Is Reform becoming too traditional? That seems to be the question of the times, yet it is one so emotionally charged, conversation becomes "interesting." So, to clarify thinking on the matter [especially as Emanu-El is engaging in its siddur decision-making process], a few helpful links:
The Union for Reform Judaism's Eilu v'eilu series presents dialogues addressing issues of the day. [Eilu v'eilu--literally, "these and these"--is a Talmudic quote identifying the differing halakhic decisions of the school of Hillel and the school of Shammai as the words of the living God...despite their contradictions with one another]. Here are the links to the first dialogue on the subject of traditionalism. Enjoy! Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four.
BTW, one of the interlocutors is the grandson of Dr. Stanley Dreyfus, my most esteemed teacher at HUC-JIR. I spent most Friday mornings together with two friends studying in Dr. Dreyfus' home (all of us lived in Park Slope); the mornings consisted of text, argument and scotch. In my tenure at HUC, I saw Dr. Dreyfus shudder with distaste more than a few times: each time a student either mispronounced a word from text or if they, wrapped in tallit and tefillin, shuckled a little too fervently for Dr. Dreyfus' Classical Reform taste. May he live to 120.
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