ABSTRACT
Writing an afterword to this impressive collection of essays is both easy and daunting. Easy, because there is a common streak that runs through most of the book, yet daunting because this very commonality hides a great variety of emphases, affirmations, and criticisms. The common streak lies in the issue-oriented nature of the articles: they invite discussion because they affirm one thing and criticize another, with the emphasis clearly on the latter. In fact, one might subtitle this volume “A Critique of Reform Judaism by Reform Jews and Some Others.” This will not come as a surprise to members of the movement who consider self-criticism a quintessential element of Reform. For if change is its ineluctable context, as they will assert, such change is likely to take place, because Reform Judaism's performance will always call for improvement and even redirection. We change because we feel that our religious striving is more likely to be fulfilled if we admit that we have fallen short of our goal. By nature, Reform is always on the way.
