'Orthodox Judaism could never be reformed and still remain loyal to the covenant' Assess thi

Orthodox Jews would believe that the Reform Jews' idea of doing away with laws that do not aid anymore (as indicated in the Pittsburgh Platform) to not be valid. They would believe this because they would say that to lose the mitzvot is to lose the guidelines of the sacred covenant relationship.

They would also believe that integration must not be brought in to reform the faith because they would believe that because of the covenant, they are to be set apart. To go against this would jeopardize the arrival of the Messiah.

Orthodox Jews would see the Reform practice of not abiding by the dress rules as not only going against the covenant, but also demonstrating a complete lack of loyalty to the covenant. They would believe that if yo do not follow the mitzvot, you can no longer be considered Jewish because you do not identify with the parameters of the covenant made with God.

On the other hand, Reform Jews would disagree.

They would believe that the mitzvot were only put in place when the Israelite were int he desert, therefore they are perfectly able to no longer follower the mitzvot that are deemed outdated.

Unlike the Orthodox Jews, Reform Jews would believe that integration is essential to survive and in turn, ensure that their side of the covenant is upheld.

They may also believe that science must be included and acknowledged. Thus view as put forward by Vilna Gaon who recognised the need for reform when opposing the Hasidic movement. Reform Jews would believe that science would help to make sense of the covenant relationship as well as who God is.

All in all, Reforming Judaism would not harm the covenant but rather ensure that the faith is continued to be made applicable in modern society and continue to ensure that the younger generation remain loyal to the covenant.

I think that it is necessary for a religion to be reformed and reassessed to ensure that it is relevant and remains so The only issue would be what was kept and what was taken out of a religion

However in the context, of Reform Judaism, or Orthodox Judaism being reformed I think that it is possible to still remain loyal to the covenant because the Pittsburgh Platform states that only the rules that are not applicable or able to be upheld are done away with.

This means that the covenant is ensured to be relevant and up to date. Not only this, but by doing away with unhelpful mitzvot it means that the focus will be less on trying to achieve all the mitzvot and more on the consideration of how they aid the covenant relationship. This means that the religion is less surface level but looks at the spirituality beneath it.

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