Secular rabbis to be ordained in J'lem (Jerusalem, pray, Israel)

[jewscout]

Secular rabbis to be ordained in J'lem

In a first in Israel, seven secular rabbis who view Judaism as a culture will be ordained Friday in Jerusalem.

The secular ceremony, which will be held at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem, comes after the seven Israelis' completion of three years of study at the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism in Jerusalem.

The organization, which promotes, as the name suggests, a "secular humanistic Judaism," is closest to the Reconstructionist Judaism movement in the United States, said Oren Yehi-Shalom, 35, one of the secular rabbis who will be ordained in the ceremony.

Yehi-Shalom said that the participants do not pray to God, but rather believe in man's humanity.

The group's Web site lists the belief in God "as a literary character," citing the Dutch philosopher Spinoza, who is recognized as the founder of modern Biblical criticism.

Yehi-Shalom, who was born to a secular family in the Tel Aviv suburb of Petah Tikva, said that he was approached by the organization while working in the field of education and completing his master's at Bar-Ilan University.
The seven secular rabbis who will be ordained on Friday will work in the field of education, and will carry out religious ceremonies that will not necessarily include God in them.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satelli...cle%2FShowFull