What is the philosophy of Conservative Judaism?
"Conservative Judaism attempts to combine a positive attitude toward modern culture, acceptance of critical secular scholarship regarding Judaism's sacred texts, and also commitment to Jewish observance. Conservative Judaism believes that scholarly study of Jewish texts indicates that Judaism has constantly been evolving to meet the needs of the Jewish people in varying circumstances, and that a central halakhic authority can continue the halakhic evolution today." - Excerpted from the Soc.Culture.Jewish FAQ
"Reform has asserted the right of interpretation but it rejected the authority of legal tradition. Orthodoxy has clung fast to the principle of authority, but has in our own and recent generations rejected the right to any but minor interpretations. The Conservative view is that both are necessary for a living Judaism. Accordingly, Conservative Judaism holds itself bound by the Jewish legal tradition, but asserts the right of its rabbinical body, acting as a whole, to interpret and to apply Jewish law." - Mordecai Waxman "Tradition and Change: The Development of Conservative Judaism"
An essay on the core values of Conservative Judaism, written by JTS Chancellor Ismar Schorsch, is available on-line at:
http://www.jtsa.edu/pubs/schorsch/core.html
Basic principles of the Masorti [Conservative] movement
http://members.tripod.com/~ramotzion/principles.html
How do Conservative Jews see themselves as differing from other Jewish denominations?
"The founders of Conservative Judaism had no intention of starting a new wing or denomination or party within Judaism. [The leaders of the movement] were all scrupulous in asserting that they represented a tendency and not a party....The Conservative movement has always clung to the position that it is not a denomination in the Jewish fold. It holds that it is Judaism. It is the Jewish tradition continuing along its path in time and space with its characteristic dynamism. It is true that there are other variants of Judaism, Orthodoxy and Reform. But then, there always have been movements to the left and right of normative Judaism. Mishnaic times resounded to the clash between the Pharisees, the Sadducees, the Essenes and the early Christians. Eight centuries later Jewry was reft by the conflict between Rabbinites and Karaites. Ultimately, the Pharisees and their spiritual descendants, the Rabbinites, prevailed and gave a specific tone to Judaism. Conservative Judaism sees itself as being in this tradition....While it recognizes that Orthodoxy and Reform play a significant role in Jewish life, it feels that Reform is a revolutionary deviation from Jewish tradition and that Orthodoxy, in stultifying the inner dynamism of Judaism, has taken itself on to a side path of Jewish life." [Rabbi Mordecai Waxman, from "Tradition and Change: The Development of Conservative Judaism" (1958) p.13]
What is the role of Halakha and Agada in Conservative Judaism?
Professor Solomon Schechter emphasized the centrality of halakha in Jewish life in a speech in his inaugural address as President of the Jewish Theological Seminary in 1902:
"Judaism is not a religion which does not oppose itself to anything in particular. Judaism is opposed to any number of things and says distinctly "thou shalt not." It permeates the whole of your life. It demands control over all of your actions and interferes even with your menu. It sanctifies the seasons, and regulates your history, both in the past and in the future. Above all, it teaches that disobedience is the strength of sin. It insists upon the observance of both the spirit and of the letter; spirit without letter belongs to the species known to the mystics as "nude souls" nishmatim artilain, wandering about in the universe without balance and without consistency....In a word, Judaism is absolutely incompatible with the abandonment of the Torah."
The Conservative movement understands that halakha is only a half of Judaism. Much of the material in the Tanakh [Hebrew Bible] and Talmud is non-legal. This material contains ethical discourses, philosophy, theological excursions, legends and tales, and is termed 'agada'. Within the agada is the ethical and moral core of Judaism that drives the halakha. Abraham Joshua Heschel writes:
"Halacha represents the strength to shape one's life according to a fixed pattern; it is a form giving force. Agada is the expression of man's ceaseless striving, which often defies all limitations. Halacha is the rationalization and schematization of living; it defines, specifies, sets measure and limit, placing life into an exact system. Agada deals with man's ineffable relation to God, to other men and to the world. Halacha deals with details, with each commandment separately; agada with the whole of life, with the totality of religious life. Halacha deals with the law; agada with the meaning of the law. Halacha deals with subjects that can be expressed literally; agada introduces us to a realm which lies beyond the range of expression....The halachot refine man's character, agadot sanctify the name of the Holy One, blessed be He among us.
To maintain that the essence of Judaism consists exclusively of halakha is as erroneous as to maintain that the essence of Judaism consists exclusively of agada. The interrelationship of halacha and agada is the very heart of Judaism. Halakha without agada is dead, agada without halakha is wild. Pan-agadic Judaism is doomed to extinction.
Halacha is the body of Torah, and the Torah of Israel was preserved only by the power of halakha, by the power of the forms of mitzvot and good deeds: and all of the poetry and mysticism, thoughts and beliefs, survived only by halakha's merit. Agada cleaves, is linked to halakha, and has no existence without halakha. Agada is a flame which depends upon the hot coal of halakha, and he who separates the two extinguishes the light of Judaism which burns in the flame."
The Conservative movement's greatest challenge is increasing the observance of its lay membership. Only some of the people associated with the movement are Shomer Shabbat and keep kosher. Many people misinterpret Conservative Judaism as being like Reform Judaism except with more Hebrew in its services, or that if one simply goes to a Conservative synagogue then one must be a Conservative Jew. This is incorrect, and the movement's leadership is concerned with how to best insure that the next generation of Conservative Jews will have the commitment to lead a committed Conservative Jewish lifestyle.
Formulating Jewish Law for Our Time
http://www.uscj.org/scripts/uscj/paper/Article.asp?ArticleID=435
Will the "real" Judaism please stand up?
http://www.uscj.org/ctvalley/beki/nobuts.html
