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189-508: Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel , abbreviated as KI , is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 8339 Old York Road, Elkins Park , just outside the city of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania , in the United States. Founded in Philadelphia in 1847, it is the sixth oldest Reform congregation in the United States, and, by 1900, it was one of the largest Reform congregations in

378-476: A Jewish activities club , a means to demonstrate some affinity to one's heritage in which even rabbinical students do not have to believe in any specific theology or engage in any particular practice, rather than a defined belief system. In regard to God, the Reform movement has always officially maintained a theistic stance, affirming the belief in a personal God . Despite this official position, some voices among

567-490: A slave state . A riot broke out in response to his sermon on April 19, 1861, in which the mob sought to tar and feather the rabbi. Einhorn fled to Philadelphia , where he became the spiritual leader of the Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel . Solomon Deutsch served as the congregation's rabbi from 1862 to 1874. Reverend Dr. Jacob Mayer was appointed as Rabbi in 1874, though he was forced to leave

756-429: A US Army chaplain. In 1923 KI made Krauskopf a Rabbi for life, at full salary. This was a gesture of reverence for the spiritual leader who had made KI one of the most prominent and important congregations in the national reform Jewish world. Shortly after that vote Krauskopf passed away. After 36 years with one rabbi, KI now had to seek new leadership. Rabbi William Fineshriber served as rabbi from 1923 to 1949. With

945-508: A branch of Alliance Israelite Universelle , a Paris-based international organization which was dedicated to fighting anti-Semitism and defending the "honor" of the Jewish community. In 1878 KI joined the Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC), today called the Union for Reform Judaism, the national organization of Reform Congregations founded in 1873 by Rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise . In 1886, when Hirsch

1134-428: A conceptual framework for reconciling the acceptance of critical research with the maintenance of a belief in some form of divine communication, thus preventing a rupture among those who could no longer accept a literal understanding of revelation. No less importantly, it provided the clergy with a rationale for adapting, changing and excising traditional mores and bypassing the accepted conventions of Jewish Law, rooted in

1323-646: A conference of like-minded young rabbis in Wiesbaden . He told the assembled that the " Talmud must go". In 1841, the Hamburg Temple issued a second edition of its prayerbook, the first Reform liturgy since its predecessor of 1818. Orthodox response was weak and quickly defeated. Most rabbinic posts in Germany were now manned by university graduates susceptible to rationalistic ideas, which also permeated liberal Protestantism led by such figures as Leberecht Uhlich . They formed

1512-877: A conservative Jewish majority had to be accommodated. Most Liberal communities in Germany maintained dietary standards and the like in the public sphere, both due to the moderation of their congregants and threats of Orthodox secession. A similar pattern characterizes the Movement for Reform Judaism in Britain, which attempted to appeal to newcomers from the United Synagogue , or to the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) in Israel. Its philosophy of continuous revelation made Progressive Judaism, in all its variants, much more able to embrace change and new trends than any of

1701-499: A degree that made it hard to formulate a clear definition of it. Early and "Classical" Reform were characterized by a move away from traditional forms of Judaism combined with a coherent theology; "New Reform" sought, to a certain level, the reincorporation of many formerly discarded elements within the framework established during the "Classical" stage, though this very doctrinal basis became increasingly obfuscated. Critics, like Rabbi Dana Evan Kaplan , warned that Reform became more of

1890-492: A few years, in part because of Krauskopf's charisma and the popularity of his lectures, the Congregation had more than 400 families. In 1892 KI moved to a brand new building on North Broad Street (built under Krauskopf's leadership), with a sanctuary that provided seating for 1600 people. Among the national leaders at the dedication of this building were Simon Wolf , a Washington, D.C. lawyer, political leader, former diplomat, and

2079-584: A full understanding of itself and the divine, manifested in moral progress towards perfection. This highly rationalistic view virtually identified human reason and intellect with divine action, leaving little room for direct influence by God. Geiger conceived revelation as occurring via the inherent "genius" of the People Israel, and his close ally Solomon Formstecher described it as the awakening of oneself into full consciousness of one's religious understanding. The American theologian Kaufmann Kohler also spoke of

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2268-687: A full-time rabbi, Sussman has taught American Jewish History at Princeton, Temple University, and Delaware Valley University, and been an active participant in the creation of the National Museum of American Jewish History in Philadelphia and the Center for Jewish History in New York. Reform Judaism The origins of Reform Judaism lie in mid-19th-century Germany , where Rabbi Abraham Geiger and his associates formulated its early principles, attempting to harmonize Jewish tradition with modern sensibilities in

2457-415: A general hope for salvation . This was later refined when the notion of a personal Messiah who would reign over Israel was officially abolished and replaced by the concept of a Messianic Age of universal harmony and perfection. The considerable loss of faith in human progress around World War II greatly shook this ideal, but it endures as a precept of Reform. Another key example is the reinterpretation of

2646-523: A greater stress on community and tradition. Though by no means declaring that members were bound by a compelling authority of some sort – the notion of an intervening, commanding God remained foreign to denominational thought. The "New Reform" approach to the question is characterized by an attempt to strike a mean between autonomy and some degree of conformity, focusing on a dialectic relationship between both. The movement never entirely abandoned halachic (traditional jurisprudence) argumentation, both due to

2835-495: A higher and better understanding of divine will, and they can and should unwaveringly change and refashion religious precepts. In the decades around World War II , this rationalistic and optimistic theology was challenged and questioned. It was gradually replaced, mainly by the Jewish existentialism of Martin Buber and Franz Rosenzweig , centered on a complex, personal relationship with

3024-505: A hub for like-minded intellectuals, interested in the betterment of religious experience. Though the prayerbook used in Berlin did introduce several deviations from the received text, it did so without an organizing principle. In 1818, Jacobson's acquaintance Edward Kley founded the Hamburg Temple . Here, changes in the rite were eclectic no more and had severe dogmatic implications: prayers for

3213-399: A matter of personal choice for the individual and not an authoritative obligation. Circumcision or Letting of Blood for converts and newborn babies became virtually mandated in the 1980s; ablution for menstruating women gained great grassroots popularity at the turn of the century, and some synagogues built mikvehs (ritual baths). A renewed interest in dietary laws (though by no means in

3402-428: A means to engage congregants, abandoning the sanitized forms of the "Classical". Another key aspect of Reform doctrine is the personal autonomy of each adherent, who may formulate their own understanding and expression of their religiosity. Reform is unique among all Jewish denominations in placing the individual as the authorized interpreter of Judaism. This position was originally influenced by Kantian philosophy and

3591-450: A meeting held in London. Originally carrying the provisional title "International Conference of Liberal Jews", after deliberations between "Liberal", "Reform" and "Modern", it was named World Union for Progressive Judaism on 12 July, at the conclusion of a vote. The WUPJ established further branches around the planet, alternatively under the names "Reform", "Liberal" and "Progressive". In 1945,

3780-545: A member of KI, who was also the first Jewish judge to serve on the Pennsylvania Supreme Court. In 1949, at age 71, Fineshriber retired, with title Rabbi Emeritus. Two years later, in 1951, the University of Pennsylvania awarded him an honorary Doctor of Laws degree. Fineshriber's successor was Professor Bertram Wallace Korn, who was teaching American Jewish History at Hebrew Union College where he had studied to become

3969-521: A moderating effect on the march of Oheb Shalom toward Reform practice. He encouraged Sabbath observance and replaced Wise's Minhag America with his own traditional Abodat Yisroel siddur . William Rosenau succeeded him (1892-1940). In 1892 the congregation built the Eutaw Place Temple , designed by architect Joseph Evans Sperry who modeled it after the Great Synagogue of Florence in

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4158-446: A much larger and more important museum. With over 4000 items focused on the observances of Judaism, the museum represents multiple historic eras and many countries of the world. Special exhibitions are often presented which include an emphasis on separate labeling for children so that families can independently enjoy the exhibit. The museum regularly draws visitors and groups from all religious denominations. The director/curator, as-well-as

4347-536: A particularly radical stance, arguing that the halachic Law of the Land is Law principle must be universally applied and subject virtually everything to current norms and needs, far beyond its weight in conventional Jewish Law. While Reform rabbis in 19th-century Germany had to accommodate conservative elements in their communities, at the height of "Classical Reform" in the United States, halakhic considerations could be virtually ignored and Holdheim's approach embraced. In

4536-602: A rabbi and later earned a Doctorate in Hebrew letters under Professor Jacob R. Marcus. Rabbi Bertram Korn served as Rabbi from 1949 to 1979. Bertram Wallace Korn, (1918–1979), was a historian and rabbi. He attended the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University and the University of Cincinnati, and received an M.H.L. degree from the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in Cincinnati (where he

4725-495: A rabbi is the norm and can take anywhere from several months to several years. The process focuses on participation in congregational activities and observation of holidays and Halakha. Conversions are finalized with a meeting of the Beit Din and usually a Brit Milah and a Tevilah, though the extent to which the practice of Brit Milah is observed varies from country to country. Furthermore, the acceptance of Reform converts by other sects

4914-678: A rabbinic degree from HUC and remained to earn a Ph.D. in history in American Jewish history. Sussman's dissertation was later published as Isaac Leeser and the Making of American Judaism (1995). Ironically, Leeser had been the leader of the Philadelphia Jewish Community at the time KI was formed in 1847. Prior to arriving at KI, Sussman was a tenured professor in history at the State University of New York at Binghamton as well as

5103-502: A rabbinical seminary, and the second formally ordained female rabbi in Jewish history, after Regina Jonas. Reform also pioneered family seating, an arrangement that spread throughout American Jewry but was only applied in continental Europe after World War II. Egalitarianism in prayer became universally prevalent in the WUPJ by the end of the 20th century. Religious inclusion for LGBT people and ordination of LGBT rabbis were also pioneered by

5292-506: A reformed congregation" when it was established in 1842. The synagogue adopted the prayer book formulated by the Hamburg Temple , the first reform synagogue in Germany , and services were led by the members. Abram Hutzler, founder of the business that became the progenitor of Hutzler's department store and whose father, Moses Hutzler was a co-founder of the temple, described Har Sinai's earliest practices as "almost orthodox, with covered heads,

5481-478: A renewed stress on Jewish particular identity, regarding it as better suiting popular sentiment and need for preservation. One major expression of that, which is the first clear Reform doctrine to have been formulated, is the idea of universal Messianism . The belief in redemption was unhinged from the traditional elements of return to Zion and restoration of the Temple and the sacrificial cult therein, and turned into

5670-619: A role, but only in deference to tradition, and opposed analysis of the Pentateuch ; and up to Abraham Geiger , who rejected any limitations on objective research or its application. He is considered the founding father of Reform Judaism. Geiger wrote that at seventeen already, he discerned that the late Tannaim and the Amoraim imposed a subjective interpretation on the Oral Torah , attempting to diffuse its revolutionary potential by linking it to

5859-523: A second edition of Olat Tamid, which was printed in Baltimore and also in New York City. In 1866 Einhorn moved to New York City, to accept the pulpit of Adath Yeshurun. While Einhorn had denied any interest in politics, his pamphlet on slavery was in fact quite political and it dovetailed with KI's increasing social and political activism. In 1857 the Congregation had protested a treaty with Switzerland which

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6048-497: A significant museum of Judaica , historical materials of the synagogue, photographs, and other items of interest. In the early 1960s KI had likewise created its own museum, to house the many artifacts and works of art it had acquired over the previous century. In 1984, the two museums merged into the Temple Judea Museum with the art and historic object collections of Temple Judea and Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, forming

6237-487: A special assistant to the president of the college. In 1949 KI hired Korn to replace the retiring Rabbi Fineshriber, Korn would remain at KI there until his death in 1979.[1] (KI) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. In 1957, under Rabbi Korn's leadership, KI moved from its Broad Street location to a new building at the current address on Old York Road in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Korn wrote twelve books on American Jewish History,

6426-481: A steady belief difficult for some. Nevertheless, we ground our lives, personally and communally, on God's reality." The 1999 Pittsburgh Statement of Principles declared the "reality and oneness of God". British Liberal Judaism affirms the "Jewish conception of God: One and indivisible, transcendent and immanent, Creator and Sustainer". The basic tenet of Reform theology is a belief in a continuous, or progressive, revelation , occurring continuously and not limited to

6615-573: A teacher in Israel" his role was "not to place before you my own feelings and opinions, but to propound to you the word of God, the Bible view of slavery." However, much Raphall tried to explain his position, Southern secessionists and other supporters of slavery were delighted by his endorsement of a Biblical defense of slavery. Incensed, Einhorn delivered an antislavery sermon in German, and then published an English translation in his monthly journal Sinai , refuting

6804-592: A total of 1.5 million presumed to have affinity, since updated to 2.2 million – both registered synagogue members and non-affiliates who identify with it. Worldwide, the movement is mainly centered in North America. The largest WUPJ constituent by far is the Union for Reform Judaism (until 2003: Union of American Hebrew Congregations) in the United States and Canada. As of 2013, a Pew Research Center survey calculated it represented about 35% of all 5.3 million Jewish adults in

6993-505: Is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue located at 7310 Park Heights Avenue , in Pikesville , Baltimore County , Maryland , in the United States. Established in 1842 in Baltimore and known as Har Sinai Congregation , and in 1853 near Camden Yards as Temple Oheb Shalom , the two congregations merged in 2019 and is the oldest Reform congregation in the United States that has used

7182-482: Is certainly not Law giving" and that it did not contain any "finished statements about God", but, rather, that human subjectivity shaped the unfathomable content of the Encounter and interpreted it under its own limitations. The senior representative of postwar Reform theology, Eugene Borowitz , regarded theophany in postmodern terms and closely linked it with quotidian human experience and interpersonal contact. He rejected

7371-588: Is political, basically a mirror of the most radically leftist components of the Democratic Party platform, causing many to say that Reform Judaism is simply 'the Democratic Party with Jewish holidays'." In Israel, the Religious Action Center is very active in the judicial field, often using litigation both in cases concerning civil rights in general and the official status of Reform Judaism within

7560-483: Is rare, with many Orthodox and Masorti temples rejecting Reform Converts. The term "Reform" was first applied institutionally – not generically, as in "for reform" – to the Berlin Reformgemeinde (Reform Congregation), established in 1845. Apart from it, most German communities that were oriented in that direction preferred the more ambiguous "Liberal", which was not exclusively associated with Reform Judaism. It

7749-492: Is strongly identified with progressive and liberal agendas in political and social terms, mainly under the traditional Jewish rubric tikkun olam ("repairing of the world"). Tikkun olam is a central motto of Reform Judaism, and acting in its name is one of the main channels for adherents to express their affiliation. The movement's most significant center today is in North America . Various regional branches exist, including

Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel (Philadelphia) - Misplaced Pages Continue

7938-604: The Byzantine Revival style. The congregation sold the building to the Prince Hall Masons in 1961. In 1953 the congregation acquired land in Pikesville, and, in 1960, finished construction of its building on Park Heights Avenue , designed by Sheldon I. Leavitt with consulting architect Walter Gropius . The design is dominated by four large vaults and Gropius saw the design as a modern combination of "the turbine with

8127-766: The CIS and Baltic States , with 61 affiliates in Russia , Ukraine and Belarus and several thousands of regular constituents; and many other, smaller ones. With the advent of Jewish emancipation and acculturation in Central Europe during the late 18th century, and the breakdown of traditional Jewish life, the proper response to the changed circumstances became a heated concern. Radical, second-generation Berlin maskilim (Enlightened), like Lazarus Bendavid and David Friedländer , proposed to reduce Judaism to little above Deism , or allow it to dissipate entirely. A more palatable course

8316-675: The Central Conference of American Rabbis , the main professional organization of reform rabbis. Beyond the Synagogue, Krauskopf worked with religious leaders of other faiths, visited Russia to investigate discrimination and violence against Jews, and raised money for the creation of the National Farm School, which more than a century later became Delaware Valley University . Krauskopf visited Jewish settlements in Palestine , and supported

8505-502: The Central Conference of American Rabbis . He also founded "Sinai", a German language newspaper created to promote the Reform movement. In 1861, Einhorn delivered a sermon in which he argued against the institution of slavery in the South as being inconsistent with Jewish values, noting the Jewish experience as slaves in Egypt, despite the fact that many were sympathetic to slavery in what was then

8694-623: The Conservative or the Orthodox . Outside North America and Britain, patrilineal descent was not accepted by most. As in other fields, small WUPJ affiliates are less independent and often have to deal with more conservative Jewish denominations in their countries, such as vis-à-vis the Orthodox rabbinate in Israel or continental Europe. Conversion within Reform Judaism has been seen as controversial by

8883-613: The Saducees who had their own pre- Mishnaic halakha . Having concluded the belief in an unbroken tradition back to Sinai or a divinely dictated Torah could not be maintained, he began to articulate a theology of progressive revelation, presenting the Pharisees as reformers who revolutionized the Saducee-dominated religion. His other model were the Prophets, whose morals and ethics were to him

9072-676: The Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) in the United States and Canada, the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and Liberal Judaism in the United Kingdom, the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (IMPJ) in Israel, and the UJR-AmLat in Latin America; these are united within the international World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ). Founded in 1926, the WUPJ estimates it represents at least 1.8 million people in 50 countries, about 1 million of which are registered adult congregants, and

9261-701: The Union progressiver Juden in Deutschland , which had some 4,500 members in 2010 and incorporates 25 congregations, one in Austria; the Nederlands Verbond voor Progressief Jodendom , with 3,500 affiliates in 10 communities; the 13 Liberal synagogues in France; the Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism (5,000 members in 2000, 35 communities); the Movement for Progressive Judaism (Движение прогрессивного Иудаизма) in

9450-612: The University of Cincinnati and Hebrew Union College. By 1900 he had graduated from both and became the Rabbi at Temple Emanuel in Davenport, Iowa. In 1911 he moved to Congregation B'nai Israel in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was active in numerous community and social causes. He was strong advocate of women's suffrage and spoke out against lynching, and despite threats on his life, regularly denounced

9639-585: The Voice of America . Owings Mills was chosen as the site of a satellite Hebrew school in 1988 and a 60,000-square-foot (5,600 m ) structure was completed there in 2002. German -born David Einhorn was named on September 29, 1855, as the congregation's first Rabbi . Einhorn formulated the Olat Tamid siddur for use in services, which became one of the models for the Union Prayer Book published in 1894 by

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9828-558: The election of Israel . The movement maintained the idea of the Chosen People of God, but recast it in a more universal fashion: it isolated and accentuated the notion (already present in traditional sources) that the mission of Israel was to spread among all nations and teach them divinely-inspired ethical monotheism, bringing them all closer to the Creator. One extreme "Classical" promulgator of this approach, Rabbi David Einhorn , substituted

10017-453: The immortality of the soul , while the founding thinkers of Reform Judaism, like Montefiore, all shared this belief, the existence of a soul became harder to cling to with the passing of time. In the 1980s, Borowitz could state that the movement had nothing coherent to declare in the matter. The various streams of Reform still largely, though not always or strictly, uphold the idea. The 1999 Pittsburgh Statement of Principles , for example, used

10206-517: The restoration of sacrifices by the Messiah and Return to Zion were quite systematically omitted. The Hamburg edition is considered the first comprehensive Reform liturgy. While Orthodox protests to Jacobson's initiatives had been scant, dozens of rabbis throughout Europe united to ban the Hamburg Temple . The Hamburg reformers, still attempting to play within the limits of rabbinic tradition, cited canonical sources in defence of their actions; they had

10395-628: The theophany at Sinai , the defining event in traditional interpretation. According to this view, all holy scripture of Judaism, including the Torah , were authored by human beings who, although under divine inspiration , inserted their understanding and reflected the spirit of their consecutive ages. All the People of Israel are a further link in the chain of revelation, capable of reaching new insights: religion can be renewed without necessarily being dependent on past conventions. The chief promulgator of this concept

10584-410: The "special insight" of Israel, almost fully independent from direct divine participation, and English thinker Claude Montefiore , founder of Liberal Judaism , reduced revelation to "inspiration", according intrinsic value only to the worth of its content, while "it is not the place where they are found that makes them inspired". Common to all these notions was the assertion that present generations have

10773-400: The 1810s and 1820s, the circles ( Israel Jacobson , Eduard Kley and others) that gave rise to the movement introduced confirmation ceremonies for boys and girls, in emulation of parallel Christian initiation rite. These soon spread outside the movement, though many of a more traditional leaning rejected the name "confirmation". In the "New Reform", Bar Mitzvah largely replaced it as part of

10962-625: The 1930s and onwards, Rabbi Solomon Freehof and his supporters reintroduced such elements, but they too regarded Jewish Law as too rigid a system. Instead, they recommended that selected features will be readopted and new observances established in a piecemeal fashion, as spontaneous minhag (custom) emerging by trial and error and becoming widespread if it appealed to the masses. The advocates of this approach also stress that their responsa are of non-binding nature, and their recipients may adapt them as they see fit. Freehof's successors, such as Rabbis Walter Jacob and Moshe Zemer , further elaborated

11151-474: The Aberle Stocking Mill strike he worked with Jewish leaders of the textile workers union and the Jewish managers and owners of the textile companies. In this sense, Fineshriber acted in the tradition of Rabbis settling disputes within their own community. Fineshriber's work led to a nationally accepted arbitration procedure for most of the textile industry. More complicated was Fineshriber's response to

11340-403: The Associated British Synagogues (later Movement for Reform Judaism ) joined as well. In 1990, Reconstructionist Judaism entered the WUPJ as an observer. Espousing another religious worldview, it became the only non-Reform member. The WUPJ claims to represent a total of at least 1.8 million people – these figures do not take into account the 2013 PEW survey, and rely on the older URJ estimate of

11529-467: The Baltimore publication, it was printed and sold in New York. Eventually the Olat tamid would evolve into the Union Prayerbook of the modern Reform Movement. By 1860 KI had adopted this new prayer book. While living in Baltimore, Einhorn was an outspoken opponent of slavery, which was politically problematic in Maryland, which at the time was a slave state with more than 87,000 slaves In 1861 Einhorn's opposition to slavery became dangerous with secession and

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11718-434: The Bible. During his career at KI Krauskopf published more than a thousand pamphlet versions of these lectures. In 1888, shortly after he arrived in Philadelphia, Krauskopf was instrumental in the creation of the Jewish Publication Society , with KI giving early support the endeavor. In March, 1903, Krauskopf was elected director-general of the Isaac Meyer Wise Memorial Fund, and in July of the same year he became president of

11907-411: The Broad Street Synagogue and other annex buildings to Temple University, in contemplation of moving to a new location. In 1957 the congregation completed the move to Elkins Park, a suburb north of Philadelphia. The new building incorporated many of the stained glass windows that had been in the Broad street building, including the commemorative window installed under the leadership of Rabbi Krauskopf after

12096-405: The CCAR headed by Rabbi Denise Eger . The next in size, by a wide margin, are the two British WUPJ-affiliates. In 2010, the Movement for Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism respectively had 16,125 and 7,197 member households in 45 and 39 communities, or 19.4% and 8.7% of British Jews registered at a synagogue. Other member organizations are based in forty countries around the world. They include

12285-420: The Chaplains Corps, U.S. Naval Reserve. With this promotion Korn became the first Jewish chaplain to receive flag rank in any of the United States armed forces. When the War ended, Korn returned to Hebrew Union College to complete a Ph.D. in Hebrew Letters. While working on his doctorate, Korn was an assistant professor at HUC, where he offered the college's first course in American Jewish history. He also served as

12474-419: The Congregation. Although Deutsch was not an ordained rabbi, he moved KI further along on its road to Reform observance, by, among other things, abolishing separate seating for men and women, which is an obvious marker of the difference in worship between Orthodox synagogues and others in the United States and elsewhere. KI dismissed Deutsch in 1860 but the following year hired David Einhorn, an ordained Rabbi, who

12663-401: The English translation (though not in the original), a measure that was condemned by several Reform rabbis as a step toward religious humanism . During its formative era, Reform was oriented toward lesser ceremonial obligations. In 1846, the Breslau rabbinical conference abolished the second day of festivals ; during the same years, the Berlin Reform congregation held prayers without blowing

12852-523: The International President of B'nai B'rith and Rabbi Isaac Meyer Wise , who is usually considered to be the founder of the American Reform Movement. By the turn of the century membership had increased to more than a 1,000 families and there were at least 500 students in the religious school. KI was now one of the biggest (perhaps the biggest) synagogues in the nation. Throughout his tenure at KI Krauskopf gave weekly Sunday lectures to overflow crowds on history, science, ethics, politics, economics, theology, and

13041-444: The Jewish people to be its priests. It was grounded on a wholly theistic understanding, although the term "God-idea" was excoriated by outside critics. So was the 1937 Columbus Declaration of Principles, which spoke of "One, living God who rules the world". Even the 1976 San Francisco Centenary Perspective, drafted at a time of great discord among Reform theologians, upheld "the affirmation of God... Challenges of modern culture have made

13230-419: The Jewish public in general, before and during the rise of Reform) in the early stages of the movement. It was a major characteristic during the "Classical" period, when Reform closely resembled Protestant surroundings. Later, it was applied to encourage adherents to seek their own means of engaging Judaism. "New Reform" embraced the criticism levied by Rosenzweig and other thinkers at extreme individualism, laying

13419-403: The Jewish religion rather than a "Jewish-American." However, when Israel was created in 1948, he modified his anti-Zionist position recognizing the utility of Israel as a haven for Holocaust survivors and other Jewish refugees. In 1947 Fineshriber had presided over the 100th anniversary celebration of KI, which included an address by Governor James H. Duff of Pennsylvania and Justice Horace Stern,

13608-511: The Ku Klux Klan. Before large crowds he gave lectures in support of the right to study evolution, but shortly after he left Tennessee the state passed its infamous anti-evolution law that led to the Scopes "Monkey" Trial. In 1924 Fineshriber moved to Philadelphia to become the senior rabbi at KI. At KI Finsshriber continued his social activism, inviting such notables as Margaret Sanger, the founder of

13797-476: The MRJ allows its clergy to participate in celebration of civil marriage, though none allow a full Jewish ceremony with chupah and the like. In American Reform, 17% of synagogue-member households have a converted spouse, and 26% an unconverted one. Its policy on conversion and Jewish status led the WUPJ into conflict with more traditional circles, and a growing number of its adherents are not accepted as Jewish by either

13986-528: The Naval Reserves, and was the first Jewish Chaplain to achieve the rank of a Flag officer in any of the armed forces, when he became a Rear Admiral in 1975. The sixth rabbi, Simeon Maslin served as president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis from 1995 to 1997. The current rabbi, Lance Sussman is an historian and the author of numerous books on American Jewish history. Prominent members of

14175-590: The Orthodox and Masorti sects. Due to the Reform movement's progressive views on what it means to be a Jew, the conversion process has been criticized and often unrecognized by more conservative sects, yet conversions through the Reform movement are legally recognized by the Israeli government and thus entitled to citizenship under the Law of Return. Converts through Reform Judaism are accepted based on their sincerity, regardless of their background or previous beliefs. Studying with

14364-458: The Orthodox, they insisted that the People Israel was created by divine election alone, and existed solely as such. The 1999 Pittsburgh Platform and other official statements affirmed that the "Jewish people is bound to God by an eternal B'rit , covenant". As part of its philosophy, Reform Judaism anchored reason in divine influence, accepted scientific criticism of hallowed texts and sought to adapt Judaism to modern notions of rationalism. Judaism

14553-747: The Peninsular Campaign in 1862 at the age of 16. Col. Max Einstein, who would join KI after the War, commanded a Pennsylvania regiment at the first battle of Bull Run. When Einhorn moved on to New York after the War, the Congregation offered a lifetime contract to Rabbi Samuel Hirsch (1815-1889), who was serving as the first Chief Rabbi of Luxembourg at the time. After Hirsch moved to Philadelphia he continued services in German, but other than that, his leadership moved KI towards greater Americanization and further reform. Hirsch instituted Sunday lectures (or sermons) which made

14742-511: The Ram's Horn , phylacteries , mantles or head covering , and held its Sabbath services on Sunday. In the late 19th and early 20th century, American "Classical Reform" often emulated Berlin on a mass scale, with many communities conducting prayers along the same style and having additional services on Sunday. An official rescheduling of Sabbath to Sunday was advocated by Kaufmann Kohler for some time, though he retracted it eventually. Religious divorce

14931-655: The Raphall's pamphlet. Einhorn's last paragraph (see box quote below) was about the relationship between ethics, religion, and the Bible: This publication was both morally righteous and political dangerous. Threatened by a mob, which tried to tar and feather him on April 19, 1861, Einhorn, guarded by friends, fled to Philadelphia a few days later. In Philadelphia KI quickly hired him to be the Congregation's first ordained Rabbi. At KI, Einhorn continued to publish his periodical, Sinai . In 1862, with financial support from KI, he published

15120-582: The Reform Movement. He has also been heavily involved in interfaith organizations in Philadelphia. Like Rabbi's Krauskopf and Korn, Sussman was active in the movement to help Jews escape the Soviet Union and more recently has been involved in efforts to reach out to the small Jewish community in Cuba. Under Sussman's leadership KI developed youth exchange programs between KI teenagers and teenagers in Germany. While

15309-487: The Reform Movement. That year he published a 64-page prayer book pamphlet, for the use on Shabbat (the Jewish Sabbath) and for the three Biblical festivals, Sukkot, Passover, and Shavuot. Two years later Einhorn published the first Reform prayer book in the United States, 'Olat tamid. Gebetbuch für israelitische Reform-Gemeinden (Baltimore, 1858). This book had an enormous impact on American Reform Judaism, and in addition to

15498-532: The Reform movement in Judaism, and took the name "Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel." That year KI produced its first published book, Gesänge zum Gebrauche beim Gottesdeinst der Reform-Gemeinde "Keneseth Israel" zu Philadelphia [Hymnal For the Order of Worship for Reform Community Keneseth Israel of Philadelphia]. The following year (1857) KI hired Solomon Deutsch, a prominent Reform leader from Posen, Germany to officiate at

15687-460: The Sisterhood and Men's Club) were involved in blood drives, the preparation of bandages, and the writing of letters to soldiers overseas. Collectively, the Congregation sold over a million dollars' worth of war bonds. In addition, KI provided worship space for Orthodox Jews who were refugees from Germany. Scores of members served in the military. One board member, who was a military officer assigned to

15876-504: The U.S., making it the single most numerous Jewish religious group in the country. Steven M. Cohen deduced there were 756,000 adult Jewish synagogue members – about a quarter of households had an unconverted spouse (according to 2001 findings), adding some 90,000 non-Jews and making the total constituency roughly 850,000 – and further 1,154,000 "Reform-identified non-members" in the United States. There are also 30,000 in Canada. Based on these,

16065-509: The URJ claims to represent 2.2 million people. It has 845 congregations in the U.S. and 27 in Canada, the vast majority of the 1,170 affiliated with the WUPJ that are not Reconstructionist. Its rabbinical arm is the Central Conference of American Rabbis , with some 2,300 member rabbis, mainly trained in Hebrew Union College . As of 2015, the URJ was led by President Rabbi Richard Jacobs , and

16254-539: The United States and Cuba. While in Cuba, Krauskopf became friends with Col. Theodore Roosevelt and conducted services for the eight Jewish soldiers in Roosevelt's Rough Riders (the First United States Volunteer Cavalry). Krauskopf and Roosevelt would remain lifelong friends and when Roosevelt died, Krauskauf had a large stained glass window commissioned in his honor which remains today as a part of

16443-424: The United States and in Britain and the rest of the world, is characterized by larger affinity to traditional forms and diminished emphasis on harmonizing them with prevalent beliefs. Concurrently, it is also more inclusive and accommodating, even towards beliefs that are officially rejected by Reform theologians, sometimes allowing alternative differing rites for each congregation to choose from. Thus, prayerbooks from

16632-481: The United States. The synagogue was at a number of locations in the city before building a large structure on North Broad Street in 1891, until 1956 when it moved north of the city to suburban Elkins Park. The congregation has been led by eight rabbis since its first rabbi commenced in 1861 – and most have been prominent both in the Reform Jewish movement and in other areas of American culture. Rabbi David Einhorn

16821-638: The War Department in Washington, ultimately resigned his position at KI because it was simply impossible for him to commute back to Philadelphia for board meetings. About two dozen members who died in combat were memorialized at KI. Bertram Korn, who had his Bar Mitzvah in KI when Fineshriber reintroduced the ceremony, enlisted as a chaplain in the Navy during the war, serving with the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions in China. At

17010-461: The Zionism and the rise of Nazism. Reflecting the mainstream position of the Reform movement, Fineshriber supported the emigration of Eastern European Jews to what was then British controlled Palestine, but he did not support the creation of a Jewish state or believe that American Jews should emigrate there. He consistently argued that Jews were members of a religion, not a nationality, and thus KI accepted

17199-670: The Zionist movement as a vehicle for the settlement of European Jews in Palestine. At the same time, however, he vigorously denied that American Jews had "dual loyalties," and was aggressively patriotic about his adopted homeland. Shortly after the outbreak of the Spanish–American War in 1898, Krauskopf became a leader of the National Relief Commission, and was one of three special field commissioners sent to visit army camps in

17388-407: The age of emancipation . Brought to America by German-trained rabbis, the denomination gained prominence in the United States , flourishing from the 1860s to the 1930s in an era known as "Classical Reform". Since the 1970s, the movement has adopted a policy of inclusiveness and acceptance, inviting as many as possible to partake in its communities rather than adhering to strict theoretical clarity. It

17577-480: The ages. However, practices were seen as a means to elation and a link to the heritage of the past, and Reform generally argued that rituals should be maintained, discarded or modified based on whether they served these higher purposes. This stance allowed a great variety of practice both in the past and the present. In "Classical" times, personal observance was reduced to little beyond nothing. The postwar "New Reform" lent renewed importance to practical, regular action as

17766-573: The backbone of the nascent Reform rabbinate. Geiger intervened in the Second Hamburg Temple controversy not just to defend the prayerbook against the Orthodox, but also to denounce it, stating the time of mainly aesthetic and unsystematic reforms has passed. In 1842, the power of progressive forces was revealed again: when Geiger's superior Rabbi Solomon Tiktin attempted to dismiss him from the post of preacher in Breslau , 15 of 17 rabbis consulted by

17955-527: The beginning of the Civil War. In early January 1861 Dr. Morris Jacob Raphall , the rabbi at Congregation B'Nai Jeshurun in New York City gave and then published a sermon entitled the Bible View of Slavery, which defended slavery under biblical law. Rabbi Raphall claimed he was "no friend to slavery in the abstract, and still less friendly to the practical working of slavery." But at the same time he claimed that "as

18144-470: The belief that all religions would unite into one, and it later faced the challenges of the Ethical movement and Unitarianism . Parallel to that, it sought to diminish all components of Judaism that it regarded as overly particularist and self-centered: petitions expressing hostility towards gentiles were toned down or excised, and practices were often streamlined to resemble surrounding society. "New Reform" laid

18333-521: The biblical text . Believing that Judaism became stale and had to be radically transformed if it were to survive modernity, he found little use in the legal procedures of halakha , arguing that hardline rabbis often demonstrated they will not accept major innovations anyway. His venture into higher criticism led him to regard the Pentateuch as reflecting power struggles between the Pharisees on one hand, and

18522-728: The board of the National Conference of Charities and Correction . In 1885 he was a key organizer of a convention of reform Rabbis in Pittsburgh, known as the Pittsburgh Conference. Although only two years out of rabbinical school, he was elected vice-president of the Pittsburgh Conference, of which Isaac Mayer Wise was president. This conference wrote the Pittsburgh Platform, which became the defining statement of Reform Judaism at that time. Given Krauskopf's accomplishments, it

18711-406: The board stated his unorthodox views were congruous with his post. He himself differentiated between his principled stance and quotidian conduct. Believing it could be implemented only carefully, he was moderate in practice and remained personally observant. Second only to Geiger, Rabbi Samuel Holdheim distinguished himself as a radical proponent of change. While the former stressed continuity with

18900-407: The central venue for active participation for many affiliates, even leading critics to negatively describe Reform as little more than a means employed by Jewish liberals to claim that commitment to their political convictions was also a religious activity and demonstrates fealty to Judaism. Dana Evan Kaplan stated that " Tikkun Olam has incorporated only leftist, socialist-like elements. In truth, it

19089-502: The ceremonial ones. Reform thinkers often cited the Prophets ' condemnations of ceremonial acts, lacking true intention and performed by the morally corrupt, as testimony that rites have no inherent quality. Geiger centered his philosophy on the Prophets' teachings (he had already named his ideology "Prophetic Judaism" in 1838), regarding morality and ethics as the stable core of a religion in which ritual observance transformed radically through

19278-548: The children of two Jewish parents. This decision was taken by the British Liberal Judaism in the 1950s. The North American Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) accepted it in 1983, and the British Movement for Reform Judaism affirmed it in 2015. The various strands also adopted a policy of embracing the intermarried and their spouses. British Liberals offer "blessing ceremonies" if the child is to be raised Jewish, and

19467-419: The civil ones ( memonot ), where the Law of the Land applied. Another measure he offered, rejected almost unanimously by his colleagues in 1846, was the institution of a "Second Sabbath" on Sunday, modeled on Second Passover , as most people desecrated the day of rest. The pressures of the late Vormärz era were intensifying. In 1842, a group of radical laymen determined to achieve full acceptance into society

19656-412: The congregation began to have sermons, which was a step away from traditional Orthodox Jewish ritual, but reflected the common Protestant worship that dominated the United States. At about this time the congregation also adopted the recently published Hamburg Prayer Book, which came out of the new Reform Movement in Germany. In 1854 KI purchased its first building, a former church on New Market Street, which

19845-693: The congregation include Judges Arlin Adams , Edward R. Becker , Jan E. DuBois , and Horace Stern , members of the Gimbel family, and businessmen Lessing Rosenwald , William S. Paley , Simon Guggenheim , and Walter Hubert Annenberg . Albert Einstein accepted an honorary membership in 1934. In 1847 Julius Stern led in the creation of Keneseth Israel as a traditional German –Jewish Congregation. Stern and 47 other men seceded from an existing synagogue, Congregation Rodeph Shalom (the 3rd oldest in Philadelphia), to create

20034-568: The congregation look more like its Protestant neighbors, which held their service and had their sermons on Sunday. He abolished the use of yarmulkes or other head coverings for men during services and brought an egalitarian marriage ceremony to the congregation, with both men and women exchanging vows. His goal was to eliminate archaic practices that hindered his congregants from fully participating in American civil society. Along these lines, he helped create Jewish social service agencies and helped organize

20223-469: The congregation two years later amid allegations that he had previously converted to Christianity and been a missionary in Africa. Emil G. Hirsch , son-in-law of David Einhorn, succeeded Mayer as Rabbi, serving in the position in 1877 and 1878. Samuel Sale was hired in 1878 as the congregation's fifth rabbi and the first to be born in the United States. After receiving his rabbinic ordination in 1883 as one of

20412-424: The creator, and a more sober and disillusioned outlook. The identification of human reason with Godly inspiration was rejected in favour of views such as Rosenzweig's, who emphasized that the only content of revelation is it in itself, while all derivations of it are subjective, limited human understanding. However, while granting higher status to historical and traditional understanding, both insisted that "revelation

20601-636: The death of Rabbi Krauskopf, in June 1923, the associate Rabbi Abraham J. Feldman officiated at KI while the synagogue searched for a new senior rabbi. Later that year KI hired William H. Fineshriber (1878-1968), its first American-born senior Rabbi. Fineshriber was born in St. Louis, Missouri , where his father was a Reform rabbi. Fineshriber's father died at the age of 37, and at age 13 Fineshriber moved to Cincinnati where he attended high school and entered an eight-year program allowing him to simultaneously earn degrees from both

20790-648: The death of his friend Theodore Roosevelt. The building also included a newly created series of windows by the well known artist Jacob Landau (which are discussed below). The move to Elkins Park reflected the growing suburbanization of American Jews in the post-War period. Suburbanization led to a dispersal of congregation members and an alteration in the traditional pattern of synagogues being part of compact communities. In response to these changing demographic patterns, Korn introduced radio broadcasts of KI services, which allowed members of his more geographically scattered congregation to hear services when they were unable to reach

20979-516: The end of the war, Fineshriber, as a national leader of the reform movement, opposed the creation of a Jewish state in British Palestine, which became Israel in 1948. Fineshriber, a leader among a highly visible minority of Reform Rabbis, resisted the idea of Jews being seen as a nation in need of their own state. He strongly believed that American Jews had to avoid being suspected of having dual loyalties. In essence, he saw himself as an American of

21168-491: The entrance foyer in the Keneseth Israel synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania. Krauskopf's and KI's military and patriotic support continued during World War I when the congregation created special programs for servicemen stationed in Philadelphia or passing through the city on their way to the front. In 1917, James G. Heller who was the assistant rabbi at KI, took a leave of absence from that position in order to serve as

21357-615: The evolving ritual of American Reform Judaism. He reintroduced Bar and Bat Mitzvah, Torah reading on Saturday and the Jewish High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur), restored the position of cantor, and added violin or cello to the congregation's musical services. During this period KI adopted the Union Prayer Book, which had been the official prayer book of the American Reform Movement. Ironically, this prayer book

21546-734: The first class at the Reform Movement's recently opened rabbinical school, Hebrew Union College (HUC). While at HUC Krauskopf published the Union Hebrew Reader (1881) which is commonly known as the First Union Hebrew Reader, the Second Union Hebrew Reader (1884), and Bible Ethics: A Manual of Instruction in the History and Principles of Judaism, According to Hebrew Scriptures (1884) (full text). While in Kansas City, Krauskopf

21735-494: The first four graduates of Hebrew Union College , David Philipson was named as Har Sinai's rabbi in 1884, and served in the position until 1888. Benjamin Sharff, who was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion , served as rabbi from 2010 until the congregation's merger in 2019/ Floyd L. Herman served as the congregation's rabbi from 1981 to 2003, and subsequently as Rabbi Emeritus. The Oheb Shalom congregation

21924-494: The focus of controversy. Its proponents vacillated whether and to what degree it should be applied against the contemporary plight. Opinions ranged from the strictly Orthodox Azriel Hildesheimer , who subjugated research to the predetermined sanctity of the texts and refused to allow it practical implication over received methods; via the Positive-Historical Zecharias Frankel , who did not deny Wissenschaft

22113-568: The following year he died suddenly, and was buried in Arlington National Cemetery. Under Korn KI had achieved its largest number of members, with more than 1,800 families. "The Prophetic Quest" is the title of the ten stained glass windows designed by Jacob Landau and installed in the KI synagogue in Elkins Park, Pennsylvania in 1974. They represent the prophets Abraham, Elijah. Amos, Hosea, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Second Isaiah , Job, and Malachi, and their messages. Landau created

22302-536: The formal position of the Reform Movement (as expressed through the Union of American Hebrew Congregations) to "disassociate itself completely from any controversy pertaining to political Zionism." Like all Jews, in the 1930s he was shocked and appalled by the rise of Nazism with its grotesque persecution of Jews, and some members of KI were actively associated holocaust rescue, especially Gil and Eleanor Kraus who rescued at least fifty German-Jewish children before World War II began. Fineshriber's tenure at KI also reflected

22491-481: The gentiles. The short-lived community employed fully traditional ("orthodox") argumentation to legitimize its actions, but is often regarded a harbinger by historians. A relatively thoroughgoing program was adopted by Israel Jacobson , a philanthropist from the Kingdom of Westphalia . Faith and observance were eroded for decades both by Enlightenment criticism and apathy, but Jacobson himself did not bother with those. He

22680-433: The great weight it lent to personal judgement and free will. This highly individualistic stance also proved one of the movement's great challenges, for it impeded the creation of clear guidelines and standards for positive participation in religious life and definition of what was expected from members. The notion of autonomy coincided with the gradual abandonment of traditional practice (largely neglected by most members, and

22869-505: The ground floor. "In 1849, the Congregation built its own temple on High Street in Baltimore and acquired a cemetery." The synagogue purchased a 17-acre (69,000 m ) property in the northwestern neighborhood of Park Heights from the Maryland Country Club, with a new synagogue dedicated in 1938. A $ 1 million fundraising program was begun in 1953 by Rabbi Abraham Shusterman. A design modeled on Cleveland 's Park Synagogue

23058-503: The grudging support of one liberal-minded rabbi, Aaron Chorin of Arad , though even he never acceded to the removal of prayers for the sacrifices. The massive Orthodox reaction halted the advance of early Reform, confining it to the port city for the next twenty years. As acculturation and resulting religious apathy spread, many synagogues introduced mild aesthetic changes, such as vernacular sermons or somber conduct, yet these were carefully crafted to assuage conservative elements (though

23247-465: The lamentation on the Ninth of Av for a celebration, regarding the destruction of Jerusalem as fulfilling God's scheme to bring his word, via his people, to all corners of the earth. Highly self-centered affirmations of Jewish exceptionalism were moderated, although the general notion of "a kingdom of priests and a holy nation" retained. On the other hand, while embracing a less strict interpretation compared to

23436-447: The last years under Hirsch), instituted confirmation at age sixteen for boys and girls, and eliminated the traditional bar mitzvah at age thirteen. In 1892 he created a library for KI that acquired more than 20,000 volumes under his leadership. Krauskopf also convinced the Synagogue to hire an assistant rabbi to accommodate the massive growth in members. When Krauskopf arrived there were about 250 family and individual members at KI. Within

23625-623: The mid–20th century onwards incorporated more Hebrew, and restored such elements as blessing on phylacteries . More profound changes included restoration of the Gevorot benediction in the 2007 Mishkan T'filah , with the optional "give life to all/revive the dead" formula. The CCAR stated this passage did not reflect a belief in Resurrection, but Jewish heritage. On the other extreme, the 1975 Gates of Prayer substituted "the Eternal One" for "God" in

23814-485: The modern birth control movement, to speak at KI and making the Nobel prize winning physicist, Albert Einstein, an honorary member of the Congregation. Einstein spoke at KI's 90th anniversary celebration. Fineshriber was also nationally active in the movie industry, working with Hollywood leaders to adopt a "decency code" for the film industry. He also was involved in the labor arbitration, in Philadelphia and elsewhere. In settling

24003-503: The more contentious issues to the vernacular translation, treating the original text with great care and sometimes having problematic passages in small print and untranslated. When institutionalized and free of such constraints, it was able to pursue a more radical course. In American "Classical" or British Liberal prayerbooks, a far larger vernacular component was added and liturgy was drastically shortened, and petitions in discord with denominational theology eliminated. "New Reform", both in

24192-685: The most famous being American Jewry and the Civil War , in 1951. Other books by Korn include: I (1971); Benjamin Levy: New Orleans Printer and Publisher (1961); Jews and Negro Slavery in the Old South, 1789-1865 (1961); The American Reaction to the Mortara Case: 1858-1859 (1957); and The Early Jews of New Orleans (1969). Korn was also the president of the American Jewish Historical Society. In 1951 KI agreed to sell

24381-637: The movement. Intercourse between consenting adults was declared as legitimate by the Central Conference of American Rabbis in 1977, and openly gay clergy were admitted by the end of the 1980s. Same-sex marriage was sanctioned by the year 2000. In 2015, the URJ adopted a Resolution on the Rights of Transgender and Gender Non-Conforming People, urging clergy and synagogue attendants to actively promote tolerance and inclusion of such individuals. American Reform, especially, turned action for social and progressive causes into an important part of religious commitment. From

24570-494: The need for precedent to counter external accusations and the continuity of heritage. Instead, the movement had largely made ethical considerations or the spirit of the age the decisive factor in determining its course. The German founding fathers undermined the principles behind the legalistic process, which was based on a belief in an unbroken tradition through the ages merely elaborated and applied to novel circumstances, rather than subject to change. Rabbi Samuel Holdheim advocated

24759-501: The new congregation. Until the 1880s business meetings were conducted in German, and services were in both German and Hebrew. The new Congregation's ritual was initially based on traditional, Orthodox Jewish customs and practice. When first organized the synagogue hired a lay "reader," B.H. Gotthelf, rented space, and made plans to have burial plots in a local cemetery. The congregation established its first religious school 1849, with about 75 children learning Hebrew and Jewish ritual. In 1852

24948-473: The notion of "Progressive Halakha " along the same lines. Reform sought to accentuate and greatly augment the universalist traits in Judaism, turning it into a faith befitting the Enlightenment ideals ubiquitous at the time it emerged. The tension between universalism and the imperative to maintain uniqueness characterized the movement throughout its entire history. Its earliest proponents rejected Deism and

25137-401: The notion of "progressive revelation" in the meaning of comparing human betterment with divine inspiration, stressing that past experiences were "unique" and of everlasting importance. Yet he stated that his ideas by no means negated the concept of ongoing, individually experienced revelation by all. Reform Judaism emphasizes the ethical facets of the faith as its central attribute, superseding

25326-487: The only true, permanent core of Judaism. He was not alone: Solomon Formstecher argued that Revelation was God's influence on human psyche, rather than encapsulated in law; Aaron Bernstein was apparently the first to deny inherent sanctity to any text when he wrote in 1844 that, "The Pentateuch is not a chronicle of God's revelation, it is a testimony to the inspiration His consciousness had on our forebears." Many others shared similar convictions. In 1837, Geiger hosted

25515-467: The original drawings, Benoit Gilsoul transcribed the original drawings into working cartoons, and the stained glass studio Willet Studios ( Willet Hauser Architectural Glass ) made the windows. Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin served as rabbi from 1979 to 1997. After the death of Rabbi Korn, Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin (1931-) became the senior rabbi at KI. When he arrived he was already a distinguished Rabbinic leader, known in part for his public speaking and oratory. He

25704-401: The orthodox concept of the explicit transmission of both scripture and its oral interpretation . While also subject to change and new understanding, the basic premise of progressive revelation endures in Reform thought. In its early days, this notion was greatly influenced by the philosophy of German idealism , from which its founders drew much inspiration: belief in humanity marching toward

25893-489: The other major denominations. Reform Judaism is considered to be the first major Jewish denomination to adopt gender equality in religious life . As early as 1846, the Breslau conference announced that women must enjoy identical obligations and prerogatives in worship and communal affairs, though this decision had virtually no effect in practice. Lily Montagu , who served as a driving force behind British Liberal Judaism and WUPJ,

26082-400: The past and described Judaism as an entity that gradually adopted and discarded elements along time, Holdheim accorded present conditions the highest status, sharply dividing the universalist core from all other aspects that could be unremittingly disposed of. Declaring that old laws lost their hold on Jews as it were and the rabbi could only act as a guide for voluntary observance, his principle

26271-510: The personal spiritual experience and communal participation. This shift was not accompanied by a distinct new doctrine or by the abandonment of the former, but rather with ambiguity. The leadership allowed and encouraged a wide variety of positions, from selective adoption of halakhic observance to elements approaching religious humanism . The declining importance of the theoretical foundation, in favour of pluralism and equivocalness, drew large crowds of newcomers. It also diversified Reform to

26460-633: The prayerbooks and have them express the movement's theology. Blessings and passages referring to the coming of the Messiah, return to Zion, renewal of sacrificial practices, resurrection of the dead, reward and punishment and overt particularism of the People Israel were replaced, recast or excised altogether. In its early stages, when Reform Judaism was more a tendency within unified communities in Central Europe than an independent movement, its advocates had to practice considerable moderation, lest they provoke conservative animosity. German prayerbooks often relegated

26649-478: The proposals of Aaron Chorin and others for a new Sanhedrin , made already in 1826, that could assess and eliminate various ancient decrees and prohibitions. A total of forty-two people attended the three meetings, including moderates and conservatives, all quite young, usually in their thirties. Har Sinai Congregation Har Sinai – Oheb Shalom Congregation ( transliterated from Hebrew as " Mount Sinai - Lovers of Peace Congregation")

26838-654: The rabbi at Temple Concord, a Reform congregation in Binghamton, New York. Sussman is a well-known scholar of American Jewish history. In addition to his book on Leeser, he is the author of Sharing Sacred Moments (1999),[3] and a co-editor of Reform Judaism in America: A Biographical Dictionary and Sourcebook (1993)[4] and New Essays in American Jewish History (2009) At KI he has continued to publish in historical work while also actively participating in various aspects of

27027-473: The re-traditionalization, but many young congregants in the United States still perform one, often at Shavuot . Confirmation for girls eventually developed into the Bat Mitzvah , now popular among all except strictly Orthodox Jews. Some branches of Reform, while subscribing to its differentiation between ritual and ethics, chose to maintain a considerable degree of practical observance, especially in areas where

27216-412: The recognition of patrilineal descent : all children born to a couple in which a single member was Jewish, whether mother or father, was accepted as a Jew on condition that they received corresponding education and committed themselves as such. Conversely, offspring of a Jewish mother only are not accepted if they do not demonstrate affinity to the faith. A Jewish status is conferred unconditionally only on

27405-414: The reformers were laymen, operating in a country with little rabbinic presence. In the 1820s and 1830s, philosophers like Solomon Steinheim imported German idealism into the Jewish religious discourse, attempting to draw from the means it employed to reconcile Christian faith and modern sensibilities. But it was the new scholarly, critical Science of Judaism ( Wissenschaft des Judentums ) that became

27594-600: The rest are unaffiliated but identify with the movement. This makes Reform the second-largest Jewish denomination worldwide, after Orthodox Judaism . Its inherent pluralism and the importance it places on individual autonomy impedes any simplistic definition of Reform Judaism; its various strands regard Judaism throughout the ages as a religion that was derived from a process of constant evolution. They warrant and obligate further modifications and reject any fixed, permanent set of beliefs, laws or practices. A clear description of Reform Judaism became particularly challenging since

27783-471: The restoration of the Jerusalem Temple; during his inaugural address on 21 November 1825, Harby stated their native country was their only Zion, not "some stony desert", and described the rabbis of old as "Fabulists and Sophists... Who tortured the plainest precepts of the Law into monstrous and unexpected inferences". The Society was short-lived, and they merged back into Beth Elohim in 1833. As in Germany,

27972-553: The same direction as Hamburg's, was taken across the ocean in 1824. The younger congregants in the Charleston synagogue " Beth Elohim " were disgruntled by present conditions and demanded change. Led by Isaac Harby and other associates, they formed their own prayer group, "The Reformed Society of Israelites". Apart from strictly aesthetic matters, like having sermons and synagogue affairs delivered in English, rather than Middle Spanish (as

28161-726: The same prayer rite since its inception. Many of the original congregants of Har Sinai Congregation came from what was then the Orthodox Congregation Nidchei Yisroel (later known as the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation ), after Rabbi Abraham Rice protested against the performance of Masonic rites at the funeral service of one of its members. The synagogue was originally known as the Har Sinai Verein (Society). Rabbi David Philipson credited, in 1907, Har Sinai as "the first congregation organized as

28350-399: The second half of the 20th century, it employed the old rabbinic notion of Tikkun Olam , "repairing the world", as a slogan under which constituents were encouraged to partake in various initiatives for the betterment of society. The Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism became an important lobby in service of progressive causes such as the rights of minorities. Tikkun Olam has become

28539-451: The separation of the sexes, and the use of 'a Shabbos goy ' to light the fires." Later, as part of the congregation's rituals, services were conducted in both Hebrew and English, music was played, and women participated together with men. The first prayer services were held in May 1842 at the residence of Moses Hutzler on Exeter Street and Eastern Avenue, which was above the store that operated on

28728-452: The somewhat ambiguous formula "the spirit within us is eternal". The first and primary field in which Reform convictions were expressed was that of prayer forms. From its beginning, Reform Judaism attempted to harmonize the language of petitions with modern sensibilities and what the constituents actually believed in. Jakob Josef Petuchowski , in his extensive survey of Progressive liturgy, listed several key principles that defined it through

28917-403: The spiritual leadership have approached religious and even secular humanism . This tendency has grown since the mid-20th century among both clergy and constituents, leading to broader, dimmer definitions of the concept. Early Reform thinkers in Germany clung to this precept; the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform described the "One God... The God-Idea as taught in our sacred Scripture" as consecrating

29106-413: The state, in particular. While opposed to interfaith marriage in principle, officials of the major Reform rabbinical organisation, the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), estimated in 2012 that about half of their rabbis partake in such ceremonies. The need to cope with this phenomenon – 80% of all Reform-raised Jews in the United States wed between 2000 and 2013 were intermarried – led to

29295-678: The staunchly Orthodox opposed them anyhow; secular education for rabbis, for example, was much resisted). One of the first to adopt such modifications was Hamburg's own Orthodox community, under the newly appointed modern Rabbi Isaac Bernays . The less strict but still traditional Isaac Noah Mannheimer of the Vienna Stadttempel and Michael Sachs in Prague , set the pace for most of Central and Western Europe. They significantly altered custom, but wholly avoided dogmatic issues or overt injury to Jewish Law. An isolated, yet much more radical step in

29484-421: The strict sense) also surfaced at the same decades, as were phylacteries, prayer shawls and head coverings. Reform is still characterized by having the least service attendance on average: for example, of those polled by Pew in 2013, only 34% of registered synagogue members (and only 17% of all those who state affinity) attend services once a month and more. The Proto-Reform movement did pioneer new rituals. In

29673-603: The synagogue. In the 1970s Korn brought KI into active work on behalf of Jews trapped in the Soviet Union. This support of Russian Jewry was a modern version of Rabbi Krauskopf's concerns for Russian Jews in the 1890s. In 1978 Korn formally retired from the Naval Reserve at a special Shabbat service at KI. Among those present were Admiral John O'Connor, the chief of Naval Chaplains who would later be more famously known as John, Cardinal O'Connor of New York. At this point Korn announced his planned retirement from KI, in 1980. However,

29862-406: The time Krauskopf was the rabbi at Congregation B'nai Jehudah in Kansas City, Missouri. Krauskopf served as rabbi from 1887 to 1923. Krauskopf (1858-1923), like the two previous rabbis at KI, was a German speaking immigrant. Krauskopf had emigrated to the United States in 1872, at age 14, and quickly learned English. In 1875, at the age of 17, Krauskopf went to Cincinnati, where he was a member of

30051-414: The traditional custom of men wearing a skullcap (Yarmulke) during services. Since the 19th century KI had actually prohibited the use of Yarmulkes. While at KI he also served as the president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the organization of North American Reform Rabbis. Maslin was a committed supporter of Israel and instituted the sending of conformation classes to Israel. At the same time, he

30240-440: The traditional one, Reform also held to this tenet against those who sought to deny it. When secularist thinkers like Ahad Ha'am and Mordecai Kaplan forwarded the view of Judaism as a civilization , portraying it as a culture created by the Jewish people, rather than a God-given faith defining them, Reform theologians decidedly rejected their position – although it became popular and even dominant among rank-and-file members. Like

30429-523: The turn toward a policy that favored inclusiveness ("Big Tent" in the United States) over a coherent theology in the 1970s. This transition largely overlapped with what researchers termed the transition from "Classical" to "New" Reform Judaism in America, paralleled in the other, smaller branches of Judaism that exist across the world. The movement ceased stressing principles and core beliefs, focusing more on

30618-436: The volunteers, include in their museum tours the collection of stained glass windows "The Prophetic Quest" by Jacob Landau . Lance J. Sussman has served as rabbi since 2001. With the retirement of rabbi Maslin, KI recruited Sussman (b. 1954) to be its senior rabbi. Sussman was born and raised in Baltimore, graduated in three years from Franklin and Marshall College (where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa), and then received

30807-471: The years and many transformations it underwent. The prayers were abridged, whether by omitting repetitions, excising passages or reintroducing the ancient triennial cycle for reading the Torah; vernacular segments were added alongside or instead of the Hebrew and Aramaic text, to ensure the congregants understood the petitions they expressed; and some new prayers were composed to reflect the spirit of changing times. But chiefly, liturgists sought to reformulate

30996-400: Was Abraham Geiger , generally considered the founder of the movement. After critical research led him to regard scripture as a human creation, bearing the marks of historical circumstances, he abandoned the belief in the unbroken perpetuity of tradition derived from Sinai and gradually replaced it with the idea of progressive revelation. As in other liberal denominations , this notion offered

31185-622: Was a better epithet. When the movement was institutionalized in Germany between 1898 and 1908, its leaders chose "Liberal" as self-designation, founding the Vereinigung für das Liberale Judentum. In 1902, Claude Montefiore termed the doctrine espoused by his new Jewish Religious Union as "Liberal Judaism", too, though it belonged to the more radical part of the spectrum in relation to the German one. In 1926, British Liberals, American Reform and German Liberals consolidated their worldwide movement – united in affirming tenets such as progressive revelation, supremacy of ethics above ritual and so forth – at

31374-428: Was a leading voice in the reform movement against rabbinic officiation at interfaith weddings. This was an enormously contentious issue in the Reform Movement. Initially the Reform Movement followed Maslin's lead, but since about the year 2000 most (but not all) Reform Rabbis have been willing to perform such marriages. As a major proponent of traditional ritual, Maslin brought more Hebrew to the services and reintroduced

31563-415: Was adopted by the movement worldwide as its foundation date. The Seesen temple – a designation quite common for prayerhouses at the time; "temple" would later become, somewhat misleadingly (and not exclusively), identified with Reform institutions via association with the elimination of prayers for the Jerusalem Temple – closed in 1813. Jacobson moved to Berlin and established a similar synagogue, which became

31752-400: Was based on the Olat Tamid, written by KI's first Rabbi, David Einhorn. The Union Prayer Book replaced the Sunday Service manual written by Rabbi Krauskopf, as well as the hymnal he had created. During World War II KI provided worship services for thousands of soldiers and sailors who were stationed in Philadelphia, or passed through on their way to other posts. Organizations within KI (such as

31941-500: Was created, and following groundbreaking in September 1957, the new structure, the Congregation's fourth home, with seating for 600 and able to accommodate 2,200 for High Holy Days services, was first used in June 1959. During the 1950s, Shusterman was a regular panelist on the weekly television program To Promote Goodwill , an interfaith discussion of social and religious issues by clergy representing Jewish, Catholic, and Protestant views, produced by WBAL-TV and broadcast worldwide on

32130-409: Was customary among Western Sephardim ), they had almost their entire liturgy solely in the vernacular, in a far greater proportion compared to the Hamburg rite. And chiefly, they felt little attachment to the traditional Messianic doctrine and possessed a clearly heterodox religious understanding. In their new prayerbook, authors Harby, Abram Moïse and David Nunes Carvalho unequivocally excised pleas for

32319-483: Was declared redundant and the civil one recognized as sufficient by American Reform in 1869, and in Germany by 1912; the laws concerning dietary and personal purity, the priestly prerogatives, marital ordinances and so forth were dispensed with, and openly revoked by the 1885 Pittsburgh Platform , which declared all ceremonial acts binding only if they served to enhance religious experience. From 1890, converts were no longer obligated to be circumcised. Similar policy

32508-404: Was enormously popular within his synagogue and the larger Kansas City community. His public lectures attracted large audiences that extended well beyond the city's small Jewish community. Some of these lectureswere then published as books, such as Evolution and Judaism and The Jews and Moors in Spain. Additionally, he was involved in a wide range of civic activities, such as becoming a life-member of

32697-405: Was founded in 1853 by Jewish immigrants from German Confederation member states, Hungary , and Czech territories ; pioneer Reform rabbi Isaac Mayer Wise had considerable influence in the congregation's establishment. Its first home was on Hanover Street near Camden Yards . Benjamin Szold was rabbi from 1859 to 1892; his daughter Henrietta Szold was the founder of Hadassah . Szold had

32886-645: Was founded in Frankfurt, the "Friends of Reform". They abolished circumcision and declared that the Talmud was no longer binding. In response to pleas from Frankfurt, virtually all rabbis in Germany, even Holdheim, declared circumcision obligatory. Similar groups sprang in Breslau and Berlin. These developments, and the need to bring uniformity to practical reforms implemented piecemeal in the various communities, motivated Geiger and his like-minded supporters into action. Between 1844 and 1846, they convened three rabbinical assemblies, in Braunschweig , Frankfurt am Main and Breslau respectively. Those were intended to implement

33075-432: Was hardly surprising that KI recruited him, and it was equally unsurprising that the leadership of B'nai Jehudah attempted to prevent him from leaving. After some embarrassing communications, Krauskopf arrived in Philadelphia in late October 1887. Krauskopf revolutionized KI. Under Krauskopf KI shifted from German to English for its board meetings, publications and services. He reintroduced Sunday services (which had waned in

33264-442: Was interested in decorum, believing its lack in services was driving the young away. Many of the aesthetic reforms he pioneered, like a regular vernacular sermon on moralistic themes, would be later adopted by the modernist Orthodox . On 17 July 1810, he dedicated a synagogue in Seesen that employed an organ and a choir during prayer and introduced some German liturgy. While Jacobson was far from full-fledged Reform Judaism, this day

33453-437: Was more prevalent as an appellation for the religiously apathetic majority among German Jews, and also to all rabbis who were not clearly Orthodox (including the rival Positive-Historical School ). The title "Reform" became much more common in the United States, where an independent denomination under this name was fully identified with the religious tendency. However, Isaac Meyer Wise suggested in 1871 that "Progressive Judaism"

33642-517: Was one of the leading critics of Israel for its refusal to accept Reform Judaism. In 1986, Rabbi Maslin published an important contribution to Reform Jewish thought, Gates of Mitzvah: Shaarei Mitzvah: A Guide to the Jewish Life Cycle . In 1998, shortly after his retirement, Maslin published What We Believe ... What We Do ... A Pocket Guide for Reform Jews . In 1982–1983, a smaller Reform congregation, Temple Judea, located on Old York Road in North Philadelphia , merged into KI. Temple Judea had hosted

33831-424: Was one of the most prominent Reform leaders in the United States. Ironically in 1862 Deutsch moved to Baltimore, where he was Einhorn's successor at Har Sinai Congregation . David Einhorn (1809- 1879) was born in Diespeck, Bavaria on November 10, 1809. He emigrated from Germany in 1856 to become the Rabbi at Har Sinai Congregation in Baltimore, which was the first Jewish congregation in the U.S. to affiliate with

34020-402: Was ordained as a rabbi in 1943), Following his ordination he served as the rabbi at the Government Street Temple in Mobile, Alabama, but a year later, in 1944, Korn enlisted in the United States Navy as a lieutenant in the Chaplain's Corps. He served in China with the 1st and 6th Marine Divisions. After the War Korn would remain in the Naval Reserves, and in 1975, he was promoted to rear admiral in

34209-568: Was pursued by Claude Montefiore 's Jewish Religious Union, established at Britain in 1902. The Vereinigung für das Liberale Judentum in Germany, which was more moderate, declared virtually all personal observance voluntary in its 1912 guidelines. "New Reform" saw the establishment and membership lay greater emphasis on the ceremonial aspects, after the former sterile and minimalist approach was condemned as offering little to engage in religion and encouraging apathy. Numerous rituals became popular again, often after being recast or reinterpreted, though as

34398-582: Was rededicated and consecrated as a synagogue. The re-purposing of religious edifices is common in America, as new immigrants acquire buildings that were built by other faiths. While KI did not yet have an ordained rabbi, Orthodox rabbis from other Congregations in Philadelphia participated in the re-consecration of the building. After moving into its new building KI quickly purchased an organ, which marked its movement away from traditional orthodox Judaism, which did not have musical instrument or choirs at its services. In 1856 KI formally announced its affiliation with

34587-403: Was seventy years old, KI pressured him to retire. Unhappily he moved to Chicago where his son Emil G. Hirsch was the rabbi at Chicago Sinai Congregation. By this time Emil had married Mathilda Einhorn, the daughter of KI's first rabbi, David Einhorn. With the departure of Hirsch, KI conducted a national search for a new rabbi, ultimately offering its pulpit to Joseph Krauskopf in July 1887. At

34776-495: Was supposed to give citizens of both countries equality in travel and business opportunities, but in fact allowed Swiss Cantons to discriminate against American Jews. In 1860 the congregation sent money to help Jews facing persecution in Morocco. When the Civil War began, in April 1861, members of the small Congregation supported the war effort with money and their own sons. Isaac Snellenberg, whose parents had emigrated from Germany, lied about his age so that he could enlist, and died in

34965-430: Was that the concept of " the Law of the Land is the Law " was total. He declared mixed marriage permissible – almost the only Reform rabbi to do so in history; his contemporaries and later generations opposed this – for the Talmudic ban on conducting them on Sabbath, unlike offering sacrifice and other acts, was to him sufficient demonstration that they belonged not to the category of sanctified obligations ( issurim ) but to

35154-456: Was the first woman in recorded history to deliver a sermon at a synagogue in 1918, and set another precedent when she conducted a prayer two years later. Regina Jonas , ordained in 1935 by later chairman of the Vereinigung der liberalen Rabbiner Max Dienemann, was the earliest known female rabbi to officially be granted the title. In 1972, Sally Priesand was ordained by Hebrew Union College , which made her America's first female rabbi ordained by

35343-421: Was the most prominent Jewish opponent of slavery when the Civil War began, and from that point on KI was known as the "Abolitionist Temple." Its third rabbi, Joseph Krauskopf was the founder of the Delaware Valley University and was a friend of President Theodore Roosevelt . The fifth rabbi, Bertram Korn was the author of the leading book on Jewish participation in the American Civil War, served as chaplain in

35532-414: Was the reform of worship in synagogues, making them more attractive to a generation whose aesthetic and moral taste became attuned to that of Christian surroundings. The first considered to have implemented such a course was the Amsterdam Ashkenazi congregation, "Adath Jessurun", In 1796. Emulating the local Sephardic custom, it omitted the " Father of Mercy " prayer, beseeching God to take revenge upon

35721-520: Was viewed by Enlightenment thinkers both as irrational and an import from ancient middle-eastern pagans. The only perceived form of retribution for the wicked, if any, was the anguish of their soul after death, and vice versa, bliss was the single accolade for the spirits of the righteous. Angels and heavenly hosts were also deemed a foreign superstitious influence, especially from early Zoroastrian sources, and denied. Notions of afterlife according to Enlightenment thinkers were given to be reduced merely to

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