Opinion
OTHER VIEWS
servative Shuls Must Do More
New York/ITA
C
onservative Judaism was born
out of the desire to conserve
authentic traditional living
Judaism. That's where its name comes
from. It was not born as a reaction to
Orthodoxy but as a response to the wide-
spread disregard for Jewish living and the
lack of Jewish practice prevalent in the
late 19th century, when the term first was
used.
The initial premise of Conservative
Judaism was that its ideology and
approach to Jewish living would conserve
authentic Judaism. That remains our mis-
sion today.
Disaffected Conservative Jews often
claim they don't live as Conservative Jews
because we are not clear about what we
stand for.
What we stand for — Jewish living,
observing Shabbat and holidays, main-
taining kashrut, at the least — is abun-
dantly clear. What we need is a commit-
ment to it by Conservative Jews.
We have been too timid in declaring our
vision. Because we have been too reticent
in educating congregants about the real
message of Conservative Judaism, we
should not be surprised by their lack of
commitment.
Resources on how to live a Jewish life
are readily available. United Synagogue
has produced a wealth of materials and
programs.
Too few congregations, however,
actively promote serious Jewish living;
they fear being perceived as irrelevant
or intrusive by those for whom regular
Jewish behaviors and values are not yet
important.
implement them. Our principles are right.
Our implementation must be improved.
The synagogue agenda must be dedi-
cated to enriching those who want what
Conservative Judaism has promised: an
authentically rich Jewish living experience
infused by Jewish texts that are
What Lies Ahead
interpreted by creative rabbinic
We are confronted by a unique
scholars committed to evolu-
challenge. Because we quite
tionary but binding Halachah
properly perceive it to be our
(Jewish law).
mission to engage the not-
At the same time, if we do not
yet-committed, we tend to
reach out and inspire those who
develop our programs solely
are not yet committed, we will
to that end — but in doing so
be shirking our responsibility
we often sacrifice our ideals.
to the largest number of those
Paradoxically, often we are
who identify as Conservative
Rabbi J erome
so intent on reaching out to
Jews. They, too, must be engaged
M. Eps tein
the uncommitted that we
— not with shallow religious
Spec ial
ignore those people who are
services, ephemeral gimmicks or
Comme ntary
most interested in what we
superficial educational experi-
stand for and most committed
ences, but with rich services and
to our vision and values.
education that will help them connect to
Dissatisfied with what we offer them,
God.
some who have been inspired to live as
Our task is not to dilute Judaism by
Conservative Jews drift to Orthodox or
reducing quality but to conserve Judaism
Chabad institutions, not out of belief or
through heightening intensity.
ideology but because they find there much
that we could and should offer but do not.
At The Core
They find much that reflects the essence
To be successful will require new ways of
of Conservative Judaism.
thinking about congregational life. It will
What they are seeking in principle we
demand creative partnerships among lay
should have — joyous, inspiring, religious leadership, clergy and professional staff.
experiences in which the community
Congregational leaders often view their
seeks God together. But there is a gap
role as making congregants comfortable
between our principles and the way we
and responding to their requests and
desires. These are important responsibili-
ties. But Conservative congregational lead-
ers must not follow their members as they
ignore the call to grow Jewishly. Leaders
must motivate congregants toward per-
sonal transformation, leading to Jewish
growth.
Too few congregants today have regular
contact with their synagogues. Most come
for an occasional religious service, a social
or cultural program or to drop off children
for religious school. We engage them too
rarely to have an impact on their lives.
What would happen if a team of congre-
gational leaders were to visit each member
at home once a year? Such a home visit
would provide an opportunity to commu-
nicate and directly inspire personal and
tailor-made Jewish growth.
We are challenged by our congregants,
who provide us with great opportunity. We
must be sensitive to what they think they
want, but we also must respond to their
deeper needs.
Rather than merely informing congre-
gants of the joys of Jewish life without
making it clear that we expect them to
experience those joys, let us develop syna-
gogue initiatives that will inspire them.
That way, as Conservative Jews we will
continue to live rich, authentic, joyous
Jewish lives.
Rabbi Jerome Epstein is executive vice presi-
dent of the United Synagogue of Conservative
Judaism.
U.S. Must Restore Image, Credibility
WashingtonlITA
D
uring a recent visit to a hospital
in Michigan, I stopped and asked
a veteran who was lying on his
bed, "What can we do to help you?"
"Win back the respect of the people
around the world for America:' he
answered.
Terrorism is the greatest threat to our
security since the Cold War. But the strug-
gle against terrorism has been under-
mined by how America is viewed in the
world. To deal with that threat, we need
respect and we need allies.
Since the world embraced us after 9-
11, America's standing around the globe
has been dramatically diminished. The
unilateral policies of the Bush administra-
tion, the cockiness of some of
its rhetoric and the dramatic
and vivid reports of our abus-
ing prisoners have hurt us.
A recent BBC poll found that
only 29 percent of the people
in the world say the United
States is generally a posi-
tive influence. That number
should be setting off alarm
bells in Washington.
Consider that one person
halfway around the planet
could prevent the mass mur-
der of our citizens by informing someone
in law enforcement if he overhears a terror-
ist plotting an attack against us. We need
that informant to report what he hears, but
he is less likely to report the threat if he
views America as an arrogant bully.
The tarnishing of America's
image is partly the result of our
decision to go to war unilaterally
and the way in which the war has
been conducted. But the problem
goes deeper: America's image has
been most tarnished when we
have failed to live up to the stan-
dards that we profess.
Some congressional staff
recently went to Saudi Arabia
and met with senior Saudi
government officials. The staff
raised concerns about the highly
publicized case of the female rape victim
who spoke out publicly and had her sen-
tence doubled to six months in prison and
200 lashes. Saudi officials responded with
"Guantanamo" and "Abu Ghraib," as if to
say, "Who are you to lecture us about due
process and human rights?"
In 2002, the Bush administration
decided to permit the use of aggres-
sive, indeed abusive, interrogation tech-
niques. Recently, we learned that the CIA
destroyed evidence of those interroga-
tions.
In the last Congress, the White House
successfully persuaded a majority of my
colleagues to pass a new law authorizing
the administration to unilaterally redefine
obligations under the Geneva Conventions,
to narrow the accepted definition of cruel
and inhuman treatment, and to give
immunity from lawsuit to senior adminis-
tration officials for detainee abuses.
A captain in the 82nd Airborne Division
wrote to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., about
his struggle to obtain clear guidance on
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December 20 • 2007