Scholar in Residence Virtual Program with Rabbi Lance Sussman, PhD

12 Jan @ 10:30 am - 11:30 am

200 YEARS OF AMERICAN REFORM JUDAISM, 1824 – 2024, SINK OR SWIM: THE HISTORY AND FUTURE OF REFORM JUDAISM

Part 2: It’s Not All or Nothing: The Historical Necessity of Reform Judaism

“Reform Judaism was born out of historical necessity early in the 19th century. The Enlightenment’s belief in reason as a universal human trait   had made it possible for Jews to be accepted as equals of their gentile neighbors. The idea of Jews as equal neighbors was further amplified by the rise of the modern state and the question of Jewish citizenship. Acceptance, however, led to pressure for Jews to assimilate, later intensified by romanticism and its belief in a national folk spirit. Reform offered an alternative path of acculturation in which Jews preserved their identities and select practices in concert with modernity and western culture.”

Rabbi Lance J. Sussman, Ph D

Rabbi Sussman is a historian of American Jewish History, college professor, Chair of the Board of Governors of Gratz College, Melrose Park, PA and until summer 2022 the senior rabbi, now emeritus, at Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel located in Elkins Park, PA.

Please contact the office at 914-664-1727 if you are interested in participating in this program.