 |
| American Jewish University president Jay Sanderson |
I don’t like beating a dead horse. But whenever a serious
publication like Commentary revisits
this issue, it’s hard to stay silent.
The above sentiments were not expressed by me, but they
certainly could have been. They are two of the three sentiments expressed by
American Jewish University president Jay Sanderson. AJU is the parent
organization of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies - one of only two
schools that ordain Conservative rabbis.
None of this is new. The Conservative movement has been in
decline for quite some time. Nor is it news that its leadership recognizes it.
What is different about this particular article by S.A. Weiss is his personal
reaction to it. Weiss identifies as a third-year rabbinical student at Ziegler
pursuing semicha - ordination as a Conservative rabbi two years from now.
What is not surprising is what Conservative leadership is
trying to do to fix the problem. Which is almost certain to put the Makah
B’Potish – the ‘final blow’ on its demise. Their plan is…
to shift away from traditional rabbinical-school subjects such as Mishnah and Talmud toward more “timely” and “relevant” topics like conflict resolution, AI, and social media.
This is not a course correction. It is an acceleration of
the very trend that brought the movement to this point. For decades,
Conservative leadership has treated classical Torah study as increasingly
irrelevant, replacing it with contemporary concerns. Now, even the pretense of
Torah as the central organizing force appears to be fading. The idea that Torah
should inform all of their decisions and practices will effectively be excised
from their program.
Please do not misunderstand…
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