Your recent article “Interfaith Families Embrace Holidays” included criticisms by rabbis Pont and Kline of the Conservative and Reform movements.
Rabbi Pont stated, “If you’re celebrating both, then you’re not really embracing either.”
Rabbi Kline said, “You can’t have two different religious traditions that contradict each other and call them both yours.”
I find these criticisms to be hypocritical at best.
The Reform movement has been referred to as “Christianity without a cross” and “the Democratic Party with holidays.”
The Conservative movement’s positions are about one generation behind the Reform movement’s positions. My point is that both the Reform and Conservative movements tore themselves away from authentic Judaism and Jewish values. They formed new religions, much like Christianity did, incorporating portions of Judaism to gather followers.
Interestingly, the true meaning of the holiday of Hanukkah celebrates the supremacy of authentic Judaism over the forces of assimilation as represented by both the Reform and Conservative movements.
Perhaps Reform and Conservative clergy should reflect on that before criticizing the practices of others.
Ben Feigenbaum
East Brunswick