Modern Statement
of Principles
(1999)
Adopted
at the 1999 Pittsburgh Convention
Central
Conference of American Rabbis
(May
1999 - Sivan 5759)
Preamble
On three occasions during the last century and a half,
the Reform rabbinate has adopted comprehensive statements to help
guide the thought and practice of our movement. In 1885, fifteen rabbis
issued the Pittsburgh Platform, a set of guidelines that defined Reform
Judaism for the next fifty years. A revised statement of principles, the Columbus Platform, was adopted by the Central Conference of American Rabbis
in 1937. A third set of rabbinic guidelines, the
Centenary Perspective,
appeared in 1976 on the occasion of the centenary of the Union of American
Hebrew Congregations and the Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion.
Today, when so many individuals are striving for religious meaning, moral
purpose and a sense of community, we believe it is our obligation as rabbis
once again to state a set of principles that define Reform Judaism in our
own time.
Throughout our history, we Jews have remained firmly rooted
in Jewish tradition, even as we have learned much from our encounters with
other cultures. The great contribution of Reform Judaism is that it has
enabled the Jewish people to introduce innovation while preserving tradition,
to embrace diversity while asserting commonality, to affirm beliefs without
rejecting those who doubt, and to bring faith to sacred texts without sacrificing
critical scholarship.
This "Statement of Principles" affirms the central tenets
of Judaism - God, Torah and Israel - even as it acknowledges the diversity
of Reform Jewish beliefs and practices. It also invites all Reform Jews
to engage in a dialogue with the sources of our tradition, responding out
of our knowledge, our experience and our faith. Thus we hope to transform
our lives through  (kedushah), holiness.
God
We affirm the reality and oneness of God, even as we may
differ in our understanding of the Divine presence.
We affirm that the Jewish people is bound to God by an
eternal  (b'rit), covenant, as reflected in our varied understandings
of Creation, Revelation and Redemption.
We affirm that every human being is created  (b'tzelem Elohim), in the image of God, and that therefore every human life is
sacred.
We regard with reverence all of God's creation and recognize
our human responsibility for its preservation and protection.
We encounter God's presence in moments of awe and wonder,
in acts of justice and compassion, in loving relationships and in the experiences
of everyday life.
We respond to God daily: through public and private prayer,
through study and through the performance of other  (mitzvot), sacred
obligations --  (bein adam la Makom), to God, and  (bein adam la-chaveiro), to other human beings.
We strive for a faith that fortifies us through the vicissitudes
of our lives -- illness and healing, transgression and repentance, bereavement
and consolation, despair and hope.
We continue to have faith that, in spite of the unspeakable
evils committed against our people and the sufferings endured by others,
the partnership of God and humanity will ultimately prevail.
We trust in our tradition's promise that, although God
created us as finite beings, the spirit within us is eternal.
In all these ways and more,
God gives meaning
and purpose to our lives.
Torah
We affirm that Torah is the foundation of Jewish life.
We cherish the truths revealed in Torah, God's ongoing
revelation to our people and the record of our people's ongoing relationship
with God.
We affirm that Torah is a manifestation of  (ahavat olam), God's eternal love for the Jewish people and for all humanity.
We affirm the importance of studying Hebrew, the language
of Torah and Jewish liturgy, that we may draw closer to our people's sacred
texts.
We are called by Torah to lifelong study in the home,
in the synagogue and in every place where Jews gather to learn and teach.
Through Torah study we are called to (mitzvot), the means by which
we make our lives holy.
We are committed to the ongoing study of the whole array
of
(mitzvot) and to the fulfillment of those that address us as individuals
and as a community. Some of these (mitzvot), sacred obligations, have
long been observed by Reform Jews; others, both ancient and modern, demand
renewed attention as the result of the unique context of our own times.
We bring Torah into the world when we seek to sanctify
the times and places of our lives through regular home and congregational
observance. Shabbat calls us to bring the highest moral values to our daily
labor and to culminate the workweek with (kedushah), holiness,  (menuchah), rest and  (oneg), joy. The High Holy Days call us to account for our
deeds. The Festivals enable us to celebrate with joy our people's religious
journey in the context of the changing seasons. The days of remembrance
remind us of the tragedies and the triumphs that have shaped our people's
historical experience both in ancient and modern times. And we mark the
milestones of our personal journeys with traditional and creative rites
that reveal the holiness in each stage of life.
We bring Torah into the world when we strive to fulfill
the highest ethical mandates in our relationships with others and with
all of God's creation. Partners with God in  ( tikkun olam), repairing
the world, we are called to help bring nearer the messianic age. We seek
dialogue and joint action with people of other faiths in the hope that
together we can bring peace, freedom and justice to our world. We are obligated
to pursue  (tzedek), justice and righteousness, and to narrow the gap
between the affluent and the poor, to act against discrimination and oppression,
to pursue peace, to welcome the stranger, to protect the earth's biodiversity
and natural resources, and to redeem those in physical, economic and spiritual
bondage. In so doing, we reaffirm social action and social justice as a
central prophetic focus of traditional Reform Jewish belief and practice.
We affirm the  (mitzvah) of  (tzedakah), setting aside portions
of our earnings and our time to provide for those in need. These acts bring
us closer to fulfilling the prophetic call to translate the words of Torah
into the works of our hands.
In all these ways and more,
Torah gives meaning
and purpose to our lives.
Israel
We are Israel, a people aspiring to holiness, singled out
through our ancient covenant and our unique history among the nations to
be witnesses to God's presence. We are linked by that covenant and that
history to all Jews in every age and place.
We are committed to the (mitzvah) of  (ahavat Yisrael), love for the Jewish people, and to  (k'lal Yisrael), the entirety of
the community of Israel. Recognizing that  (kol Yisrael arevim zeh ba-zeh), all Jews are responsible for one another, we reach out to all Jews across
ideological and geographical boundaries.
We embrace religious and cultural pluralism as an expression
of the vitality of Jewish communal life in Israel and the Diaspora.
We pledge to fulfill Reform Judaism's historic commitment
to the complete equality of women and men in Jewish life.
We are an inclusive community, opening doors to Jewish
life to people of all ages, to varied kinds of families, to all regardless
of their sexual orientation, to  (gerim), those who have converted
to Judaism, and to all individuals and families, including the intermarried,
who strive to create a Jewish home.
We believe that we must not only open doors for those
ready to enter our faith, but also to actively encourage those who are
seeking a spiritual home to find it in Judaism.
We are committed to strengthening the people Israel by
supporting individuals and families in the creation of homes rich in Jewish
learning and observance.
We are committed to strengthening the people Israel by
making the synagogue central to Jewish communal life, so that it may elevate
the spiritual, intellectual and cultural quality of our lives.
We are committed to  (Medinat Yisrael), the State
of Israel, and rejoice in its accomplishments. We affirm the unique qualities
of living in  (Eretz Yisrael), the land of Israel, and encourage  (aliyah), immigration to Israel.
We are committed to a vision of the State of Israel that
promotes full civil, human and religious rights for all its inhabitants
and that strives for a lasting peace between Israel and its neighbors.
We are committed to promoting and strengthening Progressive
Judaism in Israel, which will enrich the spiritual life of the Jewish state
and its people.
We affirm that both Israeli and Diaspora Jewry should
remain vibrant and interdependent communities. As we urge Jews who reside
outside Israel to learn Hebrew as a living language and to make periodic
visits to Israel in order to study and to deepen their relationship to
the Land and its people, so do we affirm that Israeli Jews have much to
learn from the religious life of Diaspora Jewish communities.
We are committed to furthering Progressive Judaism throughout
the world as a meaningful religious way of life for the Jewish people.
In all these ways and more,
Israel gives meaning
and purpose to our lives.
(Baruch she-amar ve-haya ha-olam). Praised be the One through whose word all things came to be.
May our words find expression in holy actions.
May they raise us up to a life of meaning devoted to God's service
And to the redemption of our world.
Sources: Central Conference of Ameican Rabbis |