Conservative Judaism at a Crossroads

[Phx_Dem]

Next week Arnold Eisen will be officially installed as the seventh chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary, Conservative Judaism’s flagship educational institution. While Eisen’s appointment as Conservative Judaism’s new de facto head has sparked a great deal of excitement, he will be inheriting a movement widely perceived as being adrift.

Conservative Judaism, once America’s largest Jewish denomination, is now second in size to the Reform movement. According to the National Jewish Population Survey 2000-01, only 33% of congregationally affiliated American Jews identified with Conservative Judaism, down from 43% a decade earlier. Indeed, JTS’s outgoing chancellor, Rabbi Ismar Schorsch, described Conservative Judaism in his 2006 commencement address as suffering from “malaise” and a “grievous failure of nerve.”

Is Conservative Judaism suffering from malaise? If so, what is the nature of the problem? And how should Conservative Jews steer their ship into the future? The Forward invited prominent Conservative leaders and some outside observers to weigh in on these questions.

http://www.forward.com/articles/11511/

Lots of interesting opinions at link.

[Meshuga]

1. Thanks for the article!

I haven't read it yet (it's lengthy) but I will get to it. This is a subject of interest since I have recently joined a Conservative shul and ended up leaving our old Reform congregation (we had dual membership for a while but it gets expensive to be affiliated to both). So the Reform actually lost my family to the Conservative movement. Nothing wrong with Reform but we found our place in our new shul.

This is my first time being member of a Conservative synagogue and I found it to be a great place where I have the opportunity to learn a whole lot more. I like the name "Covenantal Judaism" (or even Massorti Olami) better as opposed to "Conservative Judaism" since the current name gives the wrong impression but I am happy that we found this place and I find it puzzling that the movement is losing strength since it has so much to offer.

Could it be that the Reform more aggressive in trying to attract the intermarried while the Conservative Movement has the perception of being unfriendly to the intermarried? Or is it because Reform has moved closer to Conservative from the left while the Orthodox is moving closer to the conservative from the right (providing alternatives)?

I would love to read the opinions in the article. I guess I should go on and read it. :-)

Thanks for posting it!

[Phx_Dem]

2. I have always gone to a conservative shul

My knowledge of other traditions is limited. My understanding is that Reform shuls have become a lot more traditional, which could be drawing away some members of the conservative mvmt. Also the reconstructionists started as a offshoot of the conservative mvmt.

Like several of the guest writers in the article assert, the decline could be overstated, some of the change could be due to increases of new shuls that are not part of the national mvmt.

In AZ the conservative mvmt is growing, my shul has lost a lot of members but that's due to it's location in central Phx. The shuls in the north valley are growing rapidly. My sisters shul in tucson is growing in membership and is a very popular shul.

I think the conservative mvmt is not marketing itself well, and efforts in that area need to greatly expand. I think you are probably right about outreach to inter-faith families, many conservative shuls are still on the fence about that.

One of the strengths of the mvmt is also kind of a weakness, the fact that the mvmt is sort of a big-tent religious tradition is something I like, but the rather vast divergence of thought can also paralyze a shul into inaction. This quote really stuck out for me, it's so true:

"For decades, “Conservative Judaism” has not been a useful label. Observe Shabbat until noon on Saturday? A Conservative Jew. Walk three miles to synagogue? A Conservative Jew. Think God wrote the Torah? A Conservative Jew. Don’t believe in God? Also, a Conservative Jew."

edit--there also needs to be better web sites for the mvmt, right now there is basically nothing. I use the Chabad and aish web sites for the calenders and a little torah study, but I amknowledgeablee enough to know what is strictly orthodox theology.

[Meshuga]

3. Perhaps...

...There is no such a thing as a "Conservative Jew" but a Conservative Movement providing a big umbrella approach to accommodate Reform and Orthodox Jews together in the same movement. It would be a shame if we see the Conservative movement split since the different views and opinions being able to co-exist in the same tent is what makes it unique and a great place to be. It's a true family that can live together and have good moments and its moments of fighting and disagreements but stay together nonetheless.

I agree that it could be problem with the movement not marketing itself very well. I learned to appreciate it by accident, by running into it. Otherwise I would be content in a Reform congregation without knowing what I was missing. :-)

[Phx_Dem]

4. Yeah I think it would be a mistake

to split the movement or merge with Reform.

I hope that you find your new shul spiritually fulfilling, I have always thought that the conservative movement has a nice balance between tradition and modernity, and the new Chumash is fantastic.

[Meshuga]

5. Thanks!

We are loving it loving it so far.

[Phx_Dem]

6. Interview with Eisen

Assuming Mantle, New Chancellor Proclaims Movement’s Centrality

This week, Arnold Eisen assumed the chancellor’s mantle at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the Conservative movement’s flagship seminary in New York. The school’s seventh chancellor, Eisen replaced Ismar Schorsch, who helmed the institution for 20 years. On the eve of his inauguration, the Forward’s Rebecca Spence sat down with him for a wide-ranging interview on the state of the denomination.

http://www.forward.com/articles/11549/