Conservative Judaism Accepts Gays, Continues Decline

w Conservative Judaism Accepts Gays, Continues Decline

» Home » E-Mail » Donate » Crime » Hobby Electronics
» Environmentalism » Racism » Religion

Conservative Judaism Continues to Reject Its Faith in Favor of Leftism

Update 2006. As Judaism in general continues its long decline and substitutes leftist' politics over Torah, so too does 'Conservative' Judaism become more meaningless. According to the New York Times December 7, 2006, "Conservative Jews Allow Gay Rabbis and Unions." Their was blowback from some quarters, but to quote, "I find it hard to buy the idea that this change, which has been widely expected, will lead anybody to leave, because synagogues that don't want to make changes will simply point to the rulings that will allow them not to make any changes. This is not like a papal edict."

But a final quote puts this in perspective,

The Conservative movement was once the dominant stream in American Judaism but is now second in numbers to the Reform movement. Conservative Judaism has lost members in the last two decades to branches on the left and the right. Pamela S. Nadell, a professor of history and director of the Jewish Studies program at American University, said, "The conservative movement is wrestling with the whole question of how it defines itself, whether it still defines itself as a halachic movement, and that's why there was so much debate and angst over this."

This decision wasn't accepted everywhere:

The consequences of the decision have been mixed, both in the U.S. and elsewhere.

On the one hand, four members of the Committee, Rabbis Joel Roth, Leonard Levy, Mayer Rabinowitz, and Joseph Prouser, resigned from the CJLS following adoption of the change. On the other hand, the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies of the University of Judaism (now the American Jewish University) in Los Angeles had previously stated that it will immediately begin admitting gay and lesbian students as soon as the law committee passes a policy that sanctions gay ordination. On March 26, 2007, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York followed suit and began accepting gay candidates for admission for their Rabbinical program .

Meanwhile, many Masorti synagogues in Europe and Israel, which have historically been somewhat more traditional than the American movement, continue to maintain a complete ban on homosexual conduct, clergy, and unions. As such, most Masorti/Conservative rabbis outside the USA are exercising their authority as local rabbinic authorities (mara d'atra) to reject the more liberal responsa.

The head of the Israeli Masorti movement's Vaad Halakha (equivalent to the CJLS), Rabbi David Golinkin, wrote the CJLS protesting its reconsideration of the traditional ban on homosexual conduct. The Masorti movements in Argentina, Hungary, and the United Kingdom have indicated that they will not admit or ordain homosexual rabbinical students. The Masorti Movement's Israeli seminar also rejected a change in its view of the status of homosexual conduct, stating that "Jewish law has traditionally prohibited homosexuality." (Wiki)

Liberal Judaism like liberal Christianity no longer follows or functions as religious institutions, but as social clubs. Thus there is little reason to waste one's time when there are plenty of other choices.

The Associated Press, 1-4-03

Conservative Judaism may be about to reopen discussion of the denomination's ban on same-sex unions and ordaining homosexuals - a move critics say could fracture the centrist branch of U.S. Jewry.

Judy Yudof, lay president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, wants the movement's lawmaking body to decide whether its condemnation of gay sex still holds under current interpretations of religious law. The Torah's prohibition against homosexual behavior is the reason Conservative Judaism bars gays from serving as rabbis and cantors.

Yudof plans to submit the question to the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, a panel of 25 rabbis, within the next month. Yudof said she is not advocating a particular outcome, and she refused to discuss her views on the issue. She said she is simply seeking answers for Conservative Jews, who make up the second-largest branch of American Judaism, with just under a million Jews calling themselves as Conservative.

"I've just felt there is some concern out there - in the lay world at least - about the status of homosexuals within our movement," said Yudof, whose organization represents about 800 North American congregations. "There are some people who feel uncomfortable about putting a restriction upon someone who admits to being a homosexual."

The slightly larger and more liberal Reform movement ordains homosexuals and blesses same-sex couples, while the smaller and stricter Orthodox does not. The last time Conservative Jews reviewed the policy on gays was in 1992 in a fierce debate that ended in a compromise some dubbed "don't ask, don't tell." The law making committee barred homosexuals from rabbinical schools but promised not investigate students' sexual orientation. At the same time, the panel urged congregations, youth groups, summer camps and schools to welcome gays.

Rabbi Joel Meyers, head of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, is among those who believe the policy should stand. "People who are from within the gay community themselves are treated just fine," Meyers said. "There is no discrimination."

[ Islam Archive 1 ] [ Islam Archive 2 ] [ Islam Archive 3 ] [ Islam Archive 4 ]

Gateway Pages for this website:
» Archive 1 » Archive 2 » Archive 3 » Archive 4 » Archive 5 » Archive 6
» Challenge to Atheists » Homepage » Guestbook

Religion and History

[ Deism ] [ Islam ] [ Gnosticism ] [ Christianity ] [ Judaism ] [ Unitarianism ] [ Zoroastrianism ]

Microcontroller Projects for Hobbyists:
» PICAXE Microcontroller » Arduino Microcontroller » Microcontroller Input/Output Ports