Reform Jews = Hippies?
One interesting thing about the Reform Judaism website (www.urj.org) was that although it seemed to want to make Judaism really accessible to everyone, it was extremely hard to find the page that explained what exactly reform Judaism is. You actually had to click on "Conversions," and if I were casually glancing at the site, I wouldn't have clicked on that. The site said that Reform Judaism was about bringing Judaism into the modern era, and many of the images and services on the site backed that up. There was an icon of an ipod that you can receive torah portions on and they offered daily E-mails with "10 minute lessons in Judaism." They really were bringing Judaism into the technological age and showing people that they can incorporate it into their daily lives. A lot of the people who were in charge of this education were not rabbis, but education experts.
Another thing that stood out about the site was that it took a lot of stands on current political issues. Its stances sounded like they came from a Democratic or progressive website. It asked people to take a stand against Alito and stand up for gay and lesbian rights. That really emphasized the idea of Reform Judaism being about the relationship between the religious and the secular world instead of isolating itself from the secular world.
One thing that surprised me was how open the movement is to conversions. They actually seek them out and encourage them, unlike what I know from the other movements (like an Orthodox rabbi sending a potential convert away three times before letting him begin learning). While I think it's important to be welcoming to potential new members of a community, the idea of Reform Jews seeking out and encouraging converts made me uneasy because one of the things about Judaism that I had always been proud of was the fact that it doesn't try to evangelicize people.
posted by Kimberly Bastin @ 8:26 PM
2 Comments:
Wats going on? I'm not incredibly familiar movement, but Reformed Judaism doesn't seem very hippy-like. Though I don't dress or even talk like it, I personally consider myself to be a hippy. During my year of deferral, I became very familiar with the hippy sect of Judaism, and believe or not it's within a very orthodox branch of Judaism, the Yeshiva Bat Ayin. It's fascinating, warm and exceptionally chill. Check it out.
By "Hippies," I really meant liberal. Their website was very politically active and leftist. There was also a "love everyone" vibe to it that I associate with a general hippie mentality in addition to a committment to social action and change. I think the overlap of Reform Jews and Civil Rights activists in the 1960s says it all. (I should be clear that I think all of the things mentioned above are good qualities to have.)
From what I could find on the Bat Ayin on the web, it sounds really interesting. I think that a place like that makes Orthodox or more traditional Judaism a lot more accessible or desirable to people who do not come from an Orthodox Jewish background. For me personally, I tend to agree with a more Orthodox interpretation of the Torah, but don't come from a background that was completely immersed in Jews and Jewish learning. I like that they offer traditional interpretations, but also allow you to be part of the world as a whole instead of excluding yourself from it.
I actually think that Judaism as a whole leds itself to a lot of "hippie" notions. For example, charity work and ecological responsibility. So one particular sect doesn't necessarily have the market cornered.
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