Editing Jewish principles of faith (section)

==Principles of faith in Modern Judaism==

===Orthodox Judaism===
{{Main|Orthodox Judaism#Theology}}
Orthodox Judaism continuously maintained the historical rabbinic Judaism. Therefore, as above, it accepts philosophic speculation and statements of dogma only to the extent that they exist within, and are compatible with, the system of written and oral Torah. As a matter of practice, Orthodox Judaism lays stress on the performance of the actual commandments. Dogma is considered to be the self-understood underpinning of the practice of the Mitzvot.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hammer|first=Reuven|date=2010|title=Judaism as a System of Mitzvot|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/418281|journal=Conservative Judaism|language=en|volume=61|issue=3|pages=12–25|doi=10.1353/coj.2010.0022|s2cid=161398603 |issn=1947-4717|url-access=subscription}}</ref>

Owing to this, there is no one official statement of principles. Rather, all formulations by accepted early Torah leaders are considered to have possible validity. Maimonides' 13 principles have been cited by adherents as the most influential: They are often printed in prayer books, and in some congregations, a hymn ([[Yigdal]]) incorporating them is sung on Friday nights or even every morning in some communities.

===Conservative Judaism===
{{Main|Conservative Judaism#Theology}}
Conservative Judaism developed in Europe and the United States in the late 1800s, as Jews reacted to the changes brought about by the [[Haskalah|Jewish Enlightenment]] and [[Jewish emancipation]]. In many ways, it was a reaction to what were seen as the excesses of the [[Reform Judaism|Reform movement]]. For much of the movement's history, Conservative Judaism deliberately avoided publishing systematic explications of theology and belief; this was a conscious attempt to hold together a wide coalition. This concern became a non-issue after the left-wing of the movement seceded in 1968 to form the Reconstructionist movement, and after the right-wing seceded in 1985 to form the [[Union for Traditional Judaism]].

In 1988, the [[Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism]] finally issued an official statement of belief, "Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism". It noted that a Jew must hold certain beliefs. However, the Conservative rabbinate also notes that the Jewish community never developed any one binding [[catechism]]. Thus, Emet Ve-Emunah affirms belief in God and in God's revelation of Torah to the Jews. However, it also affirms the legitimacy of multiple interpretations of these issues. [[Atheism]], [[Trinity|Trinitarian]] views of God, and [[polytheism]] are all ruled out. All forms of [[relativism]], and also of [[biblical literalism|literalism]] and [[fundamentalism]], are also rejected. It teaches that [[halakha|Jewish law]] is both still valid and indispensable, but also holds to a more open and flexible view of how law has, and should, develop than the Orthodox view.

===Reform Judaism===
{{Main|Reform Judaism}}
Reform Judaism has had a number of official platforms, especially in the United States. The first platform was the 1885 ''Declaration of Principles ("[[The Pittsburgh Platform]]")''<ref>{{cite web|title=Declaration of Principles&nbsp;&ndash; "The Pittsburgh Platform"|url=http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/platforms/declaration-principles|publisher=The Central Conference of American Rabbis|access-date=2012-05-21|year=1885}}</ref>&nbsp;&ndash; the adopted statement of a meeting of reform rabbis from across the United States November 16&ndash;19, 1885.

The next platform&nbsp;&ndash; ''The Guiding Principles of Reform Judaism ("[[The Columbus Platform]]")''<ref>{{cite web|title=The Guiding Principles of Reform Judaism&nbsp;&ndash; "The Columbus Platform"|url=http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/platforms/guiding-principles-reform-judaism/|publisher=The Central Conference of American Rabbis|access-date=2012-05-21|year=1937}}</ref>&nbsp;&ndash; was published by the [[Central Conference of American Rabbis]] (CCAR) in 1937.

The CCAR rewrote its principles in 1976 with its ''Reform Judaism: A Centenary Perspective''<ref>{{cite web|title=Reform Judaism: A Centenary Perspective|url=http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/platforms/reform-judaism-centenary-perspective|publisher=The Central Conference of American Rabbis|access-date=2012-05-21|year=1976}}</ref> and rewrote them again in 1999's ''A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism''.<ref>{{cite web|title=A Statement of Principles for Reform Judaism|url=http://ccarnet.org/rabbis-speak/platforms/statement-principles-reform-judaism/|publisher=The Central Conference of American Rabbis|access-date=2012-05-21|year=1999}}</ref> While original drafts of the 1999 statement called for Reform Jews to consider re-adopting some traditional practices on a voluntary basis, later drafts removed most of these suggestions. The final version is thus similar to the 1976 statement.

According to the CCAR, personal autonomy still has precedence over these platforms; lay people need not accept all, or even any, of the beliefs stated in these platforms. Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) President Rabbi Simeon J. Maslin wrote a pamphlet about Reform Judaism, entitled "What We Believe... What We Do...". It states that, "If anyone were to attempt to answer these two questions authoritatively for all Reform Jews, that person's answers would have to be false. Why? Because one of the guiding principles of Reform Judaism is the autonomy of the individual. A Reform Jew has the right to decide whether to subscribe to this particular belief or to that particular practice." Reform Judaism affirms "the fundamental principle of Liberalism: that the individual will approach this body of mitzvot and minhagim in the spirit of freedom and choice. Traditionally, Israel started with harut, the commandment engraved upon the Tablets, which then became freedom. The Reform Jew starts with herut, the freedom to decide what will be harut&nbsp;&ndash; engraved upon the personal Tablets of his life." [Bernard Martin, Ed., Contemporary Reform Jewish Thought, Quadrangle Books 1968.] In addition to those, there were the 42 Affirmations of [[Liberal Judaism (United Kingdom)|Liberal Judaism]] in Britain from 1992, and the older Richtlinien zu einem Programm für das liberale Judentum (1912) in Germany, as well as others, all stressing personal autonomy and ongoing revelation.

===Reconstructionist Judaism===
{{Main|Reconstructionist Judaism#Beliefs}}
[[Reconstructionist Judaism]] is an American denomination that has a naturalist theology as developed by Rabbi [[Mordecai Kaplan]].<ref>Mordecai M. Kaplan, Judaism as a Civilization: Toward a Reconstruction of American-Jewish Life (MacMillan Company 1934), reprinted by Jewish Publication Society 2010.</ref> Reconstructionism posits that [[God]] is neither personal nor supernatural. Rather, God is said to be the sum of all natural processes that allow man to become self-fulfilled. Rabbi Kaplan wrote that "to believe in God means to take for granted that it is man's destiny to rise above the brute and to eliminate all forms of violence and exploitation from human society".

Many Reconstructionist Jews reject theism, and instead define themselves as [[religious naturalist]]s. These views have been criticized on the grounds that they are actually atheists, which has only been made palatable to Jews by rewriting the dictionary. A significant minority of Reconstructionists have refused to accept Kaplan's theology, and instead affirm a theistic view of God.

As in Reform Judaism, Reconstructionist Judaism holds that personal autonomy has precedence over Jewish law and theology. It does not ask that its adherents hold to any particular beliefs, nor does it ask that [[halakha]] be accepted as normative. In 1986, the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association (RRA) and the Federation of Reconstructionist Congregations (FRC) passed the official "Platform on Reconstructionism" (2 pages). It is not a mandatory statement of principles, but rather a consensus of current beliefs. [FRC Newsletter, Sept. 1986, pages D, E.] Major points of the platform state that:

*Judaism is the result of natural human development. There is no such thing as divine intervention.
*Judaism is an evolving religious civilization.
*[[Zionism]] and [[aliyah]] (immigration to [[Israel]]) are encouraged.
*The laity can make decisions, not just rabbis.
*The Torah was not inspired by God; it only comes from the social and historical development of Jewish people.
*All classical views of God are rejected. God is redefined as the sum of natural powers or processes that allows mankind to gain self-fulfillment and moral improvement.
*The idea that God [[Chosen people|chose the Jewish people]] for any purpose, in any way, is "morally untenable", because anyone who has such beliefs "implies the superiority of the elect community and the rejection of others".

This platform puts Reconstructionist Jews at odds with all other Jews, as it seems to accuse all other Jews of being racist. Jews outside of the Reconstructionist movement strenuously reject this charge.

Although Reconstructionist Judaism does not require its membership to subscribe to any particular dogma, the Reconstructionist movement actively rejects or marginalizes certain beliefs held by other branches of Judaism, including many (if not all) of the 13 Principles. For example, Rabbi Kaplan "rejected traditional Jewish understandings of messianism. His God did not have the ability to suspend the natural order, and could thus not send a divine agent from the house of David who would bring about a miraculous redemption."<ref name=":0">Eric Caplan, From Ideology to Liturgy: Reconstructionist Worship and American Liberal Judaism (Hebrew Union College Press 2002)</ref> Rather, in keeping with Reconstructionist naturalist principles, "Kaplan believed strongly that ultimately, the world will be perfected, but only as a result of the combined efforts of humanity over generations." (Id. at 57) Similarly, Reconstructionism rejects the 13th principle of resurrection of the dead, which Kaplan believed "belonged to a supernatural worldview rejected by moderns". (Id. at 58.) Thus, the Reconstructionist Sabbath Prayer Book erases all references to a messianic figure, and the daily '[[Amidah]] replaces the traditional blessing of reviving the dead with one that blesses God "who in love remembers Thy creatures unto life". (Id. at 57-59.)