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Conservative Judaism is a Jewish religious movement that regards the authority of Jewish law and tradition as emanating primarily from the assent of the people through the generations, more than from divine revelation. It therefore views Jewish law, or halakha, as both binding and subject to historical development. The conservative rabbinate employs modern historical-critical research, rather than only traditional methods and sources, and lends great weight to its constituency, when determining its stance on matters of practice. The movement considers its approach as the authentic and most appropriate continuation of halakhic discourse, maintaining both fealty to received forms and flexibility in their interpretation. It also eschews strict theological definitions, lacking a consensus in matters of faith and allowing great pluralism.
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) is a Conservative Jewish education organization in New York City, New York. It is one of the academic and spiritual centers of Conservative Judaism and a center for academic scholarship in Jewish studies. The Jewish Theological Seminary Library is one of the most significant collections of Judaica in the world.
The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) is the major congregational organization of Conservative Judaism in North America, and the largest Conservative Jewish communal body in the world. USCJ closely works with the Rabbinical Assembly, the international body of Conservative rabbis. It coordinates and assists the activities of its member communities on all levels.
Jules Harlow is a Conservative Jewish rabbi and liturgist; son of Henry and Lena Lipman Harlow. He was born in Sioux City, Iowa, United States.
Keshet Rabbis is an organization of Conservative/Masorti rabbis, cofounded in 2003 by Menachem Creditor, which holds that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Jews should be embraced as full, open members of all Conservative congregations and institutions. Based on its understanding of Jewish sources and Jewish values, it asserts that LGBT Jews may fully participate in community life and achieve positions of professional and lay leadership.
The Union for Traditional Judaism, founded in 1984, is a traditional, Halakhic Jewish outreach and communal service organization. It initially called itself "The Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism" but dropped "Conservative" from its title when it broke with the Conservative movement. In 1985 Rabbi Ronald D. Price was tapped to lead the organization as executive director and later as Executive Vice President. He served in that capacity for 26 years until his retirement in 2011. He was succeeded by Rabbi David Bauman and then Rabbi Gerald Sussman who is currently (2018) the executive director. In 1988 after attempting to affect change within Conservative Judaism, the UTJ membership voted to drop the word 'Conservative' from its title. Following a two-year period of negotiations, the Rabbinic Fellowship of the UTJ absorbed a modern Orthodox rabbinic organization, the Fellowship of Traditional Orthodox Rabbis. The merged rabbinic body is known today as MORASHAH. Some of the UTJ leaders at various times called themselves Conservative, Modern Orthodox or trans-denominational. The UTJ's Institute of Traditional Judaism (ITJ) granted semikhah to a number of rabbis, though as of 2018 there are no current semikhah students. The UTJ's Panel of Halakhic Inquiry has published three volumes of responsa titled "Tomeikh kaHalakhah." The UTJ produced the educational curriculum "Taking the MTV Challenge—Media and Torah Values" designed to provide high-school students with tools to respond to the electronic media. The UTJ is often viewed as representing a denomination or inhabiting an ideological space between Conservative and Orthodox Judaism.
The Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (UOR), often called by its Hebrew name, Agudath Harabonim or (in Ashkenazi Hebrew) Agudas Harabonim ("union of rabbis"), was established in 1901 in the United States and is the oldest organization of Orthodox rabbis in the United States. It had been for many years the principal group for such rabbis, though in recent years it has lost much of its former membership and influence.
Conservative Judaism views halakha as normative and binding. The Conservative movement applies Jewish law to the full range of Jewish beliefs and practices, including thrice-daily prayer, Shabbat and holidays, marital relations and family purity, conversion, dietary laws (kashrut), and Jewish medical ethics. Institutionally, the Conservative movement rules on Jewish law both through centralized decisions, primarily by the Rabbinical Assembly and its Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, and through congregational rabbis at the local level. Conservative authorities produced voluminous Responsa literature.
Criticism of Conservative Judaism is widespread in the Orthodox Jewish community, although the movement also has its critics in Reform Judaism and in other streams of Judaism. While the Conservative movement professes fidelity to Jewish tradition, it considers Halakha to be a dynamic process that needs reinterpreting in modern times. The criticism by Orthodox Jews and traditionalists within the movement itself revolves around the following:
Beth Israel Congregation is a Conservative synagogue located at 385 Pottstown Pike in Upper Uwchlan Township, Pennsylvania. It was founded in Coatesville, Pennsylvania in 1904 as Kesher Israel by Eastern European immigrants, and formally chartered as "Beth Israel" in 1916. It constructed its first building in 1923, and expanded it after World War II.
Reuven Hammer was an American-Israeli Conservative rabbi, scholar of Jewish liturgy, author and lecturer who was born in New York. He was a founder of the "Masorti" (Conservative) movement in Israel and a president of the International Rabbinical Assembly. He served many years as head of the Masorti Beth Din in Israel. A prolific writer in both the Israeli and international press, he was a regular columnist for The Jerusalem Post's "Tradition Today" column. He lived in Jerusalem.
The Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism, also known as the LCCJ, is a council made up of members of the various arms of the Conservative movement, a formal movement within the Jewish denomination of Conservative Judaism.
Masorti Olami is the international umbrella organization for Masorti Judaism, founded in 1957 with the goal of making Masorti Judaism a force in the Jewish world. Masorti Olami is affiliated with communities in over 36 countries, representing with partners in Israel and North America close to two million people worldwide, both registered members and non-member identifiers. Masorti Olami builds, renews, and strengthens Jewish life throughout the world, with efforts that focus on existing and developing communities in Europe, Latin America, the former Soviet Union, Africa, Asia, and Australia. More than 140 kehillot (communities) are affiliated with Masorti Olami in Argentina, Aruba, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Czech Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, France, Germany, Honduras, Hungary, India, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Mexico, the Netherlands, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Uganda, Ukraine, Uruguay, the United Kingdom and additionally, more than 600 in Canada and the United States and over 80 communities in Israel. All of Masorti Olami's activities are conducted within the context of the overall Conservative Judaism movement, in close cooperation with its affiliated organizations in North America and Israel. The current executive director is Rabbi Mauricio Balter.
Rabbi Albert L. Lewis was a leading American Conservative rabbi, scholar, and author; President of the Rabbinical Assembly (RA), the international organization of Conservative rabbis; and Vice-President of The World Council of Synagogues. In 2009, the award-winning author, Mitch Albom, wrote about Lewis, his childhood rabbi, as the main character in the non-fiction book, Have a Little Faith. The book, hailed as a story of faith that inspires faith in others, concludes with the eulogy that Albom delivered at Lewis's funeral, on February 12, 2008.
Gesa Ederberg is a German rabbi; she became the first female pulpit rabbi in Berlin in 2007 when she became the rabbi of the New Synagogue, Berlin in the former East Berlin. Her installation as such was opposed by Berlin's senior Orthodox rabbi Yitzchak Ehrenberg.
Rabbi Natasha Mann is a rabbi of New London Synagogue in the United Kingdom, which is affiliated to Masorti Judaism. She is the first openly queer rabbi in a traditional Jewish denomination in Europe.
Rabbi Mauricio Balter is the executive director of Masorti Olami, the international umbrella organization of the Masorti/Conservative Judaism Movement and MERCAZ Olami, the Movement's Zionist and political arm. As a representative of the Masorti/Conservative Movement, Balter is one of the 37 Directors of the Jewish National Fund and sits on the Education and Community Committee, as well as the Resource Development Committee. Rabbi Balter is founder and member of the Forum for Jewish Renewal in the Negev and founder of the Negev Interfaith Initiative Dialogue. Rabbi Balter serves as an executive member of the World Zionist Organization, a member of the board of governors of KKL-JNF, Keren HaYesod and the Jewish Agency for Israel.
MERCAZ Olami is a Zionist political organization representing the world Masorti/Conservative Movement of Judaism at the World Zionist Organization, Jewish Agency for Israel, Keren Kayemeth Leyisrael and Keren HaYesod.
Theodore Tuvia Zvi Friedman was an American and Israeli conservative rabbi, spiritual leader, and author. From 1962 to 1964, he served as the president of The Rabbinical Assembly, the international association of Conservative rabbis. During his tenure, he supported the African-American Civil Rights Movement.
References
- ↑ Allan, Meyers (2001). The Jewish Community of West Philadelphia.
- ↑ "The Cornell Daily Sun". 76 (142). 2 June 1970.
{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires|journal=(help) - ↑ "Twelve Localities Earn Seminary Degrees". Jewish Exponent. May 16, 1975.
- ↑ "CAI Leadership". Congregation Agudath Israel.
- ↑ "Federation Elects Rabbi Silverstein". Philadelphia Jewish Exponent. November 4, 1977.
- ↑ Ginsberg, Johanna R. (September 27, 2018). "Why wait for retirement when you can hire now?". New Jersey Jewish News.
- 1 2 "Bio". Times of Israel.
- ↑ "Love's not all you need, but it's a start". New Jersey Jewish News.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Masorti movement to honor local rabbi". New Jersey Jewish News.
- 1 2 "RA Selects SIlverstein as Treasurer". New Jersey Jewish News. May 24, 1990.
- ↑ "New Jersey Rabbi Flies to Make Pope Meeting". JTA.org. October 8, 1995.
- 1 2 3 "Busting Myths about Masorti by Prominent Conservative Rabbi, Alan Silverstein". 21 July 2019.
- ↑ "Silverstein again heads Conservative group". March 16, 2016.