Shabbat Mevorchim - Sh'Lach
I think that many readers would be as shocked as I was to read that the Reform movement in Australia has decided to "bless" same-sex partnerships.
Before proceeding, I would like to clarify two important points:
1) Chassidic Philosophy has taught me not to label Jews. There is no sense or meaning to the term Reform Jew, Conservative Jew, Orthodox Jew. A person is either Jewish or not, regardless of religious affiliation. If a person is born to a Jewish mother, or if the person is converted according to Halacha – he or she is Jewish. If not – he or she is not. It's really that simple.
Furthermore, a person who is born Jewish doesn't need to do anything extra to make themselves Jewish. You are Jewish whether or not you are circumcised, whether or not you have had a bar or bat mitzvah ceremony.
2) A mitzvah is a mitzvah, no matter who performs it. A Jewish male who attends Temple, but lays tephilin every day, is performing the mitzvah of tephilin no less than one who puts on tephilin in Synagogue. And a Jewish woman who affiliates with Reform, but who lights the Shabbat candles in the prescribed time, is fulfilling a mitzvah whereas one who attends shule, but who lights Shabbat candles after the prescribed time, is transgressing the mitzvah.
It is because of the above that I have been very gratified to read in recent years of the increasing level of observance among those with Reform affiliation. Whereas in its early years, and in certain parts of the world for much of its history, the Reform movement actively opposed many of the observances of Judaism – Brit Milah and Kashrut were viewed as barbaric or arcane customs – in recent times the movement has become increasing aware that Judaism without our ancient traditions is a sterile "religion" of little interest to anyone.
I viewed this increased interest in Mitzvot as a very significant development – and as a sign of greater things to come.
The latest move on the part of the Reform movement is however a huge step backwards. It is one thing to allow a mitzvah to lapse. It is quite another to call a serious transgression a mitzvah. It reminds me of the words of Isaiah who cried out, "Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that take darkness for light, and light for darkness; that take bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!"
I am sure that in the fullness of time, those at the head of the Reform movement will realize the error of their decision, no less than they have in the past. The Torah and its values are timeless. Pandering to so-called "modernity", keeping up with the Jones' in the form of the latest moral fads and fashions – which are here tomorrow and then disappear as if they had never existed – has never been the authentic Jewish way. I only hope that the holy neshomos within them help them come to this realization sooner rather than later.
I am however concerned that until that time, much damage will have been be done. Within our community, there are a number of people who, for various reasons, have chosen to send their children to dayschools administered by the Temple. I understand the pressures that parents are under and certainly do not wish to make the burden any greater. However it is imperative for those parents to be vigilant and to actively concern themselves with the values being taught in a school under the aegis of the Reform movement. If there is no option other than to send one's children to a Reform school, it is the responsibility of parents to ensure that the influences of Reform are adequately balanced in the home and through other means with Torah-True values.
We may not, in our personal lives, subscribe to all the teachings of the Torah. Indeed I know very few who can honestly say that they observe all the mitzvot all the time. Obstacles come from without, and even greater impediments from within us. We each have a Yetzer HaRa that gives us no rest. No matter, we must try our best, and G-d, our Father, will forgive us.
There are however certain principles – whether we fully comprehend them or not – that we must at least formally acknowledge.
It is a central tenet of our religion that G-d gave us the Torah on Mt Sinai some 3300 years ago and, as the word of the Living G-d, is not subject to change. The Reform movement does not acknowledge the Divinity of the Torah. Hence everything is a matter of personal preference, whim or interpretation. There is a world of difference between not observing a mitzvah in one's personal life and saying that the mitzvah is not a mitzvah – even worse to say that a serious sin is a mitzvah. To Maimonides, and all the great teachers and philosophers of our religion, this is heresy.
We may not be fully observant of all the mitzvot of the Torah, perhaps not even the one currently under discussion. But we are Jewish, and at the very least should know where "True North" is. I urge parents to do all they can to set a religious compass for their children that will guide them for the rest of their lives.
Rabbi Benzion Milecki OAM
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