But I'm not finding other blogs written by people like me: Liberal, Reform Jews searching for a meaningful, authentic connection with the nitty-gritty of our faith. There are some great cultural sites out there dealing with modern Jewish issues, but they're not quite what I'm looking for.
I'm trying to find personal answers to some big questions:
- How can a truly liberal person take seriously religion in general and Judaism in particular?
- What is the meaning of Jewish community if I only cherry pick the elements of Judaism that "speak" to me personally? But once I surrender autonomy to some other authority -- God, Chazal, my rebbe -- then how can I stay liberal?
- I cannot believe the Torah was dictated to Moses by God, and I simply can't accept that Oral Torah could be binding for all Jews for all time. But then how do I read and understand these texts? How am I to relate to them?
Thanks in advance for your thoughts!
Posts
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ReplyDeleteJust wanted to correct a phrase in that comment, which I now repost:
ReplyDeleteWell, you might try my blog, especially my first post (I have only made three at this point), "Three Ways of Looking at Being Jewish." My concerns and my point of view, though different from yours, coincide with yours to a considerable extent.
In trying to find blogs on Jewish concerns by non-Orthodox (by which I mean neither Orthodox nor ex-Orthodox) Jews I have had the same disappointment as you. I wondered for a time if I simply was not looking in the right places, but reading your post confirms my suspicion that there simply are not many such blogs. As to the explanation of this fact -- well, I have some thoughts, but rather than record them here, I am thinking that I might use them for an entry in my blog.
By the way, it was reading your blog (I don't recall how I happened to find it, but I think I started reading it when it was quite new) that gave me the necessary nudge toward starting my own, so let us hope that our examples inspire others.
You'll like this blog, although he doesn't post much.
ReplyDeleteI have posted a response to your question (at least as it struck me) in my blog: "Why are there so few non-Orthodox Jewish blogs?"
ReplyDeleteThree Jews, Four Opinions has a great program statement, but the bloggers have made very few substantive posts recently. So it's slim pickings any way you look at it.
@MKR: I'm following your blog now and will definitely take some time to read your posts. Look good so far! A thought: I would guess that many more Reform Jews have blogs/post online than Orthodox Jews, which means sifting through them is harder.
ReplyDelete@OTD: I do like Three Jews, Four Opinions, but as you point out, they're not that prolific. Another one I'm sad to see wither on the vine is I am a Liberal Jew and I am Pissed
"I would guess that many more Reform Jews have blogs/post online than Orthodox Jews." (Rogueregime) --There may be more Reform Jews with blogs than Orthodox Jews with blogs, but there are plainly far fewer Jewish blogs, i.e., blogs on Jewish concerns, by Reform Jews than by Orthodox Jews. Go to the aggregator site Jewishblogging.com and click on the link for posts on the topic "Reform Judaism." Result: five pages of links, some of them several years old, from a total of five different blogs, one of which is no longer on line. Now click on the link for blogs on "Orthodox Judaism." Result: 777 pages of links!
ReplyDeleteInsane! I just "registered" my blog with their site... We'll see if anything comes of it, but I'm not hoping for much. It's a really opaque site -- I tried different search terms and had a lot of problems finding anything useful.
ReplyDeleteI think the only way to expand the "critical reform" blogroll is to find blogs where possible and link to them as much as possible. I'll have to redo the sidebar to distinguish between reform and non-reform blogs.
One thing that is pretty obvious: RJs have many more outlets for discussing "heretical" things than OJs do!
There are three Jewish blog aggregators: Jewish Blogging, JBlog Central, and JRants. JBlog Central has the most accessible format, in my opinion, though only a few posts can make it to the front page. There are so many blogs listed on each site that it seems unlikely that one will stand out in such a crowd, but if a few people find one's blog through the site, it's worth the bother.
ReplyDeleteHere is a blog by a Reform Rabbi: Or Am I? It seems to be mostly about the practical concerns of Reform Jewish living. The writer is the rabbi of a Reform congregation in California called Or Ami, hence the name of the blog. He has links to several other blogs by Reform rabbis and Reform organizations.
Hi RR. Bruce from "Three Jews" here. Don't give up on our blog. I've been swamped with work and I probably won't have any posts for another few weeks. But I'll be back, and I've got a bunch of topics to talk about.
ReplyDeleteAs far as other similar blogs, Mah Rabu and The Reform Shuckle are the two main non-Orthodox ones I've come across.
Thanks, Bruce. Definitely not giving up on you! That's the beauty of Google Reader: It waits patiently for you to post, then tells me right away! : )
ReplyDelete