Editing Reform Judaism (section)

===Observance===
During its formative era, Reform was oriented toward lesser ceremonial obligations. In 1846, the Breslau rabbinical conference abolished the [[Yom tov sheni shel galuyot|second day of festivals]]; during the same years, the Berlin Reform congregation held prayers without [[Shofar blowing|blowing the Ram's Horn]], [[Tefillin|phylacteries]], [[Tallit|mantles]] or [[Kippah|head covering]], and held its Sabbath services on Sunday. In the late 19th and early 20th century, American "Classical Reform" often emulated Berlin on a mass scale, with many communities conducting prayers along the same style and having additional services on Sunday. An official rescheduling of Sabbath to Sunday was advocated by [[Kaufmann Kohler]] for some time, though he retracted it eventually. [[Get (divorce document)|Religious divorce]] was declared redundant and the civil one recognized as sufficient by American Reform in 1869, and in Germany by 1912; the laws concerning [[Kashrut|dietary]] and [[Tumah and taharah|personal]] purity, the [[Kohen|priestly]] prerogatives, [[Jewish views on marriage|marital ordinances]] and so forth were dispensed with, and openly revoked by the 1885 [[Pittsburgh Platform]], which declared all ceremonial acts binding only if they served to enhance religious experience. From 1890, converts were no longer obligated to be circumcised. Similar policy was pursued by [[Claude Montefiore]]'s Jewish Religious Union, established at Britain in 1902. The Vereinigung für das Liberale Judentum in Germany, which was more moderate, declared virtually all personal observance voluntary in its 1912 guidelines.

"New Reform" saw the establishment and membership lay greater emphasis on the ceremonial aspects, after the former sterile and minimalist approach was condemned as offering little to engage in religion and encouraging apathy. Numerous rituals became popular again, often after being recast or reinterpreted, though as a matter of personal choice for the individual and not an authoritative obligation. [[Circumcision]] or [[Hatafat dam brit|Letting of Blood]] for converts and newborn babies became virtually mandated in the 1980s; [[Ritual washing in Judaism|ablution]] for menstruating women gained great grassroots popularity at the turn of the century, and some synagogues built [[mikveh]]s (ritual baths). A renewed interest in dietary laws (though by no means in the strict sense) also surfaced at the same decades, as were phylacteries, prayer shawls and head coverings. Reform is still characterized by having the least service attendance on average:<ref>[[Jack Wertheimer]], [[Steven M. Cohen]], [http://mosaicmagazine.com/essay/2014/11/the-pew-survey-reanalyzed/ "The Pew Survey Reanalyzed: More Bad News, but a Glimmer of Hope"], ''Mosaic Magazine'', 2 November 2014.</ref> for example, of those polled by [[Pew Research Center|Pew]] in 2013, only 34% of registered synagogue members (and only 17% of all those who state affinity) attend services once a month and more.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.pewforum.org/2013/10/01/chapter-4-religious-beliefs-and-practices/|title=Chapter 4: Religious Beliefs and Practices|date=1 October 2013}}</ref>

The Proto-Reform movement did pioneer new rituals. In the 1810s and 1820s, the circles ([[Israel Jacobson]], [[Eduard Kley]] and others) that gave rise to the movement introduced [[confirmation]] ceremonies for boys and girls, in emulation of parallel Christian initiation rite. These soon spread outside the movement, though many of a more traditional leaning rejected the name "confirmation". In the "New Reform", [[Bar Mitzvah]] largely replaced it as part of the re-traditionalization, but many young congregants in the United States still perform one, often at [[Shavuot]]. Confirmation for girls eventually developed into the [[Bat Mitzvah]], now popular among all except strictly Orthodox Jews.

Some branches of Reform, while subscribing to its differentiation between ritual and ethics, chose to maintain a considerable degree of practical observance, especially in areas where a conservative Jewish majority had to be accommodated. Most Liberal communities in Germany maintained dietary standards and the like in the public sphere, both due to the moderation of their congregants and threats of Orthodox secession. A similar pattern characterizes the [[Movement for Reform Judaism]] in Britain, which attempted to appeal to newcomers from the [[United Synagogue]], or to the [[Israel Movement for Reform and Progressive Judaism]] (IMPJ) in Israel.