Aniconism in Judaism in an article published in 1878, and is regarded as the founder of the scholarly discipline of Jewish art history. His disciple Dr. Samuel Krauss wrote in 1901: Aniconism in Judaism Aniconism in Judaism covers a number of areas. The portrayal of YHWH in any kind of human or concrete form is not encouraged. A number of verses in the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh) refer to prohibitions against the creation of various forms of images, invariably linked directly with idolatry. The strongest over-all source is based on what Judaism counts as the second of the Ten Commandments: This prohibition is widespread.
Bar and Bat Mitzvah North America has struggled over the bar/bat mitzvah. At one time, this ceremony was on the verge of extinction in Reform congregations. Most of them preferred to replace bar/bat mitzvah with confirmation, which they considered a more enlightened and appropriate ceremony for modern Jews. Yet the enduring popularity of bar/bat mitzvah prevailed and today, in our communities, bar/bat mitzvah is 'virtually universally observed' by Reform Jews." In 2012, concern about the high post-bar/bat mitzvah drop out rate led the Union for Reform Judaism to launch the B'nai Mitzvah Revolution, an effort to shift Reform congregations away from "the long-held assumption