Philosopher and Poseq- 89 ­

community remains a rather gray area in Eugene Borowitz’s thought for the final authority remains with the individual and"not in a book or code of the past."(37) Traditions and knowledge of the past, of course, help to establish present day norms and will guide individual, but they are not authoritative. The community may provide guidance and aid but in ultimately the individual or perhaps the family must make the decision. Yet the individual or family must also understand itself as part of a broader community if it wishes those decisions to be influential beyond the narrowest circle.

Borowitz felt strongly that the individual Reform Jew within the broader community should be creative and should form such new rituals as are an appropriate expression of the basic ethics and morality of Judaism and which will make them live in our time. This is especially important as no real American Jewish way of life has yet evolved and it is still being created.

As Borowitz looks at our broader influence on the stage of history he feels that all efforts to bring Israel and mankind closer to the Kingdom of God require covenant. It is the covenant which becomes dominant form of expressing the Jewish people’s attempt to reach God . That is shown most clearly by the manner of celebrating the holiday of the covenant , Shavuot . He stress both the personal and communal aspects of that holiday.(38)

in his emphasis on covenant and his stance on halakhah In the three volumes Reform Judaism Today, which provide the background for the"Centenary

Eugene Borowitz is perhaps clearest