Recently my Tuesday afternoon "Ethics Exploration" class - adults committed to life-long learning and the value of being part of a Reform congregational community - engaged a new module published by the URJ. It's called Arba Kushiyot: Four Questions to Ponder about the Future of Reform Judaism. This project came out of the "Reform Jewish Think Tank", a joint effort of the URJ, CCAR, and HUC-JIR (and can be found at http://urj.org/learning/my/journeys/).
In four very well-scripted lessons, the participants address 1. What is the greatest contribution of Reform Judaism to Judaism? 2. Why are you a Reform Jew? 3. What is the greatest challenge of Reform Judaism? and 4. What will facilitate the growth of Reform Judaism? Accompanying each question/lesson is a brief video snippet showing responses to these items from a variety of people from across the movement, including congregational rabbis, academics, professional leaders (rabbinical, educational, cantorial), and lay personnel as well. The videos are absolutely fascinating and well-done; the only greater element of our use of these materials were the thoughtful, thought-provoking conversations that emerged within our group.
For us, a few key themes kept repeating themselves, no matter where we tried to steer our discussions. First, that the importance of Reform is that the (Jewish) world needs a place for the vibrant presence of progressive Jewish values to be active and thriving - such as our dedication to inclusion and inclusiveness, a broad and open-minded world-view, and upholding the common humanity of all people. Then we seemed to note the importance of an ongoing acceptance of change, evolution, and experimentation with Jewish practice, even as we hold onto the timeless aspects of our tradition. Finally, and overwhelmingly, our entire group expressed an understanding that Reform Judaism (and the entire human endeavor, for that matter) is about creating opportunities for enhancing our lives through meaningful relationships and connection...
I don't know who else has used this wonderful module so far, yet I'm DELIGHTED and PROUD that we did. Yasher koach (great job!) to its creators. May all of our communities be granted the strength and opening to ask, reflect, and respond in their own meaningful ways...
