“Reformists experience everything themselves, and then the Orthodox catch up with us”: interpretation of the period of the COVID-19 pandemic in Russian reform Judaism

Abstract

   The article is devoted to understanding of the interpretation of the period of the COVID-19 pandemic by members of the communities of Russian Reform Judaism. The problem studied is that in the religious field the reaction to the state quarantine measures was ambiguous. Thus, there is a need to analyze various cases. This article examines the reaction to the pandemic among the rabbis of the Jewish Reform communities in Russia, as well as the theological explanation of the chosen way to communicate during the crisis period. The key question of the study: how do leaders of the reform movement theologically define the need to move religious services online? The study was conducted using semi-structured interviews and participant observation. As a result of the analysis of interview data, the general position of the movement allowed changing the form of a religious ritual depending on the context. In this case, during a pandemic, the life of an individual believer is at risk. The leaders of the communities in question also did not meet resistance regarding the developed position among the believers (as opposed to the orthodox communities).