Download What is Conservative Judaism?

Carnegie Shul Chatter
June 29, 2016
Candle lighting time is 5:07
Shabbos services are at 9:20
I didn’t know
I grew up attending a Conservative
shul (Parkway Jewish Center). I
went to Hebrew School there and I
attended services on Friday
evening and Saturday morning. I
thought I knew what Conservative
Judaism was.
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Conservative Judaism
I began last week’s Chatter by quoting a friend who said to me, “I know
what Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform Judaism are, but I have no idea
what Reconstructionist Judaism is. Do you?” And so I published a
discussion of the meaning of Reconstructionist Judaism.
But then I got to thinking, did my friend truly know what Orthodox and
Reform Judaism are? When I asked him, he opined that, Orthodox Jews
are real strict. They obey all of the rules of the Torah. Reform Jews are
real liberal. They obey very few of the rules. And Conservatives are in
between.”
Well, that’s not quite it, so I decided that I would devote the next few
Chatters to defining what each of the various Jewish movements is really
all about.
So today we will begin by taking a look at Conservative Judaism.
I actually intended to use the web site of the United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, the central organization for affiliated Conservative
congregations, as my source, but I could not actually find an explanation
of Conservative Judaism on their site. And so, for the sake of consistency, I
turned to the same source I used for Reconstructionist Judaism last week,
Lisa Katz, Judaism expert at about.com.
But Conservative Judaism has
changed significantly since my Bar
Mitzvah in 1960. When I was a
young man, women had Bas
Mitzvahs at my Shul, but most
Conservative Shuls were not as
egalitarian as they are today.
And though I thought I knew a lot
about Conservative Judaism, I
never learned anything about
“K'lal Yisrael, or the whole of the
Jewish community.”
The article by Lisa Katz does not
define K’lal Yisrael clearly enough
for me, so I looked to other
sources for a better explanation.
I found this, by Ismar Schorsch ,at
jewishvirtuallibrary.org: “the ideal
of klal yisrael, the unfractured
totality of Jewish existence and the
ultimate significance of every
single Jew. In the consciousness of
Conservative Jews, there yet
resonates the affirmation of
haverim kol yisrael (all Israel is still
joined in fellowship) - despite all
the dispersion, dichotomies and
politicization that history has
visited upon us.”
I hope that clarifies the concept.
What is Conservative Judaism?
The roots for Conservative Judaism were laid in the Jewish Theological Seminary of America stretching
back into the 1880s, but the movement was formally organized by Dr. Solomon Schechter in 1913.
Solomon Schechter was born in Moldavia (now Romania) to Romanian parents of the Chabad Hasidic
sect of Judaism. Solomon was even named after the founder of the Hasidic group as Shneur Zalman
Schechter.
In the early 20th century, Jews in the U.S. who were concerned about the growing influence of the
American Reform Judaism movement recruited Schechter to lead the Jewish Theological Seminary of
America (JTSA). He served in the position of president from 1902-1915, during which he also founded
the United Synagogue of America, now known as the United
Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
Schechter wanted the movement to implement certain key ideas:
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K'lal Yisrael, or the whole of the Jewish community
a Jewry based on the North American experience
a Jewry related to modern living
a Jewry devoted to Torah, with education a major priority
a Jewry with normative halacha (Jewish law)
Conservative Judaism maintains that the truths found in Jewish
scriptures and other Jewish writings come from God, but were
transmitted by humans and contain a human component.
Conservative Judaism generally accepts the binding nature of halacha, but believes that the law should
change and adapt, absorbing aspects of the predominant culture while remaining true to Judaism's
values. In his inaugural address in 1902, Schechter said,
"Judaism is not a religion which does not oppose itself to anything in particular. Judaism is opposed to
any number of things and says distinctly 'thou shalt not.' It permeates the whole of your life. It demands
control over all of your actions, and interferes even with your menu. It sanctifies the seasons, and
regulates your history, both in the past and in the future. Above all, it teaches that disobedience is the
strength of sin. It insists upon the observance of both the spirit and of the letter; spirit without letter
belongs to the species known to the mystics as 'nude souls' (nishmatim artisan), wandering about in the
universe without balance and without consistency ... In a word, Judaism is absolutely incompatible with
the abandonment of the Torah."
The idea of flexibility is deeply rooted in Conservative Judaism and can be found in Emet ve-Emunah:
Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism (1988).
Ismar Schorsch, chancellor emeritus of the Jewish Theological Seminary, identifies and explores seven
core values of Conservative Judaism in his monograph, "The Sacred Cluster: The Core Values of
Conservative Judaism":
1. The Centrality of Modern Israel
2. Hebrew: The Irreplaceable Language of Jewish Expression
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Devotion to the Ideal of Klal Yisrael
The Defining Role of Torah in the Reshaping of Judaism
The Study of Torah
The Governance of Jewish Life by Halakha
Belief in God
Schorsch explains,
"Whereas other movements in modern Judaism rest on a single tenet, such as the autonomy of the
individual or the inclusiveness of God's revelation at Sinai (Torah mi-Sinai), Conservative Judaism
manifests a kaleidoscopic cluster of discrete and unprioritized core values. Conceptually they fall into
two sets — three national and three religious — which are grounded and joined to each other by the
overarching presence of God, who represents the seventh and ultimate core value."
The Conservative Movement in Israel is called the Masorti (Masorti is the Hebrew word for "traditional")
Movement. The ideology of the Masorti Movement is based on three primary principles:
1. Torah and Mitzvot
2. Tolerance and Pluralism
3. Zionism
Just a few of the ways that that modern Conservative Judaism varies from its roots and from Orthodox
Judaism include:
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The movement has welcomed women cantors and rabbis since 1985.
Women and girls are called up to the Torah.
The kosher laws are not strictly and widely observed.
Driving on Shabbat is not prohibited.
Women often wear a kippah or prayer shawl and don tefillin.
Today there are about 800 congregations worldwide, representing some 1.5 million members, affiliated
with the Conservative Movement. The movement is perhaps most well known for its Solomon Schechter
Day School system and summer camp program, Camp Ramah.