Conservative Judaism
In 1836, Zecharias Frankel accepted the post of chief rabbi in the Kingdom of Saxony. He stood between two camps during a period when Jewish communal rights were being abolished across Europe. The modernized Orthodox in Germany, including rabbis Isaac Bernays and Azriel Hildesheimer, studied new academic methods but refused to grant them any say in religious matters. On the other extreme was Rabbi Abraham Geiger, who opposed all limits on critical research. Frankel argued that forward progress must be reached unnoticed by the average spectator. He launched the magazine Zeitschrift für die Religiösen Interessen des Judenthums in December 1843 to present his approach. This Positive-Historical School sought to demonstrate continuity while allowing for historical study. Frankel believed that the means of change had to be applied with such care that they seemed inconsequential to observers.
Conservative Judaism maintained ambivalence regarding theology from its earliest stages. Rabbi Zecharias Frankel considered the very notion of theology alien to traditional Judaism. Leaders largely avoided defining clear creeds until 1985, when a course about Conservative theology opened at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. A Statement of Principles titled Emet ve-Emunah appeared in 1988 to articulate beliefs about God, revelation, and election. This platform acknowledged that diverse positions existed within the movement and often expressed conflicting views. Most theologians adhere to the immortality of the soul, yet English translations of prayers obscure references to resurrection. The movement rephrased petitions for the restoration of sacrifices into past tense, rejecting animal offerings while not opposing a return to Zion. In 1970s scholarship, non-verbal understanding of theophany became dominant among thinkers influenced by Franz Rosenzweig and existentialists.
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards functions as the main body formulating rulings and responsa. This panel includes 25 voting legalistic specialists and 11 observers who meet to decide religious policy. Every responsum must receive a minimum of six voters to be considered an official position of the committee. Conservative decisors frequently resort to less canonical sources, isolated responsa or minority opinions from the Talmud. They demonstrate more fluidity regarding established precedent and continuum in rabbinic literature than Orthodox authorities do. Rabbi David Golinkin noted that rulings often cite earlier sources like the Shulchan Aruch but also criticize its overly canonized status. In 1948, Rabbi Isaac Klein argued that formulation of significant takkanot should be avoided without consensus. New statues require a simple majority of 13 supporters among the 25 members of the CJLS. Decisors are far more prone to include references to external scientific sources in relevant fields, such as veterinarian publications for Halakhic matters concerning livestock.
The term Conservative Judaism appeared generically in an 1887 dedication speech by Rabbi Alexander Kohut at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. In 1901, JTS alumni formed the Rabbinical Assembly, which now includes 1648 rabbis as of 2010. Solomon Schechter arrived in 1902 to reorganize the faculty after receiving $500,000 from philanthropists like Jacob Schiff. On the 23rd of February 1913, he founded the United Synagogue of America with 22 communities. The movement established the World Council of Conservative Synagogues in 1957. Offshoots outside North America mostly adopted the Hebrew name Masorti, including the Israeli Masorti Movement founded in 1979 and the British Assembly of Masorti Synagogues formed in 1985. The current chancellor of the JTS is Shuly Rubin Schwartz, who took office in 2020 as the first woman elected to this position. The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies operates in Jerusalem alongside the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles.
According to a Pew Research Center survey in 2013, 18 per cent of Jews in the United States identified with the movement. Steven M. Cohen calculated that 962,000 U.S. Jewish adults considered themselves Conservative, with 570,000 registered congregants and 392,000 non-members identifying as such. Among those aged under 30 only 11 per cent identified as Conservative, while there are three people over 55 for every single one aged between 35 and 44. As of November 2015, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism had 580 member congregations, down from 630 two years prior. In 2011, Rela Mintz Geffen appraised there were only 100,000 members outside the U.S. Masorti AmLat in Latin America holds the largest presence abroad with 35 communities in Argentina alone. The British Assembly estimates its membership at over 4000 across thirteen communities. More than twenty communities are spread across Europe, with three in Australia and two in Africa.
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Common questions
Who founded the Positive-Historical School of Conservative Judaism?
Rabbi Zecharias Frankel established the Positive-Historical School in 1836 when he accepted the post of chief rabbi in the Kingdom of Saxony. He launched the magazine Zeitschrift für die Religiösen Interessen des Judenthums in December 1843 to present his approach.
When did Conservative Judaism leaders define clear creeds for the movement?
Leaders largely avoided defining clear creeds until 1985, when a course about Conservative theology opened at the Jewish Theological Seminary of America. A Statement of Principles titled Emet ve-Emunah appeared in 1988 to articulate beliefs about God, revelation, and election.
How many voting members are required on the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards to pass an official position?
Every responsum must receive a minimum of six voters from the 25 voting legalistic specialists to be considered an official position of the committee. New statues require a simple majority of 13 supporters among the 25 members of the CJLS.
What year did the movement allow women rabbinic ordination?
A motion adopted in 1983 allowed women rabbinic ordination based on arguments that women may bless when performing positive time-bound commandments. This decision followed earlier rulings such as the 1950 ruling that using electricity did not constitute kindling a fire unto itself.
Who is the current chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary and when did they take office?
Shuly Rubin Schwartz became the current chancellor of the JTS in 2020 as the first woman elected to this position. She leads the institution alongside the Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in Los Angeles.