Questions about Judaism by Rabbi Zelizer -- July 28, 2009

Frequent questions to the Rabbi about Judaism. His answers will be appearing as Cyberthoughts over time.

QUESTION #1:

Q. Why is the Conservative Movement in trouble and what can be done about it? (Two parts -- this is Part 2)

A. The historian Jonathan Sarna has also shown that it is dangerous based on current trends to predict the demise of a religious movement, Jewish or otherwise. For example, in 1952 a study found that only 23% of the children of Orthodox intended to remain Orthodox; a full half planned to turn to Conservative Judaism. How many of those do we find in our synagogue today? If Orthodoxy had not had a problem in previous periods, then we would not be talking about its resurgence today. On the other end of the spectrum, in the 19th century Rabbi Isaac Meyerlies called his American prayerbook 'Minhag America' - 'the liturgical custom of American Jews'. He was talking about the great number of synagogues that moved into the Reform camp in his day. He believed in the mid 1870's with others that the future of American Judaism was in the hand of the Reformers. As for larger Judaism, former President John Adams looked into the future and thought that Jews would in time become Liberal Unitarian Christians. - Sarna's point is that even though Conservative Judaism has problems today, it may not be helpful on current trends to predict the future. Things may change. Indeed the national leadership of Conservative Judaism - the Jewish Theological Seminary, the United Synagogue, and Rabbinical Assembly has just had a change from former leadership to new leaders and it is entirely possible that led by these newer leaders' formulas will come up which will reinvigorate Conservative Judaism. - - Let's not forget that the primary reasons the Movement has lost members are three.
1. Mixed marriages and our inability to accommodate that phenomenon to a full extent. I will share with you one example in this synagogue, and
2. The Reform Movement's patrilineal definition of who is a Jew and
3. sheer demographics - the aging of the American Jewish population in general, with the exception of the Orthodox. Solutions?

Perhaps the next battle of Conservative Judaism will be patrilineal descent; perhaps multiple service experiences in our synagogues including our own. Indeed we are 'leaner'. But here in Neve Shalom, with our vibrant and well attended Shabbat services, with our serious well attended adult studies, with our award winning religious school, we are also 'meaner'.