Reform Judaism

A temple of the Union for Reform Judaism, America's largest Jewish movement (about 37% of American Jews, in some 830 congregations), which holds Jewish law to be a guide for informed personal choice rather than binding. Men and women sit together and lead together; women have been ordained since 1972, and the movement officiates at same-sex weddings and counts as Jewish the child of either Jewish parent raised as a Jew (1983). Shabbat has two peaks: a Friday evening service at a set hour, often the week's best attended, with music on organ, piano, or guitar and an oneg after, and a Saturday morning service of Torah and haftarah, many weeks led by a bar or bat mitzvah before the family's guests. The game holds Saturday as the main service, since it keeps Shabbat by it. Few temples hold a weekday minyan, and many say Kaddish without counting ten. Festivals are kept one day, not two. Families join and pay dues, more and more often a 'fair share' or voluntary commitment rather than a fixed rate; nothing is collected at services, non-members buy seats for the High Holy Days, and the religious school, on Sunday mornings, is the engine of membership. The kitchen is usually 'kosher-style': no pork or shellfish in the building. Practice varies from temple to temple: some keep two days of Rosh Hashanah, a kosher kitchen, or a weekly minyan. Its rabbis are ordained by Hebrew Union College and placed through the movement's placement commission.

All 80 traditions · its profile in Faiths and traditions, with how to play it and what sets its faith apart; How people feel, what every factor is.

At a glance

Faith	Judaism
Its words	temple, temple, sanctuary; the rabbi leads the service; the sermon; Shabbat; the Torah
Worship	torah focus, responsive, moderate formality (0.67 of 1); seated on pews
Music	gospel organ discouraged; brass discouraged; handbells discouraged; song leader expected
The room's sound	no strong preference
Its year	hebrew one day; full observance; fasts light
Leans	liberal on moral questions, liberal on economic ones
Polity	congregational; leaders come by call; property local
Leaders	one leader, full time, trained by seminary; marriage any
Belonging	low commitment, none discipline, admitted by board
Giving	tithing not emphasised; collected by dues, online, mailed; also holy day seats, rentals
Way of life	alcohol permitted, dress casual, sabbath observed, meat clean, burial prompt

The week's services

Day	Time	Service	Led by	People look for it
Friday	6:30 pm	Erev Shabbat service	the rabbi	expected
Saturday	10:30 am	Shabbat morning service	the rabbi	expected

Leader: a rabbi. With none (a vacancy, or no one hired), the temple holds a Lay-led Shabbat service in place of its own, led by the laity, which costs everyone at it 0.04; on sabbatical a supply rabbi stands in ($800 a month).
B'nai mitzvah needs a Torah scroll: without it the rite is missed, and its regulars mind.
Simchat Torah hakafot (one day) needs a Torah scroll: without it the rite is missed, and its regulars mind.
Lay helpers at each service: Optional: a Torah reader.
Day of rest: Shabbat (Saturday), kept from candle-lighting (18 minutes before sunset) the evening before to nightfall. Weddings are held on Sunday instead, and a main service on Sunday costs everyone at it 0.12.
Burial: prompt: the funeral is the next day, or the first after it that isn't Shabbat or a holy day kept free of weddings and funerals.
Its table: clean, without pork or shellfish: meals cost 1.05× as much.

Rites

B'nai mitzvah (monthly, +0.03 to those there): At thirteen, after years of religious school and a year of tutoring, a girl or a boy (or a child who is neither) is called to the Torah for the first time on a Shabbat morning: they chant from the scroll and the haftarah, lead part of the service, and give a d'var Torah, and the family hosts the kiddush. Their guests fill the sanctuary.
Brit milah and baby naming (per birth, +0.025 to those there): A son is circumcised by a mohel on his eighth day, even on Shabbat, and given his Hebrew name, at home, in the hospital, or in the temple after the morning service, with a festive meal. A daughter is named at the Torah, when her parent is called up, or at a ceremony of welcome. The congregation answers with mazel tov.
Simchat Torah hakafot (one day) (yearly, +0.03 to those there): Where Shemini Atzeret and Simchat Torah are kept as one day, as in Israel and most Reform and Reconstructionist synagogues, the hakafot come a day sooner: on the evening that day begins, every Torah scroll is taken from the ark and carried around the bimah seven times, the hakafot, with singing and dancing that spills out of the doors; children wave flags and are given sweets. Next morning the last verses of Deuteronomy are read, and the first of Genesis.
Consecration (yearly, +0.025 to those there): On Simchat Torah, the children starting religious school are called up to the bimah under a tallit held over them, given a small Torah scroll to keep, and blessed as they begin their Jewish learning.
Confirmation (yearly, +0.025 to those there): On Shavuot, the festival of the giving of the Torah, teenagers who stayed in religious school after their b'nai mitzvah, usually in tenth grade, lead the service and affirm their commitment to Jewish life and learning. Reform Judaism began it in the nineteenth century, and keeps it beside the b'nai mitzvah.
Yahrzeit (weekly, +0.005 to those there): Before the Mourner's Kaddish, the names of those whose yahrzeit, the anniversary of their death, falls in the coming week are read aloud, their lights on the memorial board are lit, and their families rise to say Kaddish together.
Yizkor (yearly, +0.02 to those there): The memorial prayers said on Yom Kippur, and on the last days of the pilgrim festivals: those who have lost a parent stay in the sanctuary to remember them by name, and pledge charity in their memory; by custom, those whose parents are living step outside.
Wedding under the chuppah (on request, +0.02 to those there): The couple stand under the chuppah, a canopy open on all sides, before the rabbi and two witnesses; the ketubah, the marriage contract, is read, a ring given, seven blessings sung over wine, and a glass broken underfoot to shouts of mazel tov. Never on Shabbat or a festival.
Shiva minyan (on request, +0.02 to those there): After a funeral, held within a day of the death, the mourners sit shiva at home for seven days: the congregation brings meals, and gathers in the house each evening (and in traditional communities each morning) for a minyan, so the mourners can say Kaddish.
Conversion (on request, +0.01 to those there, $360 from the household, asked for 0.004 times a year by a household, 60 minutes): Someone who chooses Judaism studies with a rabbi, often for a year, then comes before a beit din, a court of three; in the traditional movements (and many liberal ones) immerses in a mikveh, and a man is circumcised or gives a symbolic drop of blood. Then they take a Hebrew name, as a child of Abraham and Sarah. Each movement's conversions are its own: the Orthodox recognise only those of Orthodox courts.

Joining

Joining: a content regular is received as a member after about 6 weeks.
Joining age: 18.
Kinds of belonging: member households (votes, may hold office); received by its board.
What it means: being received is worth +0.1 to the person, +0.05 to family there, and +0.03 to everyone else at the service. It roots them: a rooted household drifts away only 0.6 times as often, and if it does fall away, it has a 25% chance of coming home at each of its great days (at most once a month) for ten years.

Giving, and what goes up

How its people give and what else comes in, as Money explains it for every faith.

How it's given: the contribution, by dues, giving online, and gifts by post. With no plate passed, visitors give nothing at the service. Gifts by post or in envelopes come in at the month's start. Those who give online give whether or not they come (8% more a month).
Tithing isn't emphasised: people give 10% less.
Dues: each November member households take up their dues, about 70% of what they could give (±15%), with the chance a pledge would be made (0.9 × engagement), and pay them monthly, nearly always; regulars who haven't joined pay none, so membership is most of the income.
Seats for the holy days: on a holy day drawing twice the usual crowd or more, each adult in a household that doesn't belong buys a seat, $150, in place of an offering.
Rites asked for: households book 1 rite at the prices it lists, from $360 to $360 (below), members half as often again as regulars; the fees go to the fees line, in place of a flat stipend.
Renting space: its congregations are known for it, so tenants pay 15% more.
Fundraisers: any it allows (below).
Owed above: URJ dues, 3% of what it takes in, to the Union for Reform Judaism; not kept, it costs the wider body's regard.

The rabbi, the staff, and who decides

How the rabbi comes: advertised and called: the board of trustees votes, from the wider body's list.
Paid: full time.
Candidates: three apply; trained at seminary; women among them (about a third); most married.
Tenure: settled for about 12 years, then may be called elsewhere; an interim serves through the search.
Staff it can hire or name (see Staff and volunteers):
- Bivocational rabbi ($22,000–$38,000; cares for 75)
- Rabbi ($55,000–$85,000 + $18,000 benefits, full time; cares for 150)
- Associate rabbi ($42,000–$62,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; cares for 100 more)
- Choir director / organist / pianist ($15,000–$35,000; leads the music (up to +0.06))
- Caretaker ($18,000–$30,000; slows the building's wear)
- Temple secretary ($20,000–$35,000; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once))
- Youth director ($20,000–$40,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Education director ($30,000–$55,000; up to +0.08 for households with young people)
- Cantor ($48,000–$88,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; leads worship; leads the music (up to +0.06); cares for 50 more)
- Executive director ($55,000–$95,000 + $15,000 benefits, full time; runs the office (+50 to the leader's reach, once); cares for 30 more)
Its boards: the board of trustees (deciding, over everything); the ritual committee (advising, over calls and the spiritual life).
Renovations: The members vote.
New construction: The members vote.
Calling a leader: The board of trustees votes.
Who votes: member households, 16 and over.

Life together

What its Community screen offers it, with the dilemmas only its own faith or family meets; see The congregation in its community.

Ministries of its own: Bikur cholim, Chevra kadisha, Men's club, Sisterhood, Torah study, Youth chapter.
Ministries every tradition can run that it's offered: Blood drive, Food pantry, Health clinic, Preschool, Youth group.
Fundraisers of its own: Gala and tribute journal, Kol Nidre appeal, Latke dinner and Hanukkah bazaar, Purim carnival.
Shared fundraisers it may hold: Auction, Bake sale, Bingo night, Car wash, Casino night, Raffle, Rummage sale, Temple festival.
Tenants it can take: A Masonic lodge, A scout troop, A twelve-step group, Dance classes, Parties and receptions, Polling place and forums, Wedding receptions.
Outreach: invitation Shabbat (Community → Evangelism).
Places beyond the congregation: the URJ summer camp.
Dilemmas of its own faith (besides those every congregation meets): A camera for the homebound, A family who can't pay their dues, A parent on the bimah, Keeping the doors safe, Seats for the High Holy Days.
Dilemmas its code of life brings: A candidates' forum, A recruiter asks for the hall.

What the building needs

required Ark (aron kodesh)The Torah scrolls are kept in the ark on the front wall, and the congregation faces it in prayer.
required BimahThe Torah is read aloud from the bimah, the reading desk.
required Torah scrollThe bar or bat mitzvah reads from the congregation's own Torah scroll. The congregation dances with its Torah scrolls. A congregation reads from its own Torah scroll, written by hand on parchment.
expected Ner tamidThe eternal light hangs before the ark, as the lamp burned before the Temple's sanctuary.
expected Yahrzeit boardThe names of the congregation's dead are kept on the memorial board, and lit on their yahrzeit.
expected social hallAfter Shabbat morning services everyone stays for the kiddush, and the families' celebrations, the b'nai mitzvah and the weddings, are held in the social hall.
expected the sanctuary facing eastSynagogues face Jerusalem: in America, east, with the ark on the eastern wall.
discouraged Hammond organA gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.

What people here feel

Architectural style: Colonial brick +0.028; Modern synagogue +0.046; Gurdwara +0.052; Japanese temple +0.056; Islamic +0.05; Shinto shrine +0.05; Chinese temple +0.044; Dravidian temple +0.038; Nagara temple +0.038; Thai temple +0.038; Jain marble +0.032; Gothic +0.026.
Building fit: up to ±0.15 for everyone, the average fit of the characterful items in its worship rooms (the table below).
Acoustics: it wants a room between ringing and dry, about 2.2 seconds of reverberation: neither bare stone nor a carpeted low room. Up to ±0.05.
Seasonal decor: in their seasons, the hanukkah menorah and sukkah are worth up to ±0.027 (missing them, the minus); out of season, nothing is called for.
Orientation: facing the way it wants is +0.04, and not, −0.04.
Shabbat: it worships on Saturday; a main service on Sunday costs everyone at it 0.12.
Solar panels: leaning liberal, it's glad of them (+0.02 at every service).
The sermon lands by its topic and the tradition's leaning (below); the rabbi's preaching adds or costs up to 0.08 more.

How each sermon lands

The topics its leader can choose from (some are only for one faith or family), and what each is worth.

Racial Justice & Reconciliation+0.06
Radical Inclusion+0.06
Social Justice Call+0.06
Care for Creation+0.04
Healing for All+0.04
Interfaith Understanding+0.04
Reading Scripture in Context+0.04
Swords into Ploughshares+0.04
The Prophets' Call+0.04
Tikkun Olam+0.04
Welcome the Stranger+0.04
You Were Strangers+0.04
A Palace in Time+0.015
Gratitude+0.015
Hope & Comfort+0.015
Israel and the Jewish People+0.015
L'dor Vador+0.015
Sabbath Rest+0.015
Songs of the Psalms+0.015
Stewardship & Generosity+0.015
Teshuvah+0.015
The Life of Prayer+0.015
The Week's Parashah+0.015
Tzedakah+0.015
Zachor: Remember+0.015
Faith & Family-0.05
Faith of Our Fathers-0.05
Obedience & Discipline-0.05
Personal Holiness-0.05
Resisting Temptation-0.05
The Yoke of the Commandments-0.05
Sanctity of Life-0.075

Every item, for this tradition

Fit runs from −1 (jars) to +1 (just right); the building fit is the average over the characterful items in the worship rooms. An item with no character (a table, a toilet) has no fit. A rule applies wherever the item is.

Item	Fit	Rule
Seating
Box pew	+0.333
Meeting bench	no fit
Oak pew	no fit
Row of chairs	0
Liturgical furniture
Ark (aron kodesh)	+0.5	required The Torah scrolls are kept in the ark on the front wall, and the congregation faces it in prayer.
Bimah	+0.5	required The Torah is read aloud from the bimah, the reading desk.
Columbarium niches	+0.333
Kiddush cup	no fit
Lectern	no fit
Pulpit	no fit
Torah scroll	no fit	required The bar or bat mitzvah reads from the congregation's own Torah scroll.
Music
Drum kit	0
Electronic organ	0
Grand piano	0
Hammond organ	-1	discouraged A gospel organ doesn't suit this tradition's worship.
Handbell table	-1
Pipe organ	+0.167
Sound system	0
Upright piano	0
Decor
Banner	0
Eternal flame	no fit
Great dome	+0.333
Hanukkah menorah	0
Memorial plaque	no fit
Menorah	0
National flag	0
Ner tamid	+0.5	expected The eternal light hangs before the ark, as the lamp burned before the Temple's sanctuary.
Small dome	no fit
Stained glass window	+0.333
Yahrzeit board	+0.5	expected The names of the congregation's dead are kept on the memorial board, and lit on their yahrzeit.
Furnishings
Alms box	no fit
Coffee pot	no fit
Commercial coffee pot	no fit
Computer	no fit
Crib	no fit
Desk	no fit
Desk chair	no fit
Folding table	no fit
Full-length mirror	no fit
Mechitza	0
Pillar	+0.333
Projection screen	0
Tallit rack	0
Vestment cabinet	+0.333
Wooden table	no fit
Utility
A/V rack	no fit
Camera	no fit
Cast-iron boiler	no fit
Central air conditioner	no fit
Commercial HVAC plant	no fit
Commercial stove	no fit
Congregation van	no fit
Ductless heat pump	no fit
Electric wall heater	no fit
Gas furnace	no fit
Hearing loop	no fit
Lift	no fit
Mikveh pool	0
Packaged heat pump	no fit
Plumbing stack	no fit
Ramp	no fit
Shuttle bus	no fit
Sink	no fit
Solar panels	no fit
Stairs	no fit
Toilet	no fit
Used school bus	no fit
Wall camera	no fit
Window air conditioner	no fit
Grounds
Evergreen tree	no fit
Flower bed	no fit
Fountain	no fit
Garden bench	no fit
Hedge	no fit
Playground	no fit
Shade tree	no fit
Sukkah	0

Sources

Union for Reform Judaism (Wikipedia) (link)
Jewish Americans in 2020 (Pew Research Center) (link)
Do Reform Jews celebrate one or two days of Rosh HaShanah? (ReformJudaism.org) (link)
The Birth of the Synagogue Movement: Reform Worship Through the Years (ReformJudaism.org) (link)
Revisioning Reform Shabbat Observance (URJ resolution, 2007) (link)
Friday Night Services at Synagogue: An Explainer (Exploring Judaism) (link)
Patrilineal descent (CCAR) (link)
Sally Priesand (Jewish Women's Archive) (link)
Same Gender Officiation (CCAR resolution, March 2000) (link)
Leader urges Reform Jews to adopt ethical diets (J. Weekly, 2009) (link)
Alternatives to the Alternative: Voluntary Dues (eJewishPhilanthropy) (link)
Placement documents (CCAR) (link)
Jewish Holidays 5787 (Hebcal) (link)