The Reform Movement in Judaism (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Reform Movement in Judaism<br><br>In October, 1897, I published in the Jewish Quarterly Review an article entitled "The Progress of the Jewish Reform Movement in the United States." This article was the beginning of a series of further studies on the reform movement in Judaism. These studies, which form the chapters of this book, aim to present a connected story of the progressive movement in Judaism, the most striking Jewish religious phenomenon of modern times.<br><br>It has been possible in this survey to take account only of the corporate activities which translated the theories of the reformers into practice. Many statements of individual scholars and writers, however interesting as contributions to the store of liberal Jewish thought, could not be included, since this is not a history of the literary output, but of the practical achievements of reform. This point can be well illustrated by adverting to the case of Russia. There a number of prominent writers have pleaded strongly for reforms in religious practice and belief, but no public official steps have been taken towards carrying out these reforms. The reform movement has found no lodgement in the corporate and congregational Jewish life of Russia, hence no chapter is devoted to Russia in this work, however illuminating might be the statements that can be culled from the writings of Russian Jewish authors.<br><br>It has been my aim to present as objectively as possible the purposes and accomplishments of the reform movement. We are still too near the beginning of the movement to take account of ultimate effects and results.<br><br>About the Publisher<br><br>Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com<br><br>This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.