A recent essay in The Forward argued that the Canadian Reform movement is lagging “sorely behind” its American counterpart, especially on matters of inclusion. By her own telling, the author, Judith Taylor, moved to Canada from the United States some 15 years ago, only to be badly disappointed by how behind the times the Reform movement is north of the border. Having assessed her new country as laudably socially progressive – especially compared to her former one –Taylor laments what she sees as an exclusivist, almost retrograde Reform rabbinate in Canada.
Taylor accuses Canadian Reform rabbis of betraying “narrow mindedness” on the issue of who is a Jew. She finds it inexcusable that they refuse to allow non-Jews to recite brachot at Torah readings. The Canadian Reform movement, Taylor argues, is lagging behind its American counterpart on “inclusion” issues. If that weren’t indictment enough, she contends that Canadian rabbis shield local Jews from the progressive ways south of the border. (Really? Are Canadian Jews so unable to see what happens elsewhere as to be incapable of figuring out whom to pay regard?) Canada’s liberal rabbis, she asserts, are the on the “wrong side of history.”
Reading Taylor’s piece, I couldn’t help but notice that she flirts with what she charges the rabbis with: being illiberal. She judges Canadian Reform rabbis harshly – finding them guilty of being stuck in a time warp, resistant to change and dividing Jews between one another – and this judgmental stance, given her professed liberal loyalties, is jarring.
Speaking of unfair judgment: it’s at best careless to state, as Taylor does, that I changed my mind about officiating same-sex marriages, in effect, because I “could no longer ignore the gay people in (the) community.” That’s hardly the case. My evolution on the matter (as with former U.S. president Barack Obama’s virtually the very same week), was an honest change of mind about an important issue. It’s a shame that Taylor distorts my intent so casually – so much so that one wonders if she read the sermon. (CJN readers can do so for themselves and make their own judgment. It can be found in my 2015 book, Evolution of an Unorthodox Rabbi.)
The Reform Rabbis of Canada issued a thoughtful response to the Forward piece, authored by several rabbis across the country and signed onto by the vast majority (I had no part in the writing, but back it wholeheartedly). The rabbis counter some of the more egregious inaccuracies in Taylor’s essay – specifically, the implication that they “do not allow non-Jews on the bimah,” as well as Taylor’s harsh judgment on their approach to same-sex marriage and patrilineal descent. The rabbis note that, “The first Jewish same-sex weddings were performed here … before they were legal in the United States.” And when it comes to matters of inclusion, the Canadian Reform rabbis argue that their leadership during the Syrian refugee crisis proves their engagement on the issue.
The response (which you can read in full here) roots itself in Jewish tradition no less than the contemporary experience, in communal norms as well as real lives. It’s an impressive articulation of why the Canadian Reform movement differs from its American counterpart. “Central to that distinction,” the rabbis argue, “is that we in Canada value communal standards over radical individual autonomy.… Reform Judaism in Canada is the fastest-growing denomination for a reason – because we do not abandon traditions which still make good sense, and because we thoughtfully study and understand any tradition before simply saying it is wrong.”
On a personal note, after three decades in Canada, I remain enthusiastic about America. But Canada’s virtues, though more understated, are no less compelling than those of its neighbour. And I’d venture to guess that, in the long run (as in the short), Canada’s Jews will sustain their religious culture more successfully than will our confreres south of the border.
