By Allison Bloomberg
Over the course of the semester, we have the privilege of attending various Shabbatonim in which we discuss the main themes of the Nachshon Project Fellowship. The first Shabbaton in Jerusalem was geared towards Jewish identity, and how we as individuals should attempt to understand what it means to possess such an identity, and if the value of a Jewish “label” is at all important. I had the privilege of introducing Rabbi Joel Roth of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York as one of our speakers during the Shabbaton. Rabbi Roth focused his lecture on the main ideologies of Conservative Judaism. He opened with a brief discussion on how the denomination itself was formed and how it has since evolved from its original foundation.
Rabbi Roth’s primary focus was the concept that the Conservative Movement is a Halachic movement. He categorized the organization into four pillars which outline the structure of the movement. In short, the four pillars are 1. Mitzvot as commands (meaning they’re mandatory); 2. the particulars of the mitzvot are only to be determined by the authorities of Jewish law; 3. Jewish law is not undisputed but is subject to controversy among Jewish authorities; and 4. Jewish law is evolving but must only evolve from within the Jewish legal system.
As someone who was raised within the guidelines of Conservative Judaism, hearing Rabbi Roth share these thoughts came as a bit of a shock to me. First, I was unaware of how committed to Halacha one must be, especially from someone like myself who was involved in USY (The Conservative Movement’s Youth Movement) and is still a committed Ramahnick, where we hardly discuss Halacha while at conventions and at camp. Additionally, Rabbi Roth was willingly open to sharing that he felt that the Conservative Movement was failing. I think my heart dropped when I heard him express those words: “The Conservative Movement is FAILING”, he repeated over and over again. For months my friends and I have been talking about how the numbers within the movement are in a constant decline, but hearing that to be true from someone so heavily invested in the movement was devastating, but also empowering.
Although it may appear as though this talk was difficult, I think it sheds major light on the work that needs to be done within the Movement. I feel as though this was a call to action in a sense, as I, and many others, don’t want to see the Movement we grew up in dissolve. Rabbi Roth’s lecture was so important to the members of our cohort who identify this way and has since made us think more deeply about how we’re going to face the Movement when we get back to the United States at the end of the semester.
