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Time For Action
Conservative movement conference
focuses on ways to fight decline.
Uriel Heilman
JTA
T
he recent centennial gather-
ing of the United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism in
Baltimore by nearly all accounts was a far
more dynamic and well-attended biennial
than those of recent years, drawing some
1,200 people, including a handful from
Southeast Michigan.
Participants — rabbis, cantors, lay
leaders, administrators, scholars, educa-
tors — tackled head-on that fact that
the Conservative movement is in serious
decline, evidenced by the recent findings
of the Pew Research Center's survey of U.S.
Jews, which found that a shrinking number
of synagogues affiliate with the movement.
The Pew and previous surveys show that
Conservative Judaism fell from 43 percent
in 1990 to 33 percent in 2000 to 18 percent
in 2013 as a segment of American Jewry.
With that in mind, the central preoccu-
pation of the centennial wasn't celebrating
the past century of Conservative Judaism,
but how to ensure Conservative Judaism
has a future.
There is broad recognition from the
movement's leaders on down that signifi-
cant rejuvenation is needed if Conservative
Judaism is to reverse its negative trajectory.
The conference, themed "The conversa-
tion of the century," was billed as an oppor-
tunity to talk about how.
"Since [the conference], all anyone wants
to do is talk about the Pew study; I don't,"
Ron Wolfson, a professor of education at
American Jewish University in Los Angeles,
said in a speech at the gathering.
"It's time to stop talking and start doing"
The movement's leaders offered few spe-
cifics, instead sticking to broad outlines.
Arnold Eisen, chancellor of the Jewish
Theological Seminary in New York, pro-
posed a threefold strategy of being as
welcoming as possible, taking Conservative
Judaism beyond the bounds of the syna-
gogue, and getting members to commit
more money and time to the movement.
Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of United
Synagogue, called for turning synagogues
into kehillot (sacred communities).
The nitty-gritty of strategies came in
breakout sessions and in the hallways,
where everything from whether the move-
ment should perform intermarriages to
how synagogues can reinvigorate services
came up for discussion.
No decisions were made, but there was
plenty of debate. For that, even longtime
critics of United Synagogue gave the organi-
zation credit for facilitating the discussions.
28
October 31 • 2013
"I think they understand there has to
be the grassroots development in order
for Conservative Judaism to continue,"
said Marsha Davis, president of Beth El
Temple in Harrisburg, Pa. "Leadership has
to happen bottom-up. You're involved and
encouraged to be part of the decision"
In one-on-one discussions, many
attendees credited United Synagogue with
changing its modus operandi following an
incident several years ago by a handful of
renegade synagogues that withheld their
dues in protest.
"A few years ago, it was send us your
money and that's it. That's how our syna-
gogue viewed the USCJ — they were simply
collecting dues without providing a service"
Ralph Downard, president of Congregation
Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Del., told JTA.
"Now they're actually giving consider-
able services for the dues. We actually have
benefits — there's leadership development,
strategic planning, a blog for synagogue
presidents to exchange ideas. United
Synagogue is actually engaging us:'
Haran Rashes of Ann
Arbor said, As Central
District chair for United
Synagogue, I have seen
the steps we are already
taking. While not all keh-
illot are taking advantage
of the services United
Haran Rashes
Synagogue is offering,
the type and quality
of the services offered have dramatically
changed and improved in the few years
since my term as president of Beth Israel
Congregation [in Ann Arbor] ended in June
2010:'
For example, he cites the Sulam program
offered to incoming synagogue presidents,
emerging and current leaders and strategic
planners that include ongoing workshops
on such issues as developing lay leadership,
fostering collaborative communication and
running effective board meetings.
"United Synagogue also is offering keh-
illot programs in audits for cost contain-
ment and free consultation on employment
issues, and hopes to soon offer health insur-
ance that our kehillot can purchase he
said. "I already knew about these offerings.
Many participants at the conference came
away amazed at what United Synagogue is
offering their kehilla."
Ideas Abounded
Plenty of ideas were bandied about.
"The Conservative movement is indeed
at a crossroads, but also is uniquely
positioned to share the rich traditions,
rituals and customs of Judaism — all in a
Neshama Carlebach, left, and Josh Nelson perform at the United Synagogue
centennial in Baltimore.
truly modern context — with parents of
young children" said Rabbi Aaron Starr of
Congregation Shaarey Zedek in Southfield.
"CSZ is doing that each
and every week, offering
joyful and meaningful
young family experiences
on Thursday and Saturday
mornings, and each
month with a wide range
of activities. Quite literally
Rabbi Aaron
hundreds of families from
Starr
across the community
take advantage of these
often-free experiences to laugh, to grow and
to celebrate together as Jewish families"
He also said adult education programs are
drawing up to 100 participants per class.
At the USCJ convention," he said, "our
religious school was awarded a centennial
Schechter award for our Family Covenant
initiative that encourages families to grow
Jewishly in ways that are appropriate for
and decided by each individual family"
Rashes, with two children in col-
lege, attended a session on "Creating
Conservative Communities in College:'
"The biggest take away from that session
was that we, the lay leadership, need to do
more to support our own college students
away from home and those college students
in towns with a Conservative presence,
such as Ann Arbor. The college students to
whom we reach out will remain connected
to Conservative Judaism. Those who are left
to fend for themselves for four years may be
lost to the movement:'
Rabbi Sid Schwarz of Rockville, Md., said
synagogues should designate 5 percent of
their budgets for mini-grants for young Jews
to create innovative synagogue programs.
Rabbi David Booth of Congregation
Kol Emeth in Palo Alto, Calif., said the
movement needs to be more welcoming to
non-Jews and proposed giving non-Jewish
spouses and friends a place in synagogue
ritual by allowing them to open the ark
during services.
Michael Schatz of Philadelphia, the
incoming president of the movement's
Jewish Educators Assembly, said syna-
gogues need to stop being territorial about
educational programs and support Hebrew
schools outside the synagogue if they have
stronger programs.
Rabbi Elie Spitz of Congregation B'nai
Israel in Tustin, Calif., said synagogues
must put ego aside and welcome indepen-
dent minyans that want to create alternative
services.
High Spirits
At the Sunday evening gala, musicians
Neshama Carlebach and Josh Nelson led
a rousing rendition of "Am Yisrael Chai"
that had attendees dancing in the aisles and
prompted Nelson, an alumnus of the United
Synagogue's youth movement, to deliver a
positive pronouncement.
"For the first time in as long as I can
remember, there is a sense of electricity
among this group of people," he said.
Rashes agreed. "On Friday night, my
wife, Nikki, and I chose the USY Shabbat
Experience he said. "There were almost
200 leaders of the USY movement at the
centennial and the service was a spirited
traditional egalitarian service with incred-
ible ruach [spirit]. It reminded my of the
USY kinnusim [conventions] of my youth,
growing up in Queens, N.Y.
At the conference itself, each keynote
speaker gave an upbeat message Rashes
said. "There is no secret that Conservative
Judaism has a lot of work to do; how-
ever, the keynote speakers spoke on what
we have to do and how we can make
Conservative Judaism more relevant to
today's Jew.
"I left the centennial charged in a way
that I hope I can excite others in my kehilla,
Beth Israel Congregation, and throughout
United Synagogue's Central District about
the vibrancy and promising future of the
Conservative movement:'
To what extent the conversation will lead
to changes on the ground remains to be seen.
"You've got to be willing to undergo self-
examination and figure out how you need
to change" said one synagogue president
from New Jersey. "And self-examination is
the single hardest thing for human beings
to do"
❑
Keri Guten Cohen, story development editor,
contributed to this report.