Where is God in Reform Judaism?
Multi-Session Course
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Description
For over 3,000 years, Judaism has claimed a unique insight into the nature of God. But that insight has evolved together with the stories of our people. In the most recent centuries, the Reform Movement emerged as a religious response to modernity. But modern events and ideas, from the Holocaust to the State of Israel and the digital revolution have challenged us to ask: “Where is God in Reform Judaism?”
Session 1: The Biblical Conception of God
The Hebrew Bible reveals different notions of God, not all of which we would call “monotheistic.” The grand narrative of the Bible depicts a single God who can embody all the emotional and religious power of a pantheon of many Gods. And it organizes all of God’s complexity in a relationship with the people Israel that we call the Covenant.
Scholars: Rabbi Dr. Tamara Cohn Eskenazi, Dr. Kristine Garroway, Dean Joshua Holo, Rabbi Richard Levy
Videos:
| Main Discussion: The Biblical God | Biblical Q&A 3 – Reform Covenant |
| Biblical Q&A 2 – God & Israel | Biblical Q&A 4 – Gender equality |
| Biblical Q&A 1 – Why Be Jewish | Biblical Q&A 5 – Duty in Reform? |
| Biblical Q&A 2 – God & Israel |
Session 2: The Rabbinical God
The stewards of Judaism and the Biblical Covenant were the Rabbis, who rose to leadership in the wake of the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem, in 70 c.e. In rabbinic compilations that would later be known as Talmud and midrash, the Rabbis reinterpreted God and our relationship with Him through two seemingly unrelated ways: law and storytelling.
Scholars: Rabbi Dr. Dvora Weisberg, Rabbi Dr. Joshua Garroway, Dean Joshua Holo, Rabbi Rachel Adler
Videos:
| Main Discussion: The Rabbinical God | Rabbinic Q&A 4 – God and imagery |
| Rabbinic Q&A 2 – When to reject? | Rabbinic Q&A 5 – In God’s eyes |
| Rabbinic Q&A 1 – Reform philosophy | Rabbinic Q&A 6 – Changing Torah? |
| Rabbinic Q&A 3 – Liberal Judaism |
Session 3: The Medieval God
With the dawn of the Middle Ages, Jews and Judaism confront, yet again, an unprecedented reality: competing monotheistic systems — Islam and Christianity — now hold political sway over the tiny, dispersed Jewish minority. It is a challenging but fertile and diverse ecosystem, in which Judaism suffers unique dangers but also produces some of its most lasting and varied literature. The medieval God that emerges from this dizzying context keeps pace with this diverse Jewish landscape, while preserving the stability of the Covenant, on the other.
Scholars: Rabbi Dr. Reuven Firestone, Dean Joshua Holo, Rabbi Richard Levy
Videos:
| Main Discussion: The Medieval God | Medieval Q&A 3 – Hebrew Language |
| Medieval Q&A 1 – The afterlife | Medieval Q&A 4 – Judaism & Islam |
| Medieval Q&A 2 – Jewish dissent |
Session 4: The Modern God
Finding God in the modern period means finding God on our own terms, because this is our own period. One of the signal characteristics of modernity is the sense of the Universe’s knowability and our ability to use knowledge to progress. Out of this world-view comes science and secularism and many challenges to religious belief. It also spawned the Emancipation of the Jews of Europe, with the notion of Jewish citizenship. In sum, in search for God in the modern period, all bets are off.
Scholars: Rabbi Dr. Rachel Adler, Dr. Sharon Gillerman, Dean Joshua Holo
Videos:
| Main Discussion: The Modern God | Modern Q&A 4 – Reform feminism |
| Modern Q&A 2 – Messianism | Modern Q&A 5 – Reform & tradition |
| Modern Q&A 1 – Modern God | Modern Q&A 6 – God’s name |
| Modern Q&A 3 – Duty vs. choice |