Progressive

Judaism
By Sarah Baqaie
 Origin of Progressive Judaism

The Progressive movement has also been known as

Reform or Liberal Judaism.
Reform Judaism started on July 17, 1810 in the town of
Seesen,
Germany by a man named Moses Mendelssohn.
The founder of the Reform temple was Mr. Israel Jacobson.
Reform Judaism spread through Europe and North
America.
Reform Judaism was created because Jews started
mingling with Europeans and were exposed to a modern
lifestyle.
 What is the traditional dress code?
For Progressive Jews there is no set dress code
The only dress code is for the Female Rabbis to wear a Kippah. A
Kippah is a brimless cap, made of cloth which is worn by Jews.
 What are their religious texts/ sources that
they use?
Reform Jews use 4 texts
Torah: The Sacred Texts of the Jewish faith
The Talmud: Talmud in Hebrew means study. The Talmud is the foundation of a
Jewish person.
The Mishnah: Part of the law of Jewish Literature and is the foundation of the
Talmud.
Pirkei Avot: Avot means father or ancestors. Most well known of all writings in
Rabbinic Judaism.
The Mishnah
The Tanach: Collection of Jewish texts. Composed mainly in Biblical
TheHebrew.
Tanach

The Talmud

Pirkei Avot
 What are their ideas/understanding of
Progressive Judaism
Progressive Judaism rejected beliefs in:
A personal Messiah
Resurrection of the dead
Return to the Holy Land
Rebuilding of the Temple in Jerusalem
The eventual reintroduction of Temple sacrifice
The Torah need to be interpreted so as to capture the spirit of the age
Ordination of women Rabbis
Equality of men and women as readers of the Torah
Who are significant people to them?
Traditions and rituals which are exclusive or
more commonly practiced by this division

Introduced by the Progressive movement:

Religious services in the local language of the community.
Both genders sitting together during worship
A lessening of the importance of traditional Jewish laws
Use of the organ and other liturgical features deriving from church
practices
The Bat Mitzvah an Confirmation ceremony
What percentage of Jewish members
are from this division?
Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews (about
38 percent) but has only a tiny percentage in Israel.
There are around 4 million Progressive Jews in the world.
 Important facts and information

Since the Holocaust, Progressive Judaism has been more supportive of

Zionism and has shown a greater interest in the revival of ritual
Most liberal branch of modern Judaism
To adapt into this modern society Reform Judaism has either changed
or abandoned many of the traditional Jewish religious observances.
Reform Judaism is also currently revising its prayer book so as to
adopt inclusive language and eradicate exclusively male imagery.
 References
http://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-origins-of-reform-judaism
http://
www.reformjudaism.org/history-reform-judaism-and-look-ahead-search
-belonging
http://www.reformjudaism.org/learning/sacred-texts
https://
berkleycenter.georgetown.edu/essays/demographics-of-judaism
http://www.patheos.com/Library/Reform-Judaism