This is the Forward’s coverage of Conservative Judaism, one of the three major streams of U.S. Judaism. Conservative Jews are generally more observant than Reform Jews but less so than Orthodox Jews. The movement is led by the…
Conservative Judaism
The Latest
-
News Take My iPad, Please!
For the gadget-toting Jew, a recent announcement from the Conservative movement about new Sabbath guidelines on the ban on electronics might sound like a flight attendant’s canned directive before takeoff: no cell phones, smart phones, digital cameras or even e-readers. But beyond the traditional halachic reasons for pressing the “off button” on the Sabbath —…
-
Opinion Beyond Gee-Whiz Figures in Population Study
Most of the conversation surrounding that new survey of New York’s Jewish population, released in early June by UJA-Federation of New York, has been focused on its two big, gee-whiz numbers: the one-third of Jews in the region (40% in New York City proper) who are Orthodox and the 20% who are poor. It’s understandable…
-
Opinion Are New York Jews Abandoning Obama?
New York’s Jews aren’t overwhelmingly pro-Obama. That’s one finding in a poll released last week by Siena College, and backed up by months of similar reports from the same organization. The monthly survey of New York State voters breaks out the Jewish vote from the non-Jewish vote. The sample size of Jews is small, fewer…
-
Opinion Separate Synagogue and State
They didn’t exactly turn handsprings, but their cheering was unmistakable. “This is a historic day for Israelis and Jews around the world,” proclaimed Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, executive vice president of the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly. The head of Israel’s Reform movement, Rabbi Gilad Kariv, declared that the decision is “an important breakthrough in the effort to…
-
News Conservatives Skip Kiddushin in Gay Rite
In their recent crafting of gay and lesbian marital rites, three Conservative rabbis altered the most fundamental piece of the traditional Jewish marriage ceremony: the liturgy of kiddushin. But rather than feel excluded, some gay Jews say they are relieved to be exempt from kiddushin, the part of the ceremony in which one partner —…
-
Opinion All the News on Jews’ Views: Comparing 3 Polls
There’s good news and bad news for President Obama in a new survey of American Jewish opinion released Thursday by the Workmen’s Circle. First, the bad news: Jewish voters favor Obama over Mitt Romney by about two to one — 59% to 27%, with 14% undecided. If undecideds follow the same 2-to-1 split, the result…
-
News Conservatives Give Gay Wedding Guidance
When Gerald Skolnik, the president of a group of 1,600 Conservative rabbis, was asked to officiate at a gay wedding last year, he didn’t know where to start. “I was flying by the seat of my pants,” he said. Should the wedding look like a heterosexual ceremony, or something else entirely? Now he has guidelines…
-
Fast Forward Conservative Jews Praise Obama After Meeting
A group of leaders from the Conservative movement praised President Barack Obama after holding an informal meeting May 29 at the White House. The 20 Conservative rabbis and lay leaders, who also met with White House Chief of Staff Jack Lew, said Obama emphasized his support for Israel and deep “appreciation of Jewish tradition.” “He…
Explore
Most Popular
In Case You Missed It
-
Culture I come from a long line of Jewish Bundists. Now, Molly Crabapple is part of our family.
-
Opinion American Jews have a Hasan Piker problem. Solving it is going to hurt
-
Fast Forward 200+ Bnei Menashe immigrate to Israel from India, the first to make the journey in years
-
Yiddish װאָס קען מען זיך אָפּלערנען פֿון מאָלי קראַבעפּלס בוך װעגן „בונד“?What can we learn from Molly Crabapple’s book about the Bund?
דאָס בוך איז גרונטיק געפֿאָרשט, לעבעדיק אָנגעשריבן — אָבער אידעאָלאָגיש באַפֿאַרבט