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tive terms and has some conscious
understanding of what the movement
represents," says Rabbi Stephen Weiss
of Congregation Shaarey Zedek in
Southfield. "They understand that
meaningful and sustainable Jewish life
grows out of a commitment to study
and observance. The result is that
today Conservative rabbis are better
able to focus on areas of growth in
observance and spirituality."
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The real push for change in
Conservative Judaism comes from
congregan.ts. Today, the lay leaders do
not seek dispensation to drive on
Shabbat or water down kashrut rules
at synagogue.
Rather, they, like much of the rest
of organized Jewish life, want more
education than the previous genera-
tion, one obsessed with building
Israel, responding' to the Holocaust
and fighting anti-Semitism.
They are people such as Alan
Kanter, past president of Chizuk
Amuno Congregation in Pikesville,
Md. "It helps to center my life," he
says of his own increased worship and
study of recent years.
Many rabbis note an increase in
adult education, often leading to adult
b'nai mitzvah. And the interest is not
just from younger Jews.
"Partly people are retiring young,
their kids are out of the house and
they want something," Rabbi Loeb
says, speaking of the increased atten-
dance in Torah and Talmud study ses-
sions. "This is not a 'play golf and
cards' generation. They want to learn."
Another major change for
Conservative Judaism and the R.A.
has come in the last 15 years as
women have been ordained as rabbis.
Today, women are about 40 percent of
JTS's roughly 25-40 member rabbini-
cal classes.
The R.A.'s new publications reflect
the women's influence. The new
rabbi's guide includes prayers such as
those for stillborn babies and miscar-
riages. And a new chumash, scheduled
to be published next year, will likely
include feminist theology.
"In another 10 years or so this will
transform the R.A.," says Rabbi
Gillman. When will we have a
woman president of the R.A.? It might
not be in my career," says the 35-year
veteran of JTS, but its not going to
be long."
The real impact comes each
Shabbat morning, says Rabbi Susan
Grossman of Beth Shalom in
Columbia, Md., when girls see female
role models on the bima. The most
important thing is that girls grow up
seeing that there is no limit to what
they can achieve religiously," she says.
Finding A Balance
At the heart of the hopes for
Conservative rabbis is promoting the
much elusive identity of what it means
to be a Conservative Jew.
• "We have not created a community
that is proud to say, 'I'm a
Conservative Jew," says Rabbi Jay
Goldstein of Beth Israel in Owings
Mills, Md. "That's been a disservice in
creating a cohesiveness to the
Conservative movement."
In 1988, the movement published
"Emet Ve-Emunah: Statement of Principles
of Conservative Judaism." It made little
impact on the rank and file Conservative
Jew. Even many rabbis were not satisfied.
"It read like it was supposed to — a
committee report," says Rabbi Ismar
Schorsch, chancellor of JTS.
Today, the general push for spiritu-
ality and religion in America is help-
ing Conservative Judaism revisit what
it stands for. That has led to an
intense, personal focus on building a
Jewish community that, some experts
worry, could be at the expense of
reaching out to the non-Jewish world.
"We have become increasingly self-
absorbed and walked away from inter-.
faith activities, which bring benefit to
the general community, not just the
. Jewish community," Rabbi Schorsch
says. "We need to struggle to resume
the traditional balance in the
Conservative community between
shemirot mitzvah [observing Jewish
law] and tikkun olam [repairing the
world]. This is a very important mes-
sage to deliver to the rabbis."
Also slipping in emphasis, as evi-
denced by the RA. convention schedule,
is Israel. Only one main program is
about the Jewish state, despite the much-
discussed push for religious pluralism
there. "It's just hard to believe," says
Rabbi David Geffen of Temple Israel in
Scranton, Pa. "The United Synagogue
is building a major facility in Jerusalem
and we're not a part of it. It seems to me
that the R.A. is making a big mistake."
Obviously, the challenges are huge
and responses complicated. But
Conservative rabbis, it seems, are laying
the groundwork for an intense, albeit
smaller, community of committed Jews.
As Rabbi Grossman says, "I really
believe the Conservative movement is
perfectly positioned to lead and meet
the challenges of the 21st century." El
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