That’s quite a lot of questions and comments directed at me. I’ll endeavor to answer some of them because I think talking and listening to different types of Jews is very important and I have a feeling that many of you have never met a Conservative rabbi.
Gavra at Work:
I am most definitely a Conservative rabbi. We believe that all the Mitzvoth of the Torah are binding. That said, try to find two sources that identify all 613 Mitzvoth and interpret them in the same way. I have a feeling you will not find it possible to do so. This is the position of the Conservative Movement. Do I believe in Revelation at Sinai? Yes, I do. God entered into a relationship with the Jewish people thousands of years ago. A relationship between man and God is just like a relationship between two people: it involves conversation and dialog, and it grows and changes because the participants do not remain the same. The nature of our relationship with God has changed because we have changed and we believe God has always been aware of this since He entered into that relationship. Jews have long had a metaphor that envisions God as a father or a parent. Just like a parents and children do not relate to each other in the same way from infancy through adulthood, God and the Jewish people continue to adapt to each other because we are committed to each other. I personally believe that this idea of relationship has existed in Jewish tradition for a long time. Don’t we say that it took seven weeks to get from Egypt to Sinai because the ragtag group of impure slaves needed the time to become a real nation worthy of receiving the Torah? There was a time before God would enter into a relationship with us and we needed to grow before we were ready. We didn’t stop growing at Sinai, but rather were just at the beginning. So GAW, the answers to your questions are a definite YES, but a nuanced YES as well.
So Right,
Your question about abortion is tricky because I’m not sure what you are asking or with what opinion on the subject you are asking it with. “Abortion on Demand” is not a Jewish idea, it’s an American one. Our Halachik sources make it very clear that abortion is not murder and forbidden to begin with. The Mishnah in Ohalot permits it in a case where the mother is in danger and Rambam justifies this by saying that the fetus is a Rodef. Given this position, I see no reason to say that abortion is Assur. If you’re asking if abortion should be used as birth control, I would say no. To do so is an act of extreme irresponsibility. I find it necessary to defend abortion in American law because the people who want to make it illegal want to do so in all cases. This would lead to the death of women; Jewish as well as non-Jewish ones. This isn’t an acceptable outcome.
Is it ok to be gay? You mention orientation as opposed to act. I don’t know what it means to have a gay orientation because I don’t have one. I don’t know what people like that go through, but I do know that we are obligated to treat them with the same level of respect with which we treat other people. Many people say people say this, but few live it. Would I perform a gay marriage? I’ve never been asked and probably not. Would I fight for their rights under American law? I haven’t been involved with this, but if push came to shove I probably would because they deserve the same tax benefits, medical benefits, legal status, etc as a man and woman who have committed to each other in a permanent way.
Can woman be rabbis? Yes. Even in the most recent events surrounding this topic in Orthodoxy, no rabbi came up with a valid Halachic reason why not. Is it the way Orthodoxy does things? No Although I disagree, I feel no need to ask you to conform to me. Then again, I’m not an Orthodox woman who deeply desires to be a Jewish religious leader.
AinOhdMilvado,
Given what I know of the Committee of Jewish Law and Standards, I do not see any way that it will change the definition of Jewishness to include paternal descent. Regarding how it does operate, it is no different from how Jewish religious leaders have made Halachic decisions in the past. The individual members make arguments based on their reading of traditional sources. Conservative Jews are under no obligation to accept everything the Committee says and you certainly do not have one. That is the same way Jewish law has always worked. An Ashkenazic Jew in the 1200’s had no obligation to accept the rulings of the Rashba in Barcelona. The idea of a universal Posek is unheard of in Jewish legal history. Our Teshuvot simply provide people with more than one way to read Jewish texts.
Ben Torah,
I clearly do not accept Rav Moshe’s psak on this issue and I find many of his writings about COnservative Jews to have been written in a mean-spirited way and without real knowledge of what goes on in our movement. This does not take away from his genius or his knowledge of Torah. It just means that, as I said above, I am not obligated to accept his rulings.
I believe that answers most of the questions directed at me, I’m choosing to ignore the nasty gratuitous comments. I read this forum regularly because it gives me insight into a Jewish community of which I am not a part. I hope you will take the time to read what I have written.