156 Selected Reform Responsa

society.(The Changing World of Reform Judaism: The Pittsburgh Platform in Retrospect, Walter Jacob , ed. p. 109).

The efforts of the Reform Movement in this regard are clear. The resolutions of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, as well as the action of hundreds of congregations, have led us in this direction for more than a century. The Social Action Center, which was established in Washington, DC , some two decades ago, has provided additional national leadership.

We must, however, ask how we can balance this goal of Reform Judaism with the equally significant tasks of honoring the shabbat and observing the spirit of this day of rest.

The Reform Movement has considered the shabbat very important and has tried to strengthen it. When the immigrant generation found it difficult to attend shabbat morning services, Isaac M. Wise created the late Friday evening service. The effort by some early Reform leaders to emphasize a Sunday weekday service over the shabbat service was vigorously rejected as an infringement on the sanctity of the shabbat(W. Jacob, Pittsburgh Platform in Retrospect; pp. 115, ff). During last decades we have placed greater emphasis on shabbat observance. The C.C.A.R. has done so through resolutions and publications(W. Gunther Plaut , Shabbat Manual; Peter Knobel, Gates of the Seasons). Reform Judaism has emphasized rest, worship, study and family activity rather than the details of the thirty-nine major categories of prohibited work(M. Shab. 7.2; Mishnah Torah, also see Shulhan Arukh).

Although rebuilding a home for the poor is a religious activity, we can not consider it restful. Furthermore, we are not dealing with