synagogues.
The differences between the two are largely historical. The Reform
movement developed in the UK independent of the classical German
liberal trend. The West London Synagogue was established in the
early 1800's as a breakaway from the Sephardi Bevis Marks
synagogue in the City of London, so that wealthy jews who had
moved to the affluent West End district of London had a convenient
place of worship. Its liturgy adapted to cope with the desire for
a degree of assimilation and less harsh observence of this class
of English jewry! A number of congregations throughout the UK over
time adopted the West London prayerbook. With the outbreak of the
Second World War, these congregations got together to deal with
issues of jewish education in the context of children being
evacuated to the countryside. The [12]Reform Synagogues of Great
Britain ([13]http://www.refsyn.org.uk) (the umbrella organisation
for the Reform movement) dates from this time. Leo Baeck College
was founded by RSGB (who were later joined by ULPS) in order to
re-build the European rabbinate following the shoa - and the
destruction of progressive seminaries in continental Europe. Leo
Baeck College may be reached at:
The Sternberg Centre For Judaism
80 East End Road
London N3 2SY
Tel: +44-181-349-4525
Fax: +44-181-343-0901
The Liberal movement (and the Liberal Jewish Synagogue) was
founded in the early part of this century by Lily Montague as an
adjunct to the then Reform synagogues - with the intention that
the use of more English in services, etc would prevent some on the
margins of British jewry assimilating completley and being totally
lost. The Liberal movement owes more to classical German liberal
jewry. Reform practices tend to be somewhat more Orthadox than the
Liberal - (e.g. wearing of tallit, the form of some prayers), but
when you get down to fundamentals, there is not much in it - as
the sharing of a rabinnical seminary shows.
The Masorti movement corresponds more closely to US conservative
practice in its interpretation of halacha and the from of its
services.
The UK CCAR equivalent is The [14]Reform Synagogues of Great
Britain ([15]http://www.refsyn.org.uk).
The International Youth Movement, Netzer Olami, has active
branches of Netzer (acronym: No'ar Tzioni Reformi - Reform Zionist
Youth) throughout the world. In the UK, contact ULPSNYC-Netzer,
<[16]R.L.Reese@sheffield.ac.uk> or
<[17]Beccy@brij000.demon.co.uk>. There is also a growing Dayschool
movement in a number of countries.
The WUPJ is a constitutent of the World Zionist Organization, and the
political Zionist arm of Progressive Judaism--ARTZENU--has active
constituents in most contries.
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Last Update March 27 2014 @ 02:11 PM
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