Yoffie urges Reform links
JOE BERKOFSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
BARRY COHEN
Editor
Reform Jews cannot go it alone.
That was the message at the Reform movement's 67th biennial, held Nov. 5-9 in Minneapolis.
Despite numerically dominating the North American Jewish landscape, Reform Jews must reach out to other Reform Jews in Israel and Eastern Europe, and fight anti-Semitism by forging closer ties to Christians, said the movement's president, Rabbi Eric Yoffie.
"There is no such thing as Lone Ranger Judaism," said Yoffie at the convention of the newly named Union for Reform Judaism, delivering the keynote address to a Shabbat morning service of 4,500 delegates.
The address marked less of a philosophical change for Reform Judaism than Yoffie solidifying an agenda he has promoted since ascending to the top of the largest American stream of Judaism in 1996.
Since that time, Yoffie has spearheaded calls both to infuse the movement with more tradition and to invigorate ritual through participation.
In his biennial speech, Yoffie said the movement needs to invigorate its support for Reform congregations in Israel in addition to Reform Jewish communities in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
Yoffie urged members specifically to raise money to help build two new Reform synagogues in Modi'in and in Mevasseret Zion, both led by women rabbis, while also helping train Reform Jews in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to launch new communities.
He also urged the movement to support Israeli students at the Jerusalem branch of the movement's seminary, Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion, with two-year scholarships and two years of post-ordination salary.
To raise such funding, Yoffie asked each of the movement's 920 congregations to ask each member to donate $18 annually - "about the cost of two movie tickets."
Seeking inspiration for this work, Yoffie looked no further than the Orthodox Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, which has built outposts throughout the world.
"It is hard for me to say this, but I will say it nonetheless: We must follow the example of Chabad," says Yoffie. "I envy the selflessness of their young men and women who fan out across the world to serve Jewish communities in distress."
Yoffie also is calling on Reform Jews to rebuild the bridges they have forged with non-Jews as a path to fighting anti-Semitism and promoting Middle East peace.
While Reform Jews led interfaith efforts for decades, those ties have declined recently, and in "many communities, little survives beyond Thanksgiving services and model seders," he says.
Yoffie is urging synagogue leaders to invite neighboring churches to join in studying a seven-session course on biblical texts and the religious and political issues surrounding Israel.
Yoffie is also urging Reform Jews to look inward. He is calling on members to study Torah for 10 minutes daily, saying those who complete 100 hours of study using a "Ten Minutes of Torah" Web site will be honored at the group's 2005 biennial in Houston.
Locally, Reform synagogue leaders are affirming Yoffie's calls to action.
"I was absolutely overjoyed by Yoffie's strong statement about more involvement in Israel and the struggle for progressive Judaism," says Rabbi William Berk of Temple Chai in Phoenix. While he did not attend the biennial, he notes that he has been briefed by those who represented Temple Chai.
"We have unconsciously separated ourselves from Israel and the world Jewish community," says Rabbi Andrew Straus of Temple Emanuel of Tempe, who attended the biennial. Yoffie's words can expedite the process of recreating a strong connection between the Israeli and the American Jewish communities, he adds.
Yoffie's suggestion to donate $18 a year to Reform congregations in Israel is a good way to encourage wide support for progressive Judaism in the Jewish State, says Steve Weitzenkorn, president of Temple Kol Ami of Scottsdale, who attended the biennial.
"We need more than just a beachhead in Israel," he adds.
But Yoffie's suggestion to follow the example of Chabad drew guarded responses.
While Reform Jews should show the same enthusiasm for Judaism as Chabad, they need not emulate their theology, notes Rabbi Arthur Abrams of Temple Beth Shalom & Jewish Community Center of the Northwest Valley. But Abrams, who did not attend the biennial, also notes how Reform Jews can emulate Chabad's outreach efforts to the unaffiliated.
Weitzenkorn agrees.
Reform Judaism can look at how Chabad has successfully reached out to the community "to encourage those who have drifted away (to) reconnect them to Judaism," he says.
Straus says that the suggestion to send young Reform adults into the world as shelichim - much like Chabad - in the past has not been a viable option.
"We taught our kids as liberal Jews that the goal is to go to (Ivy League schools), make money and use the money to do good things," he explains. "We have not taught (them) to go out into the world, and that it's OK not to make lots of money."
Copying how Chabad send their youth to serve Diaspora communities requires funding, says Rabbi Lester Frazin of Temple Havurat Emet.
"We have no national organization to fund this (effort)," says Frazin, who did not attend this biennial. "If you want (Reform) volunteers, you have to defray their expenses.
Leaders expressed support for Yoffie's call for greater efforts to build interfaith connections but noted that they have already made significant inroads.
Temple Gan Elohim, which rents space from Dove of the Desert Methodist Church, has fostered ongoing interfaith relations, says Leslie Hafalia, religious school director.
In addition to a joint Thanksgiving worship service, clergy from Dove of the Desert not only have attended High Holiday worship but also participated, she notes.
Assistant Pastor Joan Miller read this year's Yom Kippur afternoon Haftorah portion, Jonah, says Hafalia.
"Joan felt compelled to fast," she notes, and joined the congregation for Yizkor as well as Ne'ilah worship.
Berk says success has already been achieved with the Chai-Paradise Project, an interfaith program between Temple Chai and Paradise Valley United Methodist Church.
Step one has been working together to learn about one another, says Berk. Step two will be to expand efforts to include Catholics or Muslims, he adds.
Local leaders were also supportive of Yoffie's call to study Torah every day through the "Ten Minutes of Torah" program.
"I definitely see implementing it on the board," says Hafalia. "The only way Jewish leaders can lead effectively is to understand who and what they are."
In general, Abrams is supportive of more Reform Jews studying their heritage and roots.
"It is unfortunate that a lot of Reform Jews ... do not know what Reform Judaism is all about," he says.
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