So Close... and Yet So Far

What fascinates me about them is that they claim to be a Halachic Movement. Which is the defining characteristic of Orthodoxy. It is Halachic observance that precipitated the movement itself when young American Jews that were observant wished to serve as rabbis in an American cultural milieu. 

The belief at the time was that in order to relate to American Jewry, one needed to be an American culturally so that the American experience would be a shared one and not something a foreign born and raised  rabbi could understand or relate to. In short, their motivation was pure. Back in the late 19^th century there was no Orthodox Rabbinical School where potential rabbis could learn their trade. There was only the Hebrew Union College (HUC), a Reform seminary.

I suppose the observant Jews attending that school realized that Reform Judaism was not a Halachic movement, but they believed that traditional Jewish practices would nevrtheless still be observed. And that they would in any case remain observant despite the fact that their school did not require it of any Jew including its rabbis. In the meantime they were learning their trade and would become American trained rabbis for the American Jew.

Then the ‘Treifa banquet’ happened.  On July 11, 1883 HUC’s first graduating class discovered that the banquet celebrating that event was not Kosher. The observant graduates were appalled by that and the Conservative Movement was born. The very name of the movement indicated what their goals were: to conserve Judaism.

As an Orthodox Jew this is exactly what I would expect should happen. Had I been alive then, I would have applauded this nascent movement for its strong stance on observing Halacha and its determination to guide the American Jew in his religious observances. 

If only they would have been true to their creed. Their original intention was exactly the same as Yeshiva University (YU). That is what YU is today and has been since its inception in the early 20^th century.

But this is not what happened with Conservative Judaism. When the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) was formed it eventually became the philosophical home of the Conservative Movement. and it is now their flagship institution. In its early stages it had some pretty strong proponents of Halacha. But it also gave a home and honor to Apikursim like Mordechai Kaplan. Who eventually became the founding father of Reconstructionist Judaism whose ideas about the nature of God borders on atheism.

While Conservative Judaism still claims to be a Halachic movement, their ‘Teshuva’ allowing members to drive to Shul on Shabbos is the premier example of why they are not. Whatever their rationale for permitting it at the time was; no matter how altruistic their intent, driving to Shul on Shabbos is a desecration of Shabbos and a biblical level violation of Halacha. Only when a life is at stake may a Jew ‘desecrate’ Shabbos. Going to Shul does not qualify. 

The funny thing is JTS chancellor Arnie Eisen declared that ‘Teshuva’ to be a mistake - well intended though it was. Instead of conserving Judaism it ended up doing the opposite. And it has been a slippery slope downhill from there. 

But what fascinates me still is that there is sincerity among much of its leadership about Halacha as they understand it. They insist that Halacha be followed and it is part of their creed.  I am intrigued by the fact that there are some Conservative Jews that actually follow Halacha as their movement interprets it. 

I know more than a few Conservative Jews like that. And therir Halachic observance is not that far off from Orthodox observance. I have discussed Halacha with some of their rabbis and have been amazed to find how similar their Halachic observance is to Orthodoxy. That is why they still fascinate me.

And yet, the slippery slope continues with their recent ‘Teshuva’ about attending intermarriages. As reported in the Forward, their Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (which is kind of their Moetzes - only having more authority than than Agudah Moetzes over defining Jewish law for their denomination) has just permitted their rabbis to do that. While they haven’t permitted officiating at them. Yet. The fact that they now allow them to attend and even wish the couple Mazal Tov is yet another  move away from tradition.

While I understand what their motives might be, this is yet again another well intended ‘Teshuva’ that will have unintended consequences. It will accelerate the path of assimilation making it so complete that it will result in the end of the Jewish line for that couple if the bride is not Jewish. 

The next step will surely be officiating at such weddings despite their clear delineation between that and simply attending a wedding. There are already Conservative rabbis that have given up membership in the Conservative Rabbinical Assembly so that they can perform those marriages. Again with good intentions. Which is to keep this couple as Jewish as possible by being involved with them. By refusing to officiate they end up chasing them away. 

But as noble as their goals might be, it is still a violation of the Torah’s prohibition against marrying non Jews. It creates a next generation of non Jews in about half of them. And it will not ‘conserve’ Judaism at all. It will destroy it.

How sad it is that a movement that was – and in many ways still is – so sincere about conserving Judaism keeps doing things to undermine it. And how sad it is for those Conservative Jews that do observe halacha to hang on to a movement whose future is very likely doomed. 

If I have any advice to these sincere observant Conservative Jews it would be ‘Come on over and join us!’ You have nothing to lose and a lot to gain. Staying put on the other hand is a losing proposition.