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  • Conservative Judaism: Nature, Teaching, and Practices

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    Mark Jerome Cifra
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    Conservative Judaism developed as a movement that rejected the radical changes of Reform Judaism while allowing for gradual changes to Jewish law and traditions. It believes the Torah outlines divine laws that have evolved over time through the halakhic process. Conservative Judaism emphasizes preserving Jewish identity, Zionism, and interpreting ancient laws for modern life. While it was once the dominant stream of American Judaism, its membership has declined in recent decades.

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    Conservative Judaism developed as a movement that rejected the radical changes of Reform Judaism while allowing for gradual changes to Jewish law and traditions. It believes the Torah outlines divine laws that have evolved over time through the halakhic process. Conservative Judaism emphasizes preserving Jewish identity, Zionism, and interpreting ancient laws for modern life. While it was once the dominant stream of American Judaism, its membership has declined in recent decades.

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    22 views16 pages

    Conservative Judaism: Nature, Teaching, and Practices

    Uploaded by

    Mark Jerome Cifra
    Conservative Judaism developed as a movement that rejected the radical changes of Reform Judaism while allowing for gradual changes to Jewish law and traditions. It believes the Torah outlines divine laws that have evolved over time through the halakhic process. Conservative Judaism emphasizes preserving Jewish identity, Zionism, and interpreting ancient laws for modern life. While it was once the dominant stream of American Judaism, its membership has declined in recent decades.

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    of 16

    Conservative Judaism

    Nature, Teaching, and


    Practices
    What is Conservative
    Judaism?
    • Conservative Judaism allows gradual
    change in law and practice, but only
    if the change is in harmony with
    Jewish tradition.
    • The Conservative movement has
    been especially successful in the
    United States and is represented by
    the United Synagogue of America.
    Nature
    Conservative Judaism
    • A movement reacting against the radicalism of
    Reform Judaism, rejecting extreme change and
    advocating moderate relaxations of traditional
    Jewish law, by an extension of the process by
    which its adherents claim traditional Orthodox
    Judaism evolved.
    Conservative Judaism
    • Conservative Judaism affirms that the halachic
    process reflects the Divine will. It makes use of
    Solomon Schechter's concept of Klal Yisrael (the
    whole of the [observant] Jewish community), in
    that decisions on Jewish Law are largely
    determined by the practices of Klal Yisrael.
    Conservative Judaism
    • This branch emphasizes the historic development of Judaism,
    thereby allowing it to make adjustments since it views the basic
    Jewish theological and ritual concepts as objects of continuing
    and evolving change.
    • With Conservative Judaism, there is also a strong emphasis on
    preserving “the people of Israel” and on Zionism.
    • They believe that the ancient laws and practices have to be
    interpreted for modern life with inclusion of contemporary
    sources and with more concern with community practices than
    with ritual practices.
    Teachings
    The Torah
    • The Jewish
    sacred text is
    called the
    Tanakh or the
    “Hebrew Bible.”
    • includes the
    same books as
    the Old
    Testament in the
    Christian Bible
    • the first five
    books of the
    Tanakh outlines
    laws for Jews to
    follow. It’s
    sometimes also
    referred to as
    the Pentateuch.
    • Jewish people worship in holy places
    known as synagogues, and their spiritual
    leaders are called rabbis.
    • The six-pointed Star of David is the symbol
    of Judaism.
    Practices
    Halachic Pluralism
    • The movement tolerates
    a range of religious
    practice in its
    commitment to halachic
    pluralism — the idea that
    multiple (and opposing)
    opinions concerning the
    requirements of Jewish
    law can be considered
    equally legitimate.
    • Most (but not all) Conservative
    synagogues are egalitarian on
    gender issues, and the movement
    has endorsed religious rulings both in
    favor of and opposed to same-sex
    marriage.
    • While its rabbis are not permitted to
    officiate at interfaith weddings, the
    movement has in recent years made
    a greater effort to welcome interfaith
    couples and families into its
    congregations. One of its mottos has
    been “Tradition and Change.”
    • In the mid-20th century, the Conservative
    movement was the dominant stream of
    American Judaism. In some years in the 1950s,
    the movement was adding 100 new affiliate
    congregations annually. But by the end of the
    century, the movement was in serious decline,
    with some fretting openly that Conservative
    Judaism was on the road to oblivion.
    Sources
    • https://www.britannica.com/topic/Jud
    aism
    • https://www.history.com/topics/judai
    sm
    • https://www.myjewishlearning.com/a
    rticle/conservative-judaism-how-th
    e-middle-became-a-movement/
    • www.collinsdictionary.com
    • https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org
    /background-and-overview-of-conserva
    tive-judaism

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