London – – The Reform movement is about to take the first step to launch an alternative to Aish, the Orthodox outreach organisation for young adults.
Subscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
A residential weekend next month will be the inaugural event by the Assembly of Reform Rabbis to offer a “non-fundamentalist” alternative.
Rabbi Mark Goldsmith, of London’s North-Western Reform Synagogue – who is leading the initiative with Rabbi Neil Amswych of Bournemouth Reform Synagogue – said: “The Assembly wants to try to provide the quality of input for young adults that organisations such as Aish do.”
Aish – which enjoyed an income of more than £3 million in 2005 – is active in providing programmes for young Jewish adults with heavily subsidised trips abroad, Friday-night dinners and other social and educational events.
Rabbi Goldsmith said: “We know that many young Jews, who don’t subscribe to the beliefs that Aish stands for, still really enjoy Aish events because they are well-planned, well-executed and well-supported by rabbis. We want to provide a non-fundamentalist model of true Jewish engagement.”
The weekend, to be held in Worcester, is being offered at £35 a head, with sponsorship from the Reform movement and private donors.
“We know that 18- to 25-year-olds don’t have serious money,” said Rabbi Goldsmith. “We want them to be able to make the choice to come themselves and not ask their parents to pay.
“We’re calling it ‘Real Questions Given Straight Answers’, where people can put questions on any aspect of Judaism and life. It’s the first time we’ve done this with this level of rabbinic input. We’re planning to have five rabbis for 25 participants.”
The Assembly initiative has the working title Mayim Chaim (Living Water) and is being run in conjunction with Jeneration, the website for young adults which also has a campus arm. The Reform-backed site includes information on Liberal and Masorti activities.
what truth young people searching for meaning will see right through this false garbage! and head right back to aish, how can the answer any questions if they don’t believe in anything.
OK Here’s a good starter question. What is the magic formula that is used to decide which “Mitzvot” are relevant and which are not?
Or we can ask the same about aveiros, ie Are there any aveiros Aish won’t commit to further their fundraising?
These reform clerics are insulting the intelligence of their proposed “clientele” if they believe they can pull them away from Aish with their vaporware religion.
I’m not so certain that this is a bad idea. If it will bring people closer to observing even some of the mitzvos, then perhaps it’s a good thing. While we obviously believe all the mtizvos are incumbent on Jews, I think we would all agree that having someone observe kashrus or Shabbos in *some* fashion is better than not at all. Even if they’re not doing it correctly now, they certainly are no worse off than before and perhaps they might use this as a springboard towards greater observance.
The Wolf
The Mayim Chaim soda company should sue them for infringement. Or are they actually serving some kind of Kool-Aid?
Just remember, all the outreach started with Chabad…and lots of people bashed it back when it was totally unheard of, and then started their own stuff when they decided that chabad’s derech wasn’t good enough…
Any secular Jew interested in Judaism will in a very short time see through the fraud. The reform “kiruv” movement will end up doing what the Israeli Govt. has been doing for the past few years , passing off goyim as Jews in order to increase their numbers.
I think this is a great thing.
Once they get their people asking questions and searching they will quickly realize
how empty and fake their version of judaism is and will search for the emes.
This will be a stepping stone. I think we should encourage them in this effort.
Does anybody have any info about the 28 million copies of the Obsession film that was distributed in all the swing states via mail and the Sunday papers? People are outraged. From reading a little about it, it seems like Aish was behind the distribution. Is this true? Can they lose their tax exempt status now that they are meddling in politics? I did not see VIN cover this story. Maybe the VIN edistors can do some research and bring us the real unadulterated truth as opposed to the CNN report. Thank you.
Didn’t the Reform have some kind of program 20 years ago to “reach out” to the non-Jewish partners of Reform Jews? How did that work for them?
I don’t think it will hold merit for too long; yes they can provide “events” but what about substance? Almost no person becomes a committed Jew simply by attending an event. It may start with an event but ultimately it’s the substance that will carry them. How can they create a website with articles of their Hashkafah without hiring a staff of novelists dreaming up warped Torah stories? “Moshe Emes Vesorasoi Emes.” Anything else will be exposed for the frauds they are. There is no such thing as a Reformed or Conservative Jew for more than a few generations. They all become completely assimilated or come back to their Orthodox roots. And just like I didn’t grow up with any Tzedokim down the block of my house, their movement will not last too long either.
I find this whole article amusing! I remember a few years back, that the local reform and conservative movements decided to do a day camp through their shuls. 4 New camps opened in July,,,, and by August all the kids they took from the Chabad camps, were back where they belonged. I also noticed that the reform movement is not stupid enough to try and go up against Chabad,, just Aish. Well, in any event, like a frum BT told me recently, She went to the Reform synagogue her inlaws went to, in Los Angeles, and all she got out of it, was to meet a bunch of famous people, so after discussing how she would want to raise her kids, she moved to a beautiful suburb, and 8 years later is raising four beautiful neshomalach in a truly frum, and hartzigeh way.
So here’s how the outreach will go… “Hey there young man, I see you eating a hamburger without cheese…do you happen to be an unaffiliated Jew?” “Why don’t you come hang out with the reform movement… hey we’ll even let you put cheese on your burger!!”
you’re all a bunch of blind idiots. Do you know how many people – takeh many of them goyim – attend reform Temples?? Many more than any other ones.
They aren’t totally crazy, for the people who don’t know better, the reform movement is a good alternative.
They raise millions a year and in most Jewish communities they attract the majority of Jews?? affiliated with anything Jewish.
The only way to deal with these charlatans is to expose their blatant misrepresentation of Torah – our traditions, and their lies that they ke-ilu represent any principle of our Torah.
oh, let them revel in their apikoreisis, they just make it easier for aish to bring them up later.
This is a good idea. If it will only help to be mekarev them – it is worth it. When they begin looking for material and start putting it into writing they will realize that this makes no sense. What will they put on the site. Yankees scores. Market updates. What material could they have being that they don’t represent anything. Their claim to fame is what they don’t represent. If it is stuff that has no connection to judaism – no one will be interested anyway – why would you become frum after all just to become reform. There is no point as there is little difference. The choice is clear.
To Reply to #7
It’s human nature to say “i told you so”, you do it to your family and friend so he’s doing it here as well.
And like when someone tells it to you it hurts, so too here, since you spent so long making fun of it, he now get his last laugh and to say “i told you so” 😛
I’m sure all the us-vs-them attitude does wonders for achdus and the eradication of sinas chinam.
It’s so easy to be a reform, so why do they have to do outreach. From what I understand there are no proscribed beliefs and there are even reform clergy that are atheists. Is there outreach limited to teaching them an appreciation of gefilte fish, bagels and lox?
DONT FORGET THE REBBE STARTED ALL OF THIS. WHY IS THIS NEW OUTREACH PROGRAM COMPARED TO AISH IT SHOULD BE COMPARED TO CHABAD. (WELL I GEUSS CHABAD IS A WHOLE NEW MADRAIGA)
its all feel good stuff. there is no learning “it” just learning “about it”. neither lasts.
Think;
If this reform action brings a Jewish person back long enough to realize that it is better to marry within the tribe, that is tremendous. A BT can become frum later but once married to a non jew it is heartbreaking.
“Can’t we see one mention of kiruv without someone spreading the myth that Chabad were the first ones to work on kiruv? “
Re #14 ,
If you spread the word that the truth is a “myth” long enough, then everyone will believe it was a myth in the first place.
The world believes that Israel belongs to the Palestinians and the Arabs, and that it was a “myth” that it belonged to the Jews.
Anti-semites believe that it was a “myth” that the Holocaust took place.
Shame on you for believing that it is a “myth” that Chabad were the first ones to do kiruv. This has nothing to do with “a silly children’s contest” – it is essential to record true facts. Go and learn your history, past and present.