Will the Mishkan T'filah (Sanctuary of Prayer) replace the Gates of Repentance (Days of Awe) prayerbook as well as the Gates of Prayer (daily) prayerbook, or will we still require two? I would really like to see something along the lines of The Complete Artscroll Siddur, but covering all holy days and life cycle events for the entire Reform Jewish calendar.
JTA.org -- The Reform movement's rabbinic association is set to publish a new siddur, or prayer book.
JTA.org -- The Reform movement's rabbinic association is set to publish a new siddur, or prayer book.
1 comment:
Hi Alex,
Thanks for stopping by and for the comments. I had a look at the article (Don’t buy Reformism) on the Samson Blinded website, but I don’t see anything new to answer to here.
If I can paraphrase this view of Reform Judaism, it goes something like this:
A few hundred years ago, we were all happily Orthodox, living out our observant lives under the guidance of our wise sages in our little shteltlakh. Then one day, along came those nasty reformers and led people away from authentic Judaism, almost to the baptismal fonts.
To me, the question is, if there were no Reform (or Conservative, or Reconstructionist) Judaism, would all those Jews still be Orthodox? The answer is no! Without Reform they would have fled Judaism altogether, as Jews have been doing since the gates of the ghettos were opened and since secular humanism began taking ground from religion. I therefore see Reform as part of the solution rather than part of the problem. Judaism in its proto-Orthodox form was failing to address major challenges, both internal and those posed by surrounding societies. Reform was an attempt to try to address those issues, initially within what became Orthodoxy and later as a separate stream within Judaism.
Reform has its own problems, and may have been too cavalier in dispensing with traditions and laws. We can see that it the way that they are making a comeback, e.g. the way in which services are conducted. Nevertheless, the process was and is necessary and I see Reform as a sincere attempt to make Judaism relevant in our lives. To me, it’s not a religion of convenience, but the thinking man’s Judaism, one that doesn’t require me to check in my reason or conscience at the door.
Once again, thanks for the visit.
Regards,
R
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