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I often say that I have little “use for” the so-called movements in Judaism–Orthodox, Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist (and a few smaller ones). What I mean by that is that I see validity in each of the approaches to Judaism offered by these various “movements” and I also see things I do not like in each of them. But it is deeper than that.

What is a movement? My definition will perhaps sound like that of a political scientist. Sorry. Can’t help it. But a movement is a bottom-up phenomenon. It is people with a common interest–not “interest” in the sense that we political scientists use that term (i.e. the pursuit of economic or other private gain), but in the more “everyday” sense of liking similar things–coming together and working on behalf of their interest. It is a participatory phenomenon, and any movement worthy of the name upsets the occasional hierarchy and disturbs those on the outside or on the fringes of the movement–or maybe even those inside–from time to time.

I like that. Things should be shaken up now and then. Thomas Jefferson famously said that there should be a revolution in every generation. That’s the spirit the country was founded on, and I think that is also the spirit Judaism was found on–or at least post-Temple Judaism from the Pharisees on down.

When I say I have “no use” for the movements, I mean when they stop being movements. When they become ossified and institutionalized. Now, some degree of institutionalization is inevitable, and even desirable. But if the leaders try to restrain their “constituents” who are seeking their own path rather than just going along with an established program handed down to them, then something is wrong.

I think about these kinds of things a lot, both when thinking about politics and when thinking about religion. But these themes have really been on my mind the last few days with the story coming out of the Kutz Camp and its write-up in Jewish Week. (I am not going to attempt to summarize the events here; readers unfamiliar with them or simply wanting a terrific perspective on them should go to Mah Rabu.) Reflecting on the events that came out of there, I agree with BZ:

I am particularly disturbed because I have written numerous apologetics for Reform Judaism (as I understand it), defending it from ideas that I believe to be misconceptions, and now official voices of the Reform movement are making statements that affirm all of those ideas. [the underlined words are links in the original where BZ has taken up these themes; bold is mine]

As I said at the outset, I see validity in various aspects of each of the “movements,” as well as flaws. But let us never lose sight of something very important: The real movement is Judaism itself.

Judaism has always been counter-cultural, standing against idolatry (which in our time could be any of the many temptations to serve the “gods” of money and power) and against prevailing forms of social organization that inflict harm on the weaker elements of humanity. It has always been Messianic in the sense of looking forward to a better era, but not one we just sit back and wait for someone (whether G-d or an earthly leader or institution) to bring to us. Rather, one that we help hasten by doing mitvzot. That is all quite radical and participatory, and so individual and communal experimentation is to be encouraged (within appropriate limits; I am not arguing “anything goes”). There are always icons to be knocked down, and some of them are within our own institutionalized “movements.” That’s precisely what movements do–they shake things up.

Of course, we need an organizational framework, because Judaism is, more than any other religion, communal. Without the community, and its organizations, we aren’t Jews in any meaningful sense. But when folks like those “leaders” talked about in the summer camp story get too much a sense of their own power and control, we all lose. The vitality comes from all of us who “observe” (whatever that might mean in the given context–again, I do not think there is one path even if there is one destination). It does not come principally from the organizations that brand themselves Reform or whatever. If it does come principally from there, G-d help us.

Let’s always remember that the primacy belongs with the MOVEMENT and not the INSTITUTION.