Proud To Be Progressive
It is easy for many goyim (and even Jews) in the Diaspora to buy into popular misconceptions about Judaism and Israel. For many people, it comes as a surprise that most Jews in the world are not orthodox. A number of different paths exist - the one I travel is Progressive Judaism - there are two million of us, worldwide. But what is a Progressive Jew? What do Progressive Jews believe? How does Progressive Judaism operate?
A Progressive Jew is a Jew that agrees with the principles of Progressive Judaism and puts them into practice. These are based on the Reform Movement. The Israel Movement for Progressive Judaism is the indigenous Israeli stream of the worldwide Progressive/Reform movement. So what place do we have in the world? Progressive Jews believe that since the world, events and society are constantly changing, we too need to change based on our new reality, based on modern values, based on what we have learned via science and our human technological capabilities. In the meantime, we strive to reconcile our religious beliefs, traditions and practices with the world about us.
So what exactly do we believe? In religious belief and practice, we relegate most authority to the individual. We believe in God, that much is universal. How we define such a concept is another matter and largely a personal one. It is much the same for religious practice. Progressive Jews are more religious than our other Reform counterparts, but it really is an individual matter. For example, I keep kosher, but I know some who don't. I don't put on tefillin as often as others. But there are also collective matters - things we do as a community. We keep Shabbat and attend Shul. We wear kippot. There are considerations that are important for us as a community. For example, at the Seder for Rosh Hashana or Pesach, we must account for the kashrut observances of the strictest among us. At the same time, we are true to our Progressive values. For example, it is our strongest conviction that men and women are treated equally. As such, men and women sit together in the synagogue. If they choose to do so, Women are permitted to wear a kippah and/or tallit and read from the Torah. They are also allowed to undergo a Bat Mitzvah, just as a male is allowed to undergo a Bar Mitzvah. The Progressive Movement also supports gay rights, including marriage.
In wider Israeli society, we also have a presence. Unfortunately, the Orthodox in Israel have a disproportionate influence on the State and the Progressive Movement is not officially recognised by the State of Israel. This also means that weddings and the like (within Israel) are not recognised, forcing couples to go to Cyprus to get married. The rights of Progressive Jews are at further risk by proposed discriminatory legislation. We aim to fight that. Progressive Jews are pluralists that value the diversity and multiculturalism of Israeli (and indeed Jewish-Israeli) society.
There are around 30 Progressive synagogues (most have disabled access if you plan to visit and find out more) in Israel, the first was established in 1958. Although we believe that Jews can find meaningful expression throughout the world, we are also Zionists and believe that Israel provides a unique environment in which to express ourselves personally, politically and most importantly, religiously. The Israel Religious Action Centre is the arm of our Movement that fulfils our goals and represents us in wider society. One example is the provision of educational materials, training and seminars to teachers at schools. There is also a vibrant youth movement. The Israel Religious Action Centre also has political aims geared toward promotion and advocacy of Social Justice, pluralism, equality, freedom and human rights.
I have tried to be as educational as possible. If there are any unresolved matters for you personally, or any clarification is required, I will happily provide it if I can - Anonymous submission of questions is permitted. There are a lot of matters I neglected, but even as it is, I expect that the majoritarian reaction will be "tl;dr".