Reformed Judaism in America: The History and Present

Reformed Judaism is a modern branch of Judaism that began in the 19^th century.  It developed in Europe when the Jews were emancipated from the ghettos and desired to become part of mainstream society.  When reformed Judaism came to America, Isaac Mayer Wise became the leader of the reformed movement, pioneering many aspects of the religion.  In recent times, many reformed Jews are becoming less religious, but still fully embodying the cultural aspect of the religion.  My Mother, Pamela, parallels to this pattern. Pamela was raised in a household without religion, but was influenced so much by the lifestyle that reformed Judaism offers that she decided to practice the religion again. She also considers herself more of an ethnic Jew, rather then actually believing in the Jewish faith.  Pamela’s devotion to reformed Judaism and her embodiment of the Jewish ethnicity makes it apparent that the changes that were made to Judaism when they reformed made it more appealing to Jews trying to live in the modern world.

Reformed Judaism primarily dominates the Jewish population in the United States. This was not always true though.  Reformed Judaism emerged in America due to the immigration of the Ashkenazim, Jews of German origin.  In the eighteenth-century, an intellectual movement known as the Enlightenment gave the Jews civil rights in a few European countries, which resulted in the Jews being let out of the ghettos they were forced to live in. Since the Jewish people were allowed to live outside of their Jewish communities, some of them desired to immerse themselves in mainstream society and culture. Fitting in to society was difficult though with all the strict regulations that the Orthodox branch of Judaism requires, so many Jews began questioning if all of the rules were necessary. “The long, drawn-out chanting, the absence of a sermon, the Hebrew language, the prayer shawls that covered members of the congregation- all these seemed outmoded to a number of Jews.”¹ This led to the emergence of the Jewish Reform movement, which eliminated all the rabbinic traditions from the Talmud they deemed unnecessary in an attempt to make the religion more modern. When the Ashkenazim Jews came to America around 1820 they brought this new movement of reform.  Reformed Judaism became increasingly popular in America, but it was not until Isaac Mayer Wise arrived in America that the movement became prominent.²

When Wise arrived in 1846, he went straight to work.  He arrived in New York in July, and was appointed rabbi of the Congregation Beth-El of Albany in October. Wise was a rabbi there for four years, making drastic reforms in the religious service. He introduced choral singing, confirmation to replace Bar Mitzvah, and the seating of men and women together.³ These changes were too radical for his synagogue, which resulted in him being dismissed from his position.  After some time, Wise became a rabbi in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1854.  It was in Cincinnati where Wise began trying to create a national organization of reformed congregations and started emerging as the head of the reform movement. In 1873, Wise organized a meeting in Cincinnati where 34 reform congregations met and organized the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.  Some of Wise’s other accomplishments were creating a common prayer book (the Union Prayer Book) that is used in all reformed congregations, founding the Hebrew Union College to educate and train American rabbis, and establishing the Central Conference of American Rabbis.⁴ All of the things that Wise accomplished united reformed Judaism and made it uniform. Wise is a main reason reformed Judaism in America is the way it is today. Lately though, an increasing amount of reformed Jews are beginning to disassociate themselves with the religious aspect of Judaism, only identifying with the ethnic aspect of the religion.

Judaism is a rare case where it is classified both as a religion and an ethnicity.  The ethnic aspect of Judaism refers to the ties the Jews have with their ancestors.  The Jews have developed a culture from their persecution that is passed down from generation to generation.  In recent times, an increasing amount of American reformed Jews have been losing sight of the religious teaching of Judaism, but are still embracing their ethnic heritage.⁵ Seltzer and Cohen believe that this is part of a new phase in religion that is effecting other religions as well. In a majority of religions, the involvement of people in churches has increased, but their faith has decreased.⁶   Regardless of the cause, the reformed Jews in America are becoming less religious, but remaining close to their ethnic ties.

It is apparent that Pamela’s religious traditions reflect the general history of reformed Judaism.  Due to the Enlightenment in Europe, reformed Judaism sprang up in the 19^th century, appealing to Jews around the world. This led to Isaac Mayer Wise becoming a key player in the reform movement, shaping it into the religion it is today. Because of the reform and the changes that were made, the religion became more appealing for people who want to immerse themselves in society.  My Mom is a prime example of this.  If the religion did not reform, she could have been like her father who resented the Orthodox traditions.  Although she loves the reform traditions now, she still chooses to be more of an ethnic Jew, rather then a religious.

¹ Catherine Albanese, America Religions and Religion, (Boston, Massachusetts: Cengage Learning, 1999), 45.

²Albanese, 45.

³Sefton Temkin, Creating American Reformed Judaism, (Portland, Oregon: Littman Library of Jewish Civilization, 1998), 59.

⁴Sefton, 83.

⁵ Robert Seltzer, and Norman Cohen, The Americanization of the Jews, (New York, New York: New York University Press, 1995), 386.

⁶ Seltzer and Cohen, 388.