Arnold Eisen, the newly chosen chancellor of the Conservative Jewish Theological Seminary addressed members of their Rabbinical Assmebly at a convention on April 30th. The subject he addressed is attrition from their ranks. The movement is shrinking. It was at one time the most populous movement in America. But it has now fallen way behind Reform. In looking for solutions to stem the tide, he praised an element of Orthodoxy which he said is a critical component of our success, that of a building strong communities.
It's nice to see the Conservative movement acknowledge Orthodoxy's successes and point to one of its features as a reason for that success.
But I think he misses the real reason. Strong communities are a beautiful by-product, but not the primary glue that keeps Orthodoxy together, although it surely helps.
What has really kept Orthodoxy together and has perpetuated its existence ever since the revelation at Sinai is loyalty to Torah and faithful observance of Mitzvos. It is the kind of Judaism which Jews have practiced thoughout its existence.
It is in the nature of Jewish law (Halacha) to create a sense of community. Sabbath observance is perhaps the most important of Jewish ritual law. The Talmud tells us that it is equivalent to the entirety of the Torah. It is not just about living in the same neighborhood. It is the shared communal experience of observance. It is the universality of all Jews where ever they may live observing the same Mitzvos. That is the real community, not the proximal one.
Sabbath observance was sabotaged by Conservative Judaism back in the fifties. Perhaps their leadership did it for idealistic reasons. They probably believed that since Jews were driving anyway, let them drive to Shul. They looked at it as a necessary accommodation to modernity. At least they would get some Judaism that way. But instead of making Jews more Jewish it made them less so by validating non-observance. And it allowed unfettered migration away from community, from observance, and for many from Judaism.
And accommodation has led to even more compromise. Their recent “Halachic” ruling allowing rabbis to officiate at homosexual marriages and to ordain Jews who are openly homosexual, has caused some of its top legal authorities to resign in protest. The Conservative movement is now at a point where they are re-thinking even calling themselves Halachic.
Orthodoxy on the other hand is on the upsurge more than any other segment of Jewry. By far. Many secular Jews have become Orthodox in recent years. These Baalei Teshuva see Orthodoxy as the true continuation of the Judaism of their ancestors. They understand that there is a power greater than themselves that has, for reasons known only to Him, given us a set of ritual laws to follow. And that only by being loyal to those laws one can say he or she is a servant of God.
Compromise, on the other hand, which is the hallmark of the Conservative Movement is seen as just that: Compromise. Permitting the impermissible for reasons of expediency makes the entire religion look like it is malleable and subject to revision at will. As such one can revise the entire religion out of existence. How does one then serve God? Why bother calling oneself a Jew? Whom in the end is one really serving by bowing to compromise?
The Reform movement tried this. They eliminated all observance claiming Judaism’s ethics to be the purpose of any ritual. Since we now know the ethics, the ritual is no longer required they said.
They have since realized the error of their ways. Dropping all ritual observance has resulted in so complete an assimilation, that there is no discernable difference between a Reform Jew and non-Jew. Jews like this may even resent the name Jew. Why bother with a label?! Just be a good person. We are all brothers in the family of man. Labels only serve to divide.
Much of Reform leadership now realize this huge error and they have done a 180.
Instead of discouraging ritual, they now encourage it as much as possible. Kashrus, Shabbos… even wearing Kipot. They realize that in order for their version of Judaism to survive they have to re-instate as much of what makes a Jew unique as possible. True, they do not say Halacha is mandatory. But they at least now understand the value of ritual as important in maintaining our identity as Jews.
Dr. Eisen’s warning against pursuing “a top-down pedagogy that begins with asserting the requirements of Jewish law” is much the same mistake made by Reform at its inception.
How do we accomplish the perpetuation of Halacha? I think the answer is obvious. A family must live the values it preaches. Parents must be role models for their children. They must be Mitzvah observant if they expect their children to be. And that must be bolstered by their school environments, both teachers and peers. There are no guarantees but there is near universal acknowledgement that this is the only realistic way to perpetuate ourselves as a distinct people, a Torah nation.
It is that combination, a religious environment in the home, in the school, and amongst peers that gives us continuity. That, and the knowledge about what those Mitzvos are and how to observe them.
Indeed the Conservative movement itself now realizes this and has put tremendous resources into building their own Solomon Shechter Schools. If Dr. Eisen wants to succeed in his goal of perpetuating the Conservative movement he would do well to concentrate on instilling the importance of Halacha in their schools and amongst their members, rather than on urging a sense of community. Emphasis on strong communities alone will simply not work in the long run.
It is Torah law that kept us going, not a sense of community. That is our spiritual glue. The Torah itself promises to perpetuate us if we keep it's laws. Dr. Eisen would do well to re-learn that portion of the Torah.
