worth noting that despite the common construction of Jewish observance/traditionalism as Orthodox > Conservative > Reform > Reconstructionist, Reconstructionist Judaism actually arose out of Conservative Judaism.
This stuff doesn't actually map neatly to who's most "observant".
This stuff doesn't actually map neatly to who's most "observant".
I've heard variations on this joke in multiple Jewish circles now:
A Jew accidentally eats some pork.
So he goes to a series of rabbis and says, "I accidentally ate some pork--what's the halacha on this? Is God angry with me?"
A Jew accidentally eats some pork.
So he goes to a series of rabbis and says, "I accidentally ate some pork--what's the halacha on this? Is God angry with me?"
The Orthodox rabbi says: What's "pork"?
The Conservative rabbi says: What's "accidentally"?
The Reform rabbi says: What's "halacha"?
The Reconstructionist rabbi says: What's "God"?
that's prob a good encapsulation of how the "big four" Jewish movements think abt each other, but.
The Conservative rabbi says: What's "accidentally"?
The Reform rabbi says: What's "halacha"?
The Reconstructionist rabbi says: What's "God"?
that's prob a good encapsulation of how the "big four" Jewish movements think abt each other, but.
The Reform Movement was an attempt to update Judaism to be in line with European Enlightenment values.
And part of that was attempting to get rid of a lot of Jewish practice that was "outdated" or, basically, too "ethnic" seeming.
And part of that was attempting to get rid of a lot of Jewish practice that was "outdated" or, basically, too "ethnic" seeming.
They declared that only the "ethical" laws in Judaism still held, tried to make their services resemble those of Protestantism (even holding services on Sunday), got rid of most of the Hebrew in services, etc.
myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-th…
myjewishlearning.com/article/ask-th…
So, Reconstructionist Judaism actually holds that a Jew's default position should be to incorporate Jewish law and tradition into their life, unless they have a specific reason NOT to do so.
The focus is on Judaism as a civilization--not seeing halakha as divinely required, but also not seeing it as valueless or something to be discarded.
So on one hand, of the "big four" (Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionst), Reconstructionist Judaism is the least "religious," given that its founder, Mordecai Kaplan, defines "God" as not personal, not a conscious being, & not something that communicates w humans
Kaplan defined God as "the Power in the cosmos that gives human life the direction that enables the human being to reflect the image of God."
Most Reconstructionist Jews aren't traditional theists.
Most Reconstructionist Jews aren't traditional theists.
So, theologically, sure, Reconstructionist Judaism is the least "religious" of the four major branches of American Judaism.
On the other hand, Judaism isn't defined by belief, or even theology. It's not a religion--it's a civilization with a distinctive religion.
On the other hand, Judaism isn't defined by belief, or even theology. It's not a religion--it's a civilization with a distinctive religion.
So if the question is *observance*--how much Jewish practice do you incorporate into your daily life, how much Jewish tradition do you adhere to--Reconstructionist Judaism is probably *more* observant/traditional than Reform Judaism.
Or, rather, than classical Reform Judaism, since the Reform movement actually largely walked back a lot of the classical rejection of Hebrew, Shabbat on Saturday, etc.
Reconstructionist Judaism is all yes to using Hebrew, to regular Torah study, to kippahs and tallits and blessings, and even to kashrut (but make it eco-kashrut), etc.
But not because God says so--because this is our civilization, because we're not just tossing out tradition.
But not because God says so--because this is our civilization, because we're not just tossing out tradition.
Because we *don't* think everything our ancestors cherished and personalized and *figured out* is useless just because we call "germs" what they called "demons," or because we don't believe God intervenes in human affairs.
And this, isn't, incidentally, to shit on the Reform Movement.
I love Reform Judaism (although I don't love a lot of things about classical Reform Judaism, I love what it is now).
I love Reform Judaism (although I don't love a lot of things about classical Reform Judaism, I love what it is now).
The point is that there isn't a single spectrum for Jewish engagement/observance that goes from Orthodox down to Reconstructionist/humanistic/etc.
