“On Being a Reform Jew”
I am proud to be a Reform Jew. Our movement takes a bold and important stand in affirming the worth and value of every human being. We are dedicated to creating a community in which every person matters and where everyone can feel included, valued, welcomed. We welcome those who were born Jewish as well as those who have chosen to join the Jewish community. We welcome interfaith couples and those seeking to create Jewish lives within such relationships. We welcome all those who wish to practice the Jewish faith, regardless of sexual orientation, gender, race, national origin, or level of observance. We seek to build bridges and reach out a helping hand. We want the doors of our Temple always to be open wide to others who seek to know about the joy of Jewish living, to share with us on our journey. We never want to create the impression that we are closed to, fearful of, or mistrustful of others. We strive to understand our relationship with ourselves and others in the light of our relationships with God, Torah and Israel.

God
As Reform Jews, we affirm our faith in the Divine, and we dedicate ourselves to finding meaning in what our history and tradition teach us about our relationship with God. We strive to replace superstition and assumption, which can overburden faith, with intellectual honesty and reason, and with a genuine sense of awe, mystery and spiritual seeking.

Torah
As Reform Jews, we cherish our tradition, gleaned from Torah and centuries of sacred literature, and we study these sources to learn about how our ancestors sought to find Jewish meaning. We love tradition, and we seek to make rituals and religious practice a part of our lives, but we also acknowledge that each of us has the right and responsibility to confront the claims of tradition and reinterpret it in the light of our own faith journey. We may find old and new rituals exciting, meaningful and rich, or we may choose to reject them. We do not accept the claim that we are obligated by tradition for it's own sake, nor that the traditions created by our ancestors are necessarily God's will. We believe that each of us must discover for ourselves the demands of the Divine upon our lives.

Israel
As Reform Jews, we see ourselves as an authentic part of the people of Israel. We seek to strengthen our people and our faith. We affirm our bond with the Land of Israel, and we work to insure that Israel survives and flourishes. We believe that Israel must act as a moral people and a moral nation, and we dedicate ourselves to this goal. We dream of a time of peace and unity for our people and for all humanity.

Our journey through life is enriched and made more meaningful by our faith as Reform Jews. May each of us find the journey worthwhile.
 
James M. Bennett