Rabbi Milton Arm of Congregation Beth Achim forsees "a new movement called the Traditional movement."-
Bridge
Over
Troubled
Waters
Entering its second century, the
Conservative movement learns that the
middle is a difficult place to be.
MICHAEL WEISS
Jewish News Intern
24
FRIDAY, AUGUST 25, 1989
Jerry and Jacqui Kaufman of
Farmington Hills thought
Conservative Judaism would
bridge the gap between tra-
dition and modernity. Now,
they're burning that bridge
behind them.
Today, Kaufman and his
family attend an Orthodox congrega-
tion and see no difference between the
Conservative and Reform movements.
"I joined a Conservative
synagogue because I thought it would
give m _ y kids greater knowledge of
their Jewish heritage," Kaufman
recalls. "What I discovered when I
became involved was that if you
surveyed a group of 500 Conservative
Jews and 500 Reform Jews about
their practices and knowledge, you
would not be able to tell one from
another.
"At Yom Kippur services one year,
a kid behind me was playing with an
electronic game his father had given
him to keep him occupied. People in
the next aisle were talking about
where they were going to meet for
lunch."
On the surface, the Conservative
movement seems to be doing well.
More Jews identify themselves as
Conservative than any other
denomination, and most local con-
gregations report membership in-
creases over the past 15 years. Con-
gregation Beth Shalom, for example,
has 650 families today, compared with
only 400 in 1972.
Photos by Daniel Rosen
Jerome Epstein, chief executive
officer of the United Synagogue of
America, the organization of
'American Conservative congrega-
tions, says national membership has
stayed between 1.5 million and 1.75
million for . the past 13 years.
"More people identify themselves
as Conservative Jews than are actual-
ly members of Conservative congrega-
tions," he says. "But our- experience
leads us to believe that these unaf-
filiated Jews will join in the next
three or four years."
But the rosy picture painted by
the numbers may not tell the whole
story. Kaufman's experience typifies
what some Conservative Jews see as
the failure of the Conservative move-
ment to live up to its dual ideals of
tradition and change. Plagued with
what they see as an uncommitted
laiety lacking a real sense of self-
definition, Conservative leadership is
struggling to establish an identity for
the movement.
Epstein describes the essence of
Conservative Judaism as "a commit-
ment to Halachah (Jewish law), but
a dynamic Jewish law that responds
to history in a positive sense."
"The Conservative movement has
always stated that Jewish law is the
heart and soul of Jewish life," says
Rabbi Allan Meyerowitz of Oak Park's
Congregation B'nai Moshe. "But
Jewish law develops and changes, and
we have the right to develop and
change it."