There are numerous problems with Conservative Judaism, and not just with the superficial topic of simultaneously grasping to tradition and change. The first of these that come to my mind (as a person who goes to a Conservative shul) is the almost knee-jerk reaction towards leniency with every decision handed down by the CJLS. In the few cases where they do rule stringently, internal forces within the movement force the issue back to the decision table until they rule leniently on the issue. In echoing Rabbi Joel Roth, I believe, I ask the following question: Are the institutions of Conservative Judaism true arbiters of Halachah or do they merely function as a rubber stamp for Jews to embrace Modern Progressive values? Secondly, the vast majority of Conservative Jews do not lead observant lives (even by the standards set by CJ). They believe in tradition and change while conveniently and not so silently dropping the tradition part. How many CJs keep kosher at home? How many attend services regularly? I know that in my community, the percentages are less than 10%! Ultimately, CJ is growing increasingly irrelevant as Jewish society increasingly bifurcates into secular and religious factions. The whole maxim of embracing tradition and change is as meaningful as a group of rabbis handing down legal decisions that laypeople refuse to follow. This is a movement that is brushing itself into the dustbin of history.

Instead of embracing what is good about progressive and conservative and orthodox judaism we constantly fight. There are pros and cons of each movement. To believe the Judaism does not and has not evolved is not consistent with reality. Look, the majority of Jews are not orthodox. There is beauty in each movement. We should be more supportive and find common ground. This is not to say that all who want to claim to be Jews are Jews...it is to say that Jewish people need to be more supportive of one another...to be nicer to one another.

#1, as a former member of a Conservative shul I agree with every word of your comment. It is very sad, since the movement started with the goal to conserve (preserve) tradition.

Rabbi Joel Roth is quoted selectively. He has also argued that CJ is authentic and "We got it right." Halacha has always responded to changing circurstances, note the abolition of Sotah, and moral imperatives, no rebellious son was ever executed. The question is not what percentage of CJ member attend synagogue but whether they follow God's will. To be sarcastic, why do so many Orthodox synagogues have parking lots? The issue is what is the proper halacha, not how many people adhere to it. God praises those who adhere to his will. Who knows God's will? If I knew God I would be God. Don Goldstein North Carolina, USA

It is true that Classic Rabbinic Judaism does consider moral feeling, injustice, and survival in formulating law. The criticism of CJ, however, is in the extent. The Torah is our prime source for moral direction. It is critical to distinguish between survival concerns and simple convenience. CJ today caves in too easily to convenience concerns and focuses too heavily on making Judaism palatable at the expense of traditional principles.

when people dont feel tied to something they stay.. people will be either orthodox or not religous... there is no such thing as staying middle of the line... in the usa a very high percentange of non orthodox intermarry and their kids arent even jewish... in israel you are either dati or non dati, but very few israelies go for BS...they say im Masorati, traditional (not conservative, meaning they know orthodox is the way of hteir parents and grandparents) but they at this point its feel its not for them or they are religous... conservativeand reform is an apeasment of guilt that ha no future

I am a member of a CJ congregation in Israel, we in our congregation put emphasis on feeling of community. We also have study groups, “The weekly Portion” & “Talmud” to mention 2 groups. What I find refreshing as a former Yeshiva student is the approach of revisiting Halacha and returning Halacha to its original state before the acceptance of the “Shulchan Aruch” as the final guide to Halacha in the 18th century with its modifications made by the “Mappa”. When one studies Talmud, one finds that Halacha decisions were not “cast in concrete” but were debated and even modified. Halacha should not be taken as Toratic law, but as human ideas as to what the law should be. We no longer live in a mostly agricultural world and the needs of city life and the change in the status of women must be taken into effect in our interpretation of Halacha as well as needing updating to all the knowledge gained since the 18th century. Having said this there is one major criticism I have on the CJ movement and that is the wide range of practices and interpretations that abound in the movement. In addition, I am sure there is a range of observance even in the other religious movements.

Reform and Conservative will soon die out. Only the Orthodox will be left in the Galut. In Israel, however, most non-religious remain part of the Jewish People. How many non-Orthodox will be left in America in another two generations? Not many.

Don't count your chickens before the hatch. The long run may even be the opposite. History has shown that sects that do not modernize soon die out. So the orthodox may remain in name only but in reality be either the modern orthodox or massoriti

Your statement is correct when talking of humanity at large, but all you have to do is look at the Jewish history to see that those who were halachic adherent and educated their offspring that its adherence is to be perpetuated, have faired outrageously succesful in keeping themselves around compared to the multitude of cultures who no longer exist!

My grandparents and greatgrandparents were not Orthodox, stop this misinformation. We're proudly secular Jews already for the last 4 generations. Conservative and Reform will exist for many more years. Don't delude yourself with your choice of Judaism.

yes, #10, in fact these successful followers of Halakha started because their founders gave up Jerusalem easily. And if necessary, they'll do it again.

1) Most Israelis define themselves as mesorati, so the Conservative movement came up with the name 'Masorti' post-facto to claim religious hegemony in Israel. 2) The Conservative movement of today generally speaking holds no allegiance to Jewish law, neither at the rabbinic or layperson level. 3) The Conservative movement claims to straddle the line between modern life and Jewish values, all the while violating Jewish norms at every corner. Only YU-style Centrist Orthodoxy can today claim to embody a life of Torah with engagement of modernity. 4) The multiplicity of articles in the Israeli press from Masorti apparachiks is no accident. They hope to increase the visibility of a failed movement beyond its importance. Having done a miserable job of sustaining what is essentially 'Reform-lite' in the US, they see Israel as fertile ground for selling their brand of non-belief and non-observance. 5) If the Conservative movement wants to find true success (qualitatively, not quantitatively), it should start to practice what it preaches. Start tempering modernity with Jewish belief and observance, and not vice-versa. But then again, that would make it Modern or Centrist Orthodox, rendering Conservative/Masorti/whatever what it always has been...Jewishly dead on arrival.

I think that CJ started as a movement within Reform Judaism. A faction of Reform leaders were unhappy with the blatant disregard for (and, often, contempt for) Jewish tradition within the formative years of Reform Judaism and desired to hold on to as much of tradition as possible while allowing room for secular values. In addition to my last comment (you might also agree with this), I'd like to highlight the fact that the lines between non-Halachic factions of Judaism are increasingly becoming blurred, both in terms of observance of laypeople as well as the standards set down by the leadership. I wouldn't be surprised if the Reform and Conservative movements merge at some point in the not-so-distant future.

It's sad that we are constantly fighting with each other. Why can't we disagree with each other but tolerate and respect each other? We are all Jews, like it or not! It's shamelful that we can't treat each other as equals. One man did... He didn't care what kind of Jew you were...Adolf Hitler

Conservative Jews are willing to sacrifice Halacha for convenience, Orthodox sacrifice convenience for Halacha. Very simple Orthodox have principles that go back thousands of years and conservatives have no principles but convenience and hedonism.

After reading the previous 18 posts, what really stands out is the lack of real truth. No post here even mentions the variety of "orthodox" sects who have given Judaism a name not to be mentioned in mixed company. Either the orthodox are too scared of these "religious" groups or they are trying to emulate them in order to get a share of their growing power and wealth. Today, religion means POWER and WEALTH. Belief in G-d is secondary. TORAH is no longer taught; rabbinic Judaism is the current vogue. Call it what you will, orthodoxy, conservatism, reform, etc. They are all the same. Chief rabbis seem to be trying most earnestly to emulate the pope. In dress and edicts. If Judaism is to vanish, the hypocrisy of OUR religious leaders will be the underlying cause.

But anyway, good luck to them trying to teach some Judaism, its just that about 98% of Jews who become interested in conservative Judaism go on to traditional, Torah-true Judaism. I mean, take a look at conservative rabbis themselves, they are essentially conservative Jews who cared about Judaism... and now observe basically all the mitzvot. They are essential liberal observant Jews.

Okay, your family is still Jewish. But, tell me: are all your young relatives married to Jews? And your non-Orthodox young married friends? Maybe in Brooklyn, this can still be possible, but in most other places outside of Israel, the intermarriage and assimilation rates are extremely high among the non-Orthodox. If everyone in your extended family is still Jewish after 4 generations of not being religious, then this is truly a miracle.

To be sarcastic, why do so many Orthodox synagogues have parking lots? Unlike conservative jews, we orthodox pray 3 times a day EVERYDAY. Hence the need for parking lots... Try it sometimes...

As a religious Jew, I say shame on all of us. The comments largely reflect sinat chinam - baseless hatred. None of has a monopoly on truth. There are many paths to holiness - and we ALL have work to do.