“It is Time to Act for the Lord” 83

seriously only by the Orthodox who have a commitment to a strong concept of revelation. Conservative Judaism , in spite of its commitment to halakhah , has also failed to make a sufficiently cogent theological case for the authority of the halakhah.

Primarily, I understand our work in progressive halakhah as a commitment to rigorous text— based thinking and reasoning, which means that we do not invent our Judaism out of whole cloth. We, however, are not merely inheritors, we are also innovators. Our purpose is ultimately to seek the“divine” as a source for action. Theologically we accept the rabbinic concept that being created in the divine image is the capacity of the human mind and heart to perceive or at least glance at the mind of God through an engagement with sacred texts.'® In addition, halakhic reasoning will not be the only mode of reasoning which will influence serious Reform decision making.

In a community where the authority of the Torah and the halakhah in general is well established, there is a need to provide a method for amendment and/or abrogation. In a community like ours in which halakhic authority is practically nil, principles for abrogation and/or amendment can easily be misused to justify the establishment of any practice or to eliminate any practice. Historically we have often just made changes without necessarily engaging in rigorous systematic analysis. In addition, the emphasis upon individual autonomy divorced from some communally recognized authority or structure has limited the perceived need for a process. One colleague when asked why he agreed to perform same sex marriages said,“It just seemed right.”"’

In works that seek to establish Reform ethical practice, we frequently used theological concepts such as b'tzelem elohim(in the image of God ), mishpat(justice), and yetziat mitzraim(exodus from Egypt) as the sole justification for a particular stance. How we utilize texts to create an authentic position requires the creation of a set of exegetical norms. Reform halakhic thinking can and should utilize aggadic texts in conversation with halakhic texts. If Bialik is correct