The Middle Is Rejuvenating .< CENTER from page 2 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." Building From Within The Heatherwood Retirement Community is a successful senior community that has been a strong part of Southfield since 1986. 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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 . Ci cc, c-/