The Movement for Reform Judaism

Rabbi Jonathan Romain

Judaism has been evolving ever since it began. It is evident within the Pentateuch itself, while the Prophets added a radical edge to the Law of Moses. This was followed by a period when different strands co-existed, with Pharisees, Sadducees, Essenes and others all promoting different versions of Jewish life. The dominance of rabbinic interpretation after the first century led to a more monolithic form of Judaism, although it also engineered major changes in the beliefs, practices and development of the faith. New movements arose over the centuries, with some falling away, such as the Karaites, but others assimilating into mainstream Judaism and adding their influence to it, such as Hasidism. It means Reform Judaism is part of the long tradition of change within Judaism.

Reform Judaism began in Germany, where the need for religious change had been heightened by the sudden emergence of the Jewish community into society at large after years of isolation. Jews had been cut off from wider social and intellectual life both by the confines of the ghetto and by numerous discriminatory laws preventing them from playing a meaningful role in European life. The collapse of the ghetto following the upheavals of the Napoleonic Wars brought a rush of new knowledge and opportunities. Whilst some Jews reacted by hiding themselves away from this new world, others by converting to Christianity, and others by abandoning all faith, a large number sought to harmonise tradition and modernity through Reform Judaism. The first synagogue was established in 1810 in Seesen.

British Jewry, by contrast, had experienced no such social and cultural isolation and Reform Judaism in Britain started for entirely different reasons. The trigger was the desire of a number of Jews who belonged largely to the Spanish and Portuguese Congregation of Bevis Marks in the City of London, but resided some distance away in the West End of London and requested permission to hold prayers in a branch synagogue more locally. However, the Bevis Marks authorities objected - fearing the loss of wealthy members, which would cause financial difficulties for the main synagogue. The result was that a group of twenty-four families decided to act independently and establish
what became known as the West London Synagogue of British Jews. It was only at this point that they also decided to take advantage of their new freedom to exercise changes in religious matters also. They therefore introduced a few minor liturgical reforms and some calendrical alterations, such as omitting the extra days of festivals not prescribed in the Bible which had been added in later times. The first minister was David Woolf Marks. After this initial burst of activity, the next hundred years of Reform in Britian were relatively uneventful. Although West London grew in size, it did not make strenuous efforts to attract new members, nor to establish branch synagogues. The birth of the second
Reform synagogue - in Manchester in 1856 - was almost completely independent of West London, and, like its genesis, was brought about by local factors.

The seeds of the subsequent growth of Reform did not occur until the 1930s, thanks to the immigration of refugees from Germany and elsewhere on the Continent, many of whom were Reform, and either swelled existing Reform congregations or led to the birth of new ones. Even more important was the arrival of a large number of Reform rabbis who were able to serve the new communities and provide a level of religious leadership to which the Reform movement could not otherwise have aspired. Prior to that point, the handful of Reform synagogues had been led by Reform rabbis trained in the United States, or by English ministers who had trained at the Orthodox seminary, Jews College, but later switched to the Reform.

Each of the Reform synagogues was independent and there was no formal contact between them until 1942. Here, too, it was practical problems rather than matters of principle that resulted in the formation of a national movement. In this instance, it arose over concerns surrounding the religious education of children who had been evacuated to non-Jewish areas during the Second World War. The committee charged with over-seeing arrangements for them was controlled by the Chief Rabbi who refused to make any separate provision for the
education of Reform children, even though Reform teachers were available. Meeting on 4th January 1942, the six existing Reform congregations formed the Associated British Synagogues (A.B.S) to cater for the childrens' needs (1). The benefits of joint action quickly became obvious, and the A.B.S. began to tackle a wide range of other topics, from nurturing new communities to establishing a Beth Din to deal with status issues. In 1946 the organization changed its name to the Association of Synagogues in Great Britain (A.S.G.B.), reflecting a greater consciousness of being a national movement with a common purpose. As the constituent synagogues grew in number, size and confidence, there were calls for the name to be changed yet again to reflect their Reform character. Supporters of the proposals argued that A.S.G.B. was too anodyne a title and that the movement should be proud to show its true colours. Opponents claimed that to describe themselves as Reform would be an admission that they did not represent the main thrust of Judaism and would be condemning themselves to sectarianism. The debate over 'adjectival Judaism' was settled in 1958 when the movement became formally known as the Reform Synagogues of Great Britain (R.S.G.B.), by which time it had increased to sixteen congregations.

The continuous growth of the movement led to the need for the professionalization of its structure - until then conducted purely by voluntary leaders - both to support individual congregations and to develop central resources. In 1966 Raymond Goldman was appointed the General Secretary of the movement and heralded the successive arrival of other posts, including a Youth Development Officer and the Convener of the Beth Din. Another landmark came in 1980 when the R.S.G.B. moved out of the two rooms that it had been renting at West London Synagogue and established its own premises, first in Swiss Cottage and then in the spacious grounds of the Manor House in Finchley, the Sternberg Centre, making it the largest Jewish community centre in Europe. The dramatic physical expansion of the Reform headquarters reflected its growth nationally, by then consisting of thirty communities stretching from Southend to Glasgow.

Developments during this period included the establishment of various national organizations to serve the membership - including a youth movement and association of guilds - as well as major revisions of the Prayer Book, foundation of a rabbinic seminary, Leo Baeck College, and the admission of women into the rabbinate. In 1981, the first Reform Jewish Day School was founded, Akiva, an unthinkable development for earlier generations, by whom it would have been regarded as separatist, but which marked a new stage in Reform's approach to Jewish education and lifestyle. Relations with the Orthodox became increasingly hostile from the 1960s onwards, largely in response to the growth of Reform, which previously had been dismissed as an irrelevance but which was now seen as a threat. However, the 'Stanmore Accords' of 1998 brought agreement among all the major sections of British Jewry not to engage in public villification of each other and to work together in areas of common interest. Generally cordial relations exist between Reform and the Liberals, the smaller, more radical movement established in 1902. Since then, the two have grown closer in approach and practice, and in the 1980s there were serious discussions over a merger, although this did not materialise. Today they share several insitutions, including the Leo Baeck College-Centre for Jewish Education. The appointment of a rabbi - Tony Bayfield - as Chief Executive, the Reform movement's professional head, in 1994 not only reflected his personal abilities but was also a signal of its commitment make religious values and Jewish learning its core mission.

In 1840 West London was considered an interesting anomaly by some and a dangerous heresy by others. Today Reform is considered a respected part of the mainstream community, has a national presence and is the second largest movement in British Jewry. In the intervening years, it has experienced continuous growth, both in the number of synagogues and range of activities. It is especially prominent in the field of youth work and Jewish education, but also well-known for its egalitarian stance in worship and in the rabbinate, as well as a leading light in social action and inter-faith dialogue. It also has a reputation for pioneering new approaches in difficult issues affecting modern Jewish life, such as mixed-faith marriage and gay rights. The motto that used to appear on its letterhead for many years - 'rooted in tradition, responding to change' - is an apt summary of the way in which it has developed and the means by which it has achieved its place in modern Jewry (2)

(1) They were Bradford, Glasgow, Manchester, North Western, The Settlement, and West London. Edgware had been founded in 1935, but temporarily disbanded during the war.

(2) For further details see : Anne Kershen & Jonathan Romain, 'Tradition and Change : A History of Reform Judaism in Britain 1840-1995' , Vallentine
Mitchell 1995