The Religions Book

194

of the faith, progressive Judaism’s
theology extends the notion of a
“commanding” God to the idea
of an ongoing relationship with
God, in which each Jew exercises
his or her individual freedom. The
mitzvot, or commandments,
are expressions of this relationship.

The concept of monism
Another group of progressive
thinkers believes God to be an
inseparable part of the self, rather
than an external divinity. Some
have absorbed the views of
Jewish mystics, who understand
the entire creation as taking place
within God, which means that
everything is God. Monotheism,
or the belief in one god, becomes
monism, meaning that there
is only oneness, and that this
oneness is God. These theological
transformations within progressive
Judaism mean that the role of the
individual and the commandments
can no longer be seen as fixed.
Along with the newly defined

relationship between individual,

God, and the commandments,

Jews in the progressive movement

also came to review conventional

interpretations of the Hebrew Bible.

They now regard it as a composite

text from different historical

periods—a written record of a

human encounter with the divine,

rather than the recorded words of

God, meaning that its authority is

not straightforward. Since God’s

intentions were not fixed once in

time, the revelation could be

considered continuous.

In a similar way, progressive

Judaism recognizes the impact of

history and human authorship on

the development of Jewish law,

or Halachah, which is traditionally

rooted in biblical commandments

and the rulings of classical

rabbis. Halachah has undergone

transformation in both progressive

and Orthodox communities. One

progressive view sees Halachah as

undergoing continual adaptation

to respond to ethical and practical

PROGRESSIVE JUDAISM

problems in the contemporary

Jewish world. This view takes

account of modern scientific

developments, such as stem cell

research, and is strongly guided

by contemporary ethics, tackling

issues such as care at the end of

life. Other progressives describe

a post-Halachic Judaism, perhaps

identifying more closely with the

ancient Hebrew prophets and an

ethically driven Prophetic Judaism.

Rituals and observances

Modern approaches to ritual

practice also reflect the idea of

Judaism’s continuing evolution,

stipulating that divine authority

is not limited to the Torah. The

Sabbath (Shabbat), for instance,

is considered a day of rest and

holiness distinct from the working

week. Progressive Jews respect

the Sabbath, and are still likely

to begin it with lighting Shabbat

candles on Friday evening, although

not all will insist that this be done

before sunset, if it occurs very early.

They may also reject the traditional

prohibition on driving a motor car to

the synagogue on Shabbat.

Dietary laws

In matters of kashrut (dietary law),

some progressive Jews might

dismiss all the rules as antiquated,

while others might avoid the meats

that are forbidden in the Torah but

not concern themselves with the

later rabbinic prohibitions

concerning the separation of

meat and milk products and the

utensils used in the preparation of

each. Some might focus instead on

the discipline of kashrut as a way of

expressing consciousness of what

they eat, perhaps extending this to

eating organic, fair-trade products

or food with low food miles. Others

might view vegetarianism as a

proper or suitable (from the

Orthodox Jews believe that
the Torah was given by God
to Moses at Mount Sinai.
Progressive Jews, however,
believe it was written by human
beings under divine inspiration,
and should be responded
to accordingly.