Reform Judaism,also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism,is a Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism,the superiority of its ethical aspects to its ceremonial ones,and belief in a continuous search for truth and knowledge,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 lessened stress on ritual and personal observance,regarding halakha as non-binding and the individual Jew as autonomous,and great openness to external influences and progressive values. The fundamental difference is the approach to Torah and the implications of that approach. The Orthodox believe that it comes directly from God and so cannot be changed. Since its founding in Germany in the 1800s,Reform Judaism has undergone profound modifications of the Torah and prayer liturgy over the past two centuries,resulting in a contemporary understanding of Judaism that diverges substantially from the original teachings.
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City,New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. The Jewish Theological Seminary Library is one of the most significant collections of Judaica in the world.
Elliot N. Dorff is an American Conservative rabbi. He is a Visiting Professor of Law at UCLA School of Law and Distinguished Professor of Jewish theology at the American Jewish University in California,author and a bio-ethicist.
Jewish ethics is the ethics of the Jewish religion or the Jewish people. A type of normative ethics,Jewish ethics may involve issues in Jewish law as well as non-legal issues,and may involve the convergence of Judaism and the Western philosophical tradition of ethics.
Sherwin Theodore Wine,Hebrew name שמעוןבןצבי,Shimon ben Tzvi,was an American rabbi and a founding figure of Humanistic Judaism,a movement that emphasizes Jewish culture and history as sources of Jewish identity rather than belief in any gods. He was originally ordained as a Reform rabbi but later founded the Birmingham Temple,the first congregation of Humanistic Judaism,in 1963.
Immanuel Jakobovits,Baron Jakobovits was the Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth from 1967 to 1991. Prior to this,he had served as Chief Rabbi of Ireland and as rabbi of the Fifth Avenue Synagogue in New York City. In addition to his official duties he was regarded as an authority in medical ethics from a Jewish standpoint. He was knighted in 1981 and became the first Chief Rabbi to enter the House of Lords in 1988 as Baron Jakobovits.
William E. Kaufman is an American Conservative rabbi,philosopher,theologian and author. His 1991 book,The Case for God,was perhaps the first book written on Jewish process theology.
Paula Ackerman was thought to be the first woman to perform rabbinical functions in the United States,leading the Beth Israel congregation in Meridian,Mississippi from 1951 to 1953 and the Beth-El congregation in Pensacola,Florida briefly in the 1960s. She led the National Committee on Religious Schools for the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods.
Amy Eilberg is the first female rabbi ordained in Conservative Judaism. She was ordained in 1985 by the Jewish Theological Seminary of America,one of the academic centers and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism.
Reuven Pinchas Bulka was a Canadian rabbi,writer,broadcaster,and activist. He was the spiritual leader of Congregation Machzikei Hadas in Ottawa from 1967,first as Rabbi and then as Rabbi Emeritus,and served as co-president of the Canadian Jewish Congress from 2007 to 2009. Bulka's work with Kind Canada led to recognition the third week of February in each and every year as "Kindness Week" in Canada.
Rabbi Leo Jung was one of the major architects of American Orthodox Judaism. He was the indirect progenitor of the religious day school system common throughout North American Jewish communities,He was also a major fundraiser and activist for many Jewish causes worldwide,in the periods before,during and after the Holocaust.
Eugene B. Borowitz was an American leader and philosopher in Reform Judaism,known largely for his work on Jewish theology and Jewish ethics. He also edited a Jewish journal,Sh'ma,and taught at the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Congregation Beth Israel Ner Tamid is an egalitarian Conservative synagogue located at 6880 North Green Bay Road in Glendale,Wisconsin,a suburb north of Milwaukee.
Beth Israel Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located at 385 Pottstown Pike in Upper Uwchlan Township,Chester County,Pennsylvania. It was founded in Coatesville,Pennsylvania in 1904 as Kesher Israel by Eastern European immigrants,and formally chartered as "Beth Israel" in 1916. It constructed its first building in 1923,and expanded it after World War II.
Jacob B. Agus was a Polish-born American liberal Conservative rabbi and theologian who played a key role in the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly.
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso is the first woman to have been ordained a rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism. She was ordained by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in Philadelphia,on May 19,1974. She is also the author of many children's books on religious topics.
Thomas R. Cole is a writer,historian,filmmaker,and gerontologist. He is currently the McGovern Chair in Medical Humanities and Director of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. He is also a spiritual director at Congregation Beth Israel's Center for Healing,Hope,and the Human Spirit.
Joan Friedman became the first woman to serve as a rabbi in Canada in 1980,when she was appointed as an Assistant Rabbi at Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto. Her appointment was followed shortly after by that of Elyse Goldstein as Assistant Rabbi from 1983-1986;Goldstein has been called the first female rabbi in Canada,but that is incorrect.
Michael Aaron Robinson was an American Reform rabbi,civil rights activist,and human rights activist. He was known for his association with Martin Luther King Jr.,with whom he marched in Selma and on whose request he participated in a 1964 demonstration in St. Augustine,Florida,at which he was arrested and jailed together with 15 other Reform rabbis.
Baruch Frydman-Kohl is a Canadian-American who served as the Anne and Max Tanenbaum Senior Rabbi of Beth Tzedec Congregation,the largest Conservative synagogue community in North America,from 1993-2019. He is now Rabbi Emeritus. In 2022,he was appointed as a Member of the Order of Canada.
