Conservative Judaism is a Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine revelation. It therefore views Jewish law, or Halakha, as both binding and subject to historical development. The conservative rabbinate employs modern historical-critical research, rather than only traditional methods and sources, and lends great weight to its constituency, when determining its stance on matters of practice. The movement considers its approach as the authentic and most appropriate continuation of Halakhic discourse, maintaining both fealty to received forms and flexibility in their interpretation. It also eschews strict theological definitions, lacking a consensus in matters of faith and allowing great pluralism.
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones, and belief in a continuous revelation which is closely intertwined with human reason and not limited to the Theophany at Mount Sinai. A highly liberal strand of Judaism, it is characterized by little stress on ritual and personal observance, regarding Jewish law as non-binding and the individual Jew as autonomous, and by a great openness to external influences and progressive values.
Liberal Judaism is one of the two WUPJ-affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom founded by Claude Montefiore. It is smaller and more radical in comparison with the other one, the Movement for Reform Judaism. It is considered ideologically closer to American Reform Judaism than it is to the British Reform movement. As of 2010 it was the fourth largest Jewish religious group in Britain, with 8.7% of synagogue-member households.
Jan Mühlstein is a journalist, German Jewish activist and the former chair of the Union of Progressive Jews in Germany.
Jewish leadership has evolved over time. Since the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE, there has been no single body that has a leadership position over the entire Jewish diaspora. Various branches of Judaism, as well as Jewish religious or secular communities and political movements around the world elect or appoint their governing bodies, often subdivided by country or region.
Neologs are one of the two large communal organizations among Hungarian Jewry. Socially, the liberal and modernist Neologs had been more inclined toward integration into Hungarian society since the Era of Emancipation in the 19th century. This was their main feature, and they were largely the representative body of urban, assimilated middle- and upper-class Jews. Religiously, the Neolog rabbinate was influenced primarily by Zecharias Frankel's Positive-Historical School, from which Conservative Judaism evolved as well, although the formal rabbinical leadership had little sway over the largely assimilationist communal establishment and congregants. Their rift with the traditionalist and conservative Orthodox Jews was institutionalized following the 1868–1869 Hungarian Jewish Congress, and they became a de facto separate denomination. The Neologs remained organizationally independent in those territories ceded under the terms of the 1920 Treaty of Trianon, and are still the largest group among Hungary's Jews.
Reform Judaism, formally the Movement for Reform Judaism (MRJ) and known as Reform Synagogues of Great Britain until 2005, is one of the two World Union for Progressive Judaism–affiliated denominations in the United Kingdom. Reform is relatively traditional in comparison with its smaller counterpart, Liberal Judaism, though it does not regard Jewish law as binding. As of 2010, it was the second-largest Jewish religious group in the United Kingdom, with 19.4% of synagogue-member households. On 17 April 2023, Reform Judaism and Liberal Judaism announced their intention to merge as one single unified progressive Jewish movement. The new movement, which may be called Progressive Judaism, will represent about 30% of British Jewry who are affiliated to synagogues.
Communauté Juive Libérale d'Île-de-France is a Reform Jewish congregation with a synagogue, located in a Maison du judaïsme at 11 rue Moufle, in the XIe Arrondissement of Paris, France. The community is led by Rabbi Pauline Bebe, the first woman rabbi in France. The community is affiliated with the World Union for Progressive Judaism.
The World Union for Progressive Judaism (WUPJ) is the international umbrella organization for the various branches of Reform, Liberal and Progressive Judaism, as well as the separate Reconstructionist Judaism. The WUPJ is based in 40 countries with 1,275 affiliated synagogues, of which 1,170 are Reform, Progressive, or Liberal and 105 Reconstructionist. It claims to represent a total of some 1.8 million people, both registered constituents and non-member identifiers. The WUPJ states that it aims to create common ground between its constituents and to promote Progressive Judaism in places where individuals and groups are seeking authentic, yet modern ways of expressing themselves as Jews. It seeks to preserve Jewish integrity wherever Jews live, to encourage integration without assimilation, to deal with modernity while preserving the Jewish experience, and to strive for equal rights and social justice.
The Liberal Jewish Synagogue, abbreviated as LJS, is a Liberal Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in St John's Wood, in the City of Westminster, London, England, in the United Kingdom.
The Union Libérale Israélite de France, commonly referred to as the rue Copernic synagogue, is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris, France. Inaugurated on 1 December 1907, it is the oldest Reform synagogue in France.
The Synagogue de Nazareth, officially Synagogue de la rue Nazareth, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on the Rue Notre-Dame-de-Nazareth, in the IIIe arrondissement of Paris, France. The synagogue is the oldest of the 'great' synagogues of Paris.
}} The Grand Synagogue of Paris, generally known as Synagogue de la Victoire or Grande Synagogue de la Victoire, is an Orthodox Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 44, Rue de la Victoire, in the IXe arrondissement of Paris, France.
Pauline Bebe is the rabbi of Communauté Juive Libérale, a Progressive Jewish congregation in Paris. She was the first female rabbi in France, and the first female rabbi to lead a synagogue there. As of 2018 France has only four women rabbis, Bebe, Célia Surget, Delphine Horvilleur and Floriane Chinsky.
The Communauté Juive Libérale de Genève - GIL or Liberal Jewish Community of Geneva is a Liberal Jewish community located on the eastern side of the river Rhone in Geneva. Established as the Liberal Israelite Group on 7 December 1970, the organisation was later renamed the Communauté Juive Libérale de Genève. Guided by its Rabbi François Garaï since 1969, a year before its formal inception, the community held services in a variety of settings: a private library, a rented room on rue Moillebeau, and then at quai du Seujet. Finally, GIL relocated its activities to a purpose built facility, Beith GIL, on Route de Chêne which hosts a Synagogue as well as spaces for community activities. A member of international Jewish organisations such as the World Union for Progressive Judaism and the Federation for francophone progressive Judaism, GIL is an influential organisation in Reform Judaism both within Switzerland, but also within the global context of Reform Judaism.
Kehilat Gesher is a Liberal Jewish congregation and synagogue, located on Rue Léon Cogniet, in the XVIIe arrondissement of Paris, France.
Keren Or Synagogue is a Reform Jewish congregation and synagogue, located at 15 Rue Jules Vallès in Villeurbanne, in Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of France.
On the night of October 2–3, 1941, six synagogues were attacked in Paris and damaged by explosive devices places by their doors between 2:05 and 4:05 am. The perpetrators were identified but not arrested.
Adath Shalom Synagogue is a Masorti Jewish synagogue located on 8 Rue Georges-Bernard-Shaw in the XVe arrondissement of Paris, France.
Daniel Farhi was a French liberal rabbi.
