Reform Judaism

Reform Judaism is a modern Jewish religious movement that reinterprets tradition and adapts religious practice to changing social conditions. It emphasizes individual conscience and evolving understandings of Jewish law.

Halakha: Halakha is the collective body of Jewish law derived from scripture, rabbinic interpretation, and established custom. Reform Judaism reconsiders halakha’s authority and application rather than treating it as uniformly binding.
Jewish Enlightenment: The Haskalah was an eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Jewish intellectual movement advocating secular learning and integration into European society. Its ideals helped create conditions for religious reform and modern Jewish self-understanding.
Orthodox Judaism: Orthodox Judaism is a Jewish religious movement that regards halakha as binding and maintains traditional interpretations of Jewish law. Its approach to halakhic obligation contrasts with Reform Judaism’s emphasis on individual interpretation and adaptation.
Union for Reform Judaism: The Union for Reform Judaism is the North American congregational organization of the Reform movement. It supports congregations and programs that put Reform Judaism into communal practice.
Jewish emancipation: Jewish emancipation was the gradual extension of civil rights to Jews in European states, especially from the late eighteenth century onward. New civic opportunities and pressures helped prompt Jewish communities to reconsider religious practice and public identity.
Torah: The Torah is the foundational Jewish scripture comprising the Five Books of Moses and, in broader usage, Jewish teaching. Reform Judaism treats Torah as sacred while interpreting it through historical and ethical inquiry.
Israel Jacobson: Israel Jacobson was a German Jewish educator and philanthropist who established an early modernized Jewish worship service. His reforms in Seesen included German-language prayer and practices that anticipated Reform Judaism.
Conservative Judaism: Conservative Judaism is a modern Jewish movement that seeks to preserve Jewish law while permitting historically informed change. It occupies a distinct position between Reform autonomy and Orthodox approaches to binding law.
Central Conference of American Rabbis: The Central Conference of American Rabbis is the professional association of Reform rabbis in North America. Its responsa and policy statements address how Reform principles apply to contemporary questions.
Jewish feminism: Jewish feminism applies feminist analysis to Jewish texts, institutions, ritual, and communal life. Reform Judaism’s openness to revising practice provided settings for expanding women’s roles and ritual participation.

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