Tuesday, January 22, 2008
On Reform (without an "ed") Judaism
The very first lecture of F359 was enough to make me get a taste of just how much I DO NOT understand and how much I have to learn about Judaism. Coming from a Catholic background has given me many (positive) perceptions of the Jewish faith (as I see or should I say saw it). I saw it as a faith because the guy I do my best to follow in my physical and spiritual life was himself a religious Jew. I have since been exposed to different world-views of the Jewish people and seen that to be a Jew can possibly mean to be affiliated with a major faith, way of life, values system, or ethnicity even. The first main topic discussed in class was the idea that there are three main movements that Jews choose to identify themselves with. The Reform movement, the Conservative movement, and the Orthodox. The first fact that I was amazed to discover was that of all the movements, Reform is the oldest and closest to its roots. I always assumed that Orthodox was the eldest of the three, but it was in this class that I learned that it was Reform Judaism coming into existence that helped the Orthodox movement define what it is in the first place. There were several other elements concerning Reform Judaism that struck me as well. The first minute of discussion on the topic taught me to notice that there should be no "ED" on the end of the word "Reform". It's amazing to me just how many perceptions two little letters being stuck on the end of a word can instill or raise. Because I thought the word was "reformed", I assumed that reform Judaism was exceptionally liberal. I was also under the WRONG assumption because I thought it was a "reformed" faith or philosophy, it may take on characteristics that would thus make the Jewish lifestyle "easier" to live by. I apologize for my ignorance in the matter. I am very excited to learn more about what it means for people when they identify themselves as a Jew, as well as lifting the clouds of ignorance as it were from a faith that I have the utmost honor and respect for.
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3 comments:
You and the rest of the class, Shane (only the rest of the class may not know it yet). The interesting thing here is that while I'm using Judaism as the centerpiece of the course, you could probably do a similar level of exploration within Catholicism (look, for example, at the recent flap over the Womenpriests ordination in St. Louis--which incidentally brought the local Reform synagogue into the fray.) There's indeed a lot to learn; but the most important thing I hope you take from this class is that the closer you look at something (even something that seems obvious at first)--the more interesting and complex it becomes. And even moreso because what you're looking at is not simply a hard and fast structure, but rather a structure that's dynamic and rich because people are constantly negotiating ideas about identity with each other. Keep learning, and keep writing and talking about your discoveries. There's so much to know, but even more important is how you think about what it means "to know."
I am really glad that you wrote about this topic. I, being a Reform Jew, always appreciate when someone recognizes that we are not diluting Judaism by any means, but we are just practicing in a different way.
I definitely know what you mean about having a lot to learn about Judaism. I have never been exposed to Jewish religion or culture and am amazed by the amount of diverse beliefs of the various movements. I guess I sort of got used to generalizing Judaism as one set of beliefs and from this class I have learned that that idea could not be farther from the truth. I feel like the info we gain from class is going to make me more aware of all the different types of belief that are around me all the time.
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