On December 6, 2006, the Conservative Movement’ Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) announced their decision addressing the issues of the ordination of Gay and Lesbian Rabbis and the performance of same-sex commitment ceremonies by Conservative Rabbis.
I first became aware of this ‘issue’ over the summer when I read about the CJLS decision to postpone the decision until later in the year. It is definitely a divisive issue that should not and could not be taken lightly. Even before reading about Conservative Judaism’s decision to address this issue, I had already formed some strong opinions on the issue of “gay marriage” and same-sex unions.
It has been my understanding that Judaism, in general, is much more tolerant of homosexuality than many other religions. According to Halacha, if I understand correctly, you can be gay, have gay thoughts and fantasies all day long and not be in violation of Halacha. It is only when you act on these feelings that violations occur. And even then, I’m personally not going to be judgmental of you for those actions. Considering how many violations of Halacha are being committed by your fellow congregants (me included) with regards to Shabbat observance, Kashrut, and daily observance, I cannot judge your life without considering myself to be a huge hypocrite.
I read an article from The Jewish Week titled “The End of Conservative Judaism” written by Michael J. Broyde. Since my earliest experiences with Conservative Judaism, at least once a year (if not more) I read or hear about the end of Conservative Judaism. After a while it starts to sound a lot like, “Apple Computers is going bankrupt and will be out of business soon”, but they’ve been going out of business for the past 20 years apparently yet my stock seems to be doing okay, so I’ll keep it just a little longer.
But this article was a little different and I think it was due to the subject matter addressed. Will the recent CJLS decision on allowing gay and lesbian ordinations and same-sex commitment ceremonies spell the end of Conservative Judaism in the long run? Will Judaism in the United States evolve into two primary groups, Liberal and Traditional? These are very good questions and he makes several good points in the article.
I have always thought of the Conservative Movement as the “third bowl of porridge”, not too hot, not too cold, but just right (for me anyway). Broyde says in the second paragraph:
I don’t agree with the idea of there only being two ways of looking at this issue. I don’t think that this is an issue of on/off, black/white, or right/wrong. Conservative Judaism was created to fill that grey area. I truly believe there is a need to view Halacha through a modern lens. Times do change and our interpretations of Torah and Talmud do have to be adjusted to some degree. For instance, I disagree with several Orthodox understandings of Halacha and feel that these understandings go too far and prevent people from enjoying Judaism. At the same time I disagree with many of the Reform Movement’s understandings of Halacha and feel that they are too loose with their interpretations and this too prevents people from fully enjoying the benefits of Judaism. And so I am left with the Conservative Movement. Until recently, that is. I believe there is a limit to how far we can stretch this “modern lens” notion before we just lose all focus of what we are trying to see through that lens.
Perhaps, in the long run, it will spell the end of the Conservative movement as we know it today, but I think there will always be some movement to fill that middle ground between Reform (Liberal) and Orthodox (Traditional).
Regardless of what I think, or what you think, it’s a good article and worth the read.
Hattip: Hirhurim, but I'm sure plenty of others are posting about this by now.
I first became aware of this ‘issue’ over the summer when I read about the CJLS decision to postpone the decision until later in the year. It is definitely a divisive issue that should not and could not be taken lightly. Even before reading about Conservative Judaism’s decision to address this issue, I had already formed some strong opinions on the issue of “gay marriage” and same-sex unions.
It has been my understanding that Judaism, in general, is much more tolerant of homosexuality than many other religions. According to Halacha, if I understand correctly, you can be gay, have gay thoughts and fantasies all day long and not be in violation of Halacha. It is only when you act on these feelings that violations occur. And even then, I’m personally not going to be judgmental of you for those actions. Considering how many violations of Halacha are being committed by your fellow congregants (me included) with regards to Shabbat observance, Kashrut, and daily observance, I cannot judge your life without considering myself to be a huge hypocrite.
I read an article from The Jewish Week titled “The End of Conservative Judaism” written by Michael J. Broyde. Since my earliest experiences with Conservative Judaism, at least once a year (if not more) I read or hear about the end of Conservative Judaism. After a while it starts to sound a lot like, “Apple Computers is going bankrupt and will be out of business soon”, but they’ve been going out of business for the past 20 years apparently yet my stock seems to be doing okay, so I’ll keep it just a little longer.
But this article was a little different and I think it was due to the subject matter addressed. Will the recent CJLS decision on allowing gay and lesbian ordinations and same-sex commitment ceremonies spell the end of Conservative Judaism in the long run? Will Judaism in the United States evolve into two primary groups, Liberal and Traditional? These are very good questions and he makes several good points in the article.
I have always thought of the Conservative Movement as the “third bowl of porridge”, not too hot, not too cold, but just right (for me anyway). Broyde says in the second paragraph:
The truth is that there is a grand divide in the Jewish community worldwide between two groups: those who think that Jewish law (halacha) is really, truly, binding and those who do not. This division is both religiously and culturally important — it reflects a basic worldview about what being Jewish really means. Throughout the world, other than in the United States, this distinction formed the basic denominational divide and one could well understand the need for almost a schism over this issue.
I don’t agree with the idea of there only being two ways of looking at this issue. I don’t think that this is an issue of on/off, black/white, or right/wrong. Conservative Judaism was created to fill that grey area. I truly believe there is a need to view Halacha through a modern lens. Times do change and our interpretations of Torah and Talmud do have to be adjusted to some degree. For instance, I disagree with several Orthodox understandings of Halacha and feel that these understandings go too far and prevent people from enjoying Judaism. At the same time I disagree with many of the Reform Movement’s understandings of Halacha and feel that they are too loose with their interpretations and this too prevents people from fully enjoying the benefits of Judaism. And so I am left with the Conservative Movement. Until recently, that is. I believe there is a limit to how far we can stretch this “modern lens” notion before we just lose all focus of what we are trying to see through that lens.
Perhaps, in the long run, it will spell the end of the Conservative movement as we know it today, but I think there will always be some movement to fill that middle ground between Reform (Liberal) and Orthodox (Traditional).
Regardless of what I think, or what you think, it’s a good article and worth the read.
Hattip: Hirhurim, but I'm sure plenty of others are posting about this by now.
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