SABBATH VISIT TO TEMPLE ISAAIAH

In the 1980s, the United States Supreme Court ruled that Jews are a race, at least for purposes of certain anti-discrimination laws. Their reasoning: at the time these laws were passed, people routinely spoke of the 'Jewish race' or the 'Italian race' as well as the 'Negro race', so that is what the legislators intended to protect. But many Jews were deeply offended by that decision, offended by any hint that Jews could be considered a race. The idea of Jews as a race brings to mind nightmarish visions of Nazi Germany. But setting aside the emotional issues, Jews are clearly not a race (Rich 2002 2).

With this brief background, I prepared to spend Saturday morning, the Jewish Sabbath, at Temple Isaiah, a Reform congregation on West Pico Blvd. in West LA. It is important to note that this is a Reform Congregation, which means that much of the prayers and responses are in English rather than in Hebrew. In doing some research, I learned that there are basically three separate and distinct "types" of Jewish congregations: the Reform, who are basically liberal in both politics and theology. The Conservative, who adhere to mostly Biblical traditions, and the

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I was told that at the Friday evening services, there would be a cantor and a small choir. The hymns usually are taken from biblical contexts. The sounds of an organ filled the temple. From later conversations with some of the congregants, I learned that from time to time, the temple has invited musical groups, even some modern soft-rock bands, to perform. When I asked the rabbi, his reply was interesting: They definitely didn't use music in ancient times, but these are different times," he says. "We are competing with Hollywood, MTV, DVDs -- today, we listen to the TV, not the elder of the tribe." Having been brought up in the Catholic faith and understanding the reluctance of the Church to permit women to be priests, I was amazed to meet Rabbi Zoe Klein. Yes, there are women rabbis! She explained that the Reform and Conservative segments of Judaism now permit females to study and become rabbis. They are generally well received, especially by the women of the congregation who have long felt that Judaism was just too paternalistic and male-dominated. The minyan service was rather short. It seemed more obligatory to get it said and over with. There was no sermon, no speeches, only what was prescribed in the prayer book.
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Approximate Word count = 1847
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page)