Conservative Judaism, struggling with decades of declining membership and an abrupt, sweeping change in its senior leadership, heard a call in early June from three prominent rabbis for a rethinking of its mission.
The three rabbis, New York-based and all under 45, launched their broadsides from the stage of a packed auditorium at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, in an evening program titled “Conservative Judaism: The Next Generation.” They called for new directions in the religious approach and practice of their denomination, the centrist movement that once dominated the American Jewish landscape.
The seminary’s newly minted chancellor, Arnold Eisen, introduced the presentation as “the culmination” of a smaller forum of several dozen Conservative leaders brought together by the seminary to reexamine the movement’s future. It was intended, Eisen said, as a response to the “enormous concern among Jews at the decline” of the once-dominant centrist Jewish denomination.
“We found a new universal desire to get the movement back to its strength and vitality, looking at structure, quality and message,” Eisen told his audience.
The panelists were sharply divided, however, on what new directions to take. One participant, Rabbi Johanna Samuels, a writer and former rabbi of Congregation Habonim on Manhattan’s liberal Upper West Side, called for a greater emphasis on social justice and activism. “We need to do something bigger than ourselves,” she told the audience. “My goal is for us to get people out in the world to help heal the world. That’s the best kind of Conservative practice.” “We need to get out of this institutional malaise and self-focused mentality and get out into the world and do work,” Samuels said. “Build houses, work for justice. We’ll come back to our institutions invigorated.”
By contrast, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of Congregation Ansche Chesed, also on the Upper West Side, urged greater emphasis on prayer and observance of ritual. “Conservative Judaism offers a deep, religious path,” he declared emphatically. “The goal is for all synagogues to experience its depth.”
“We need to fix the soul and fix the body,” Kalmanofsky said. “These deeds will sanctify us and make the world a better world.”
The third panelist, Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove of Park Avenue Synagogue on the affluent Upper East Side, argued that the separate denominations of American Judaism are losing their relevance among younger Jews. “Denominations are changing,” Cosgrove said. “Lines aren’t black and white. These lines are very slippery.”
In the early years of Conservative Judaism a century ago, Cosgrove said, “Americans were seeking to make sense of their lives as immigrants.” Now, he said, “This story is over. We’ve arrived. We’re here.” The question Jews ask today, he said, is not “how to arrive in a secular culture, but how to cross back over to tradition.”
Conservative Judaism arose early in the 20th century as a centrist bloc, between the staunch traditionalism of Orthodox Judaism, which preached full observance of rabbinic law, and the more permissive Reform movement, which viewed the laws as guidelines for the individual. Conservative Judaism preached observance of the law but claimed rules had evolved through history and could continue to evolve. During the boom years of postwar suburban Jewish life it was the dominant wing of American Judaism. Surveys showed it claiming the loyalty of more than 40 percent of the community, with the rest divided between Reform, Orthodox and non-identified. During the last several decades the Conservative movement has been in decline, and it now shows up in surveys second in numbers to Reform Judaism.
Eisen, 58, seminary chancellor since July 2008, is one of three new chief executives who have taken the reins of the Conservative movement’s three main institutions in the past year. In October 2008 the Rabbinical Assembly, the union of Conservative rabbis, selected Rabbi Julie Schoenfeld, 43, as its new executive vice-president. This past spring the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, serving the movement’s 780 congregations, chose Rabbi Steven Wernick, 41, as its executive vice-president. All three replaced incumbents who had been in their posts since the 1980s.
Interviewed by the Forward after the session, Rabbi Cosgrove said that the message of Conservative Judaism remains “strong, true, and relevant.” However, he said “the movement needs to do a better job at communicating this message to American Jewry as a whole.” The June 3 symposium, participants said, was not aimed at reaching that larger audience but at advancing the internal discussion within Conservative Judaism about how best to approach the community at large. Rabbi Kalmanofsky expressed his doubts that anyone outside of Conservative Judaism had even been in attendance.
Individual rabbis, Samuels told the Forward, have begun the work in their pulpits. “In our own ways we’re reaching a broader audience,” she said. What remains is for the movement as a whole to develop a coordinated approach.
J.J. Goldberg contributed reporting.
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I would hope that this conversation was saved as a podcast and will be available on the JTS website like lots of other public forums at JTS have been saved.
The quote I like most from this article is Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove's: "The question Jews ask today," he said, "is not how to arrive in a secular culture, but how to cross back over to tradition."
I too hope the video or podcast of this discussion will be available.
I think conservative Judaism is going to continue loosing more and more members to Othodox Judaism. The only way to bring back people is by bringing back morality and family values and the only way to have that is by simply studying Torah and doing the mitzvots.
The Orthodox who are growing and have reach a level of critical mass to continue their growth, invest every year several BILLION dollars in their Yeshivas and Orthodox Hebrew Day Schools. There may be some technical glitches and problems with their education and its continued funding but it has done its job. The non-orthodox have done almost nothing, nobody knows hebrew, nobody knows the religious texts, nobody knows the prayers except as mechanically reciting words they do not understand and were never expected to even if they went to the comical after-school study. There is no quick fix, but hebrew would be the natural beginning with the expectation to fluency and mastery so they could actually read and understand and study Judaism and be part of the Jewish people at some substantive level.
Only through me and my organization, NewJudaism.org, can Judaism be saved. Otherwise, it is a fossil, as stated by the late Arnold Toynbee
The future of Conservative Judaism [CJ] is dependant on two major factors, clarifying its ideological ‘demands’ and creating a real and functional movement (institutional support). It’s been my experience that most people who identify as “Conservative” are such because they belong or would belong to a synagogue associated with Conservative Judaism. Unfortunately, many people who grew up in a Conservative synagogue don’t consider themselves Conservative Jews as an adult. Those who take their Judaism seriously have either become rabbis or left CJ (or both).
I’m not sure if there's a clear definition or understanding what makes someone a Conservative Jew. What are expected behaviors—kashrut, shabbat, learning, prayer, etc—and within which parameters? How much does halakha or Jewish texts/history inform their life and life style? My own sense is very little. Pay your dues and you're officially a Conservative Jew. If CJ is going to make any inroads to “cross back over to tradition,” it’ll need to make its message both clear and relevant to the modern (secular) Jew. Unlike Rabbi Elliot Cosgrove, the message of Conservative Judaism is NOT “strong, true, and relevant.” It’s just the opposite (as alluded to Jeremy Kalmanofsky).
Then there’s the institutional issue. For all intends and purposes, CJ is NOT a movement. Each of its “branches” operates as a separate entity with little, if any, regard to the other. The “realignment” of the leadership of three of the largest branches—JTS, USCJ and the RA—offers an excellent window of opportunity to create a synergy of cooperation and develop the infrastructure for creating a real movement. Synagogue life needs to be strengthened, Jewish literacy (e.g., Hebrew language, familiarity with the classical Jewish texts, prayer) needs to be emphasized, and a greater commitment to a Jewish life style (e.g., kashrut, observing shabbat and the holidays/calendar) expected/developed. If all its branches see themselves in (true) common cause and they work to take advantage of each others strengths, there may be a chance for CJ to remain relevant to contemporary Jews and grew “the movement”.
If there’s no effort to making real changes in the above, the erosion of CJ is a forgone conclusion and all the discussions will be lip service instead of divine service.
"Only through me and my organization, NewJudaism.org, can Judaism be saved. Otherwise, it is a fossil, as stated by the late Arnold Toynbee"
Hmmm... that rings a bell.... someone said something remarkably similar about, hmm, 2000 years ago I think... what was his name? It's on the tip of my tongue...
I grew up in a Conservative shul but we had an orthodox rabbi who sent me to yeshiva. I think that it is hard to be "parve", you have to have strong beliefs and principles. The orthodox benefit from leadership, plain and simple. Sociologically, there is no substitute for belief , you can't build a movement that espouses halacha but doesn't believe that The Exodus From Egypt ever happened. When Rabbi Wolpe in LA told his Persian congregants that the exodux is a myth, he lost my respect. How could he be so insensitive as to destroy the faith of his congregants, what did he gain . If he is the best they have, woe.
Life mimics art: Just as the famous New Yorker cover -- Manhattan looms large and the rest of the world disappears into the distance -- so this forum and panel. Rabbi's from the Upper West and East Sides of Manhattan? That's it?? Surely you must know there are thinking Conservative Jews who have ventured beyond the holy island of New York. Neither "get[ting] out into the world and do[ing] work," nor "prayer and observance of ritual" is the answer, but education, education, education! Is it not clear that if a person does not know his choices he has no choice? Is it not clear that prayer is meaningless without knowing the meaning of the words one recites? Is it not clear that every Jewish child needs a Jewish education that consists of more than learning some mumbo-jumbo syllables for her bat-mitzvah?
Where you have committed Jews is where you have knowledge. Ramah. Day Schools. Subsidize them. Encourage them. Make them 'nachlat haklal' and not just for rich kids. Ya think?
There are alot of interesting comments here. May I add one...Have more children. Be fruitful and multiply. Having at least 3 children will help keep us strong. While this may not be appropriate for all, it is appropriate for many and I believe we need to send the message that we should have more children. Also, bring back crypto and others back to Judaism. I dont want to proselytize, but encourage those who were Jewish or have even a small interest in Jewish to consider becoming Jewish (again). Increase our numbers and stay true to Mitzvot at the same time.
Our conservative Shul is always crowded on Shabbat and we have daily minyans, but interestingly, not many of our kids go from the pre-school to religious school. They either become more secular or go to Jewish Day Schools. The education and community values must be strong from primary school through early careers. Chabad is good at that. We must learn from them.
Conservative Judaism should grow, by numbers (births and conversions), and by Mitzvot. We have a lot to offer and need to reach out.