Quick action and an early rebellion at USCJ http://blogs.jta.org/ENTRY_PERMALINK_HERE/quick-action-and-an-early-rebellion-at-uscj/ Both the Forward and the Jewish Week followed up on the news, reported here last week, that the new chief of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, Rabbi Steven Wernick, was moving ahead with plans for layoffs and a reorganization of the body that some see as emblematic of the movement’s decline.  en-us bharris@jta.org Copyright 2009 2009-09-16T;20:36:01-05:00 Comment by blackie sschwartz@inbox.com AS, Geeez, talk about shooting gnats with an elephant gun! AS,
Geeez, talk about shooting gnats with an elephant gun!

]]> 2012-02-09T;19:12:00-05:00 Comment by Arnold Rosenzweig ar@jhvonline.com Dear JTA, I’m skeptical about all your blogger speculation regarding the Conservative movement, but more to the point, there is no United Synagogue FOR Conservative Judaism, to my knowledge. The name given on its website is the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. If there are layoffs in the movement, that’s something that has been going on all over the country. Nothing new there! Anyway, it’s the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. In Reform, it’s the Union for Reform Judaism. If you have a stylebook, JTA, you might consider including the two organizations’ names in your listings. Shalom-you-all and Shana Tova, as well say down South Dear JTA,
I’m skeptical about all your blogger speculation regarding the Conservative movement, but more to the point, there is no United Synagogue FOR Conservative Judaism, to my knowledge. The name given on its website is the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
If there are layoffs in the movement, that’s something that has been going on all over the country. Nothing new there!
Anyway, it’s the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. In Reform, it’s the Union for Reform Judaism. If you have a stylebook, JTA, you might consider including the two organizations’ names in your listings.
Shalom-you-all and Shana Tova, as well say down South

]]> 2012-02-09T;19:12:00-05:00 Comment by David Heller david@dheller.net As somebody who grew up in a Conservative shul and is now in a modern Orthodox shul, I think that problems facing the Conservative movement and organizations are not so much about national bodies and services to constituent synagogues, but rather about the spiritual identity of Conservative Judaism. Conservative theology seems to me to be greatly disconnected from the way most Conservative Jews practice.  Conservative Judaism calls for observance of mitzvot including Shabbos, Kashrus, and related ritual, but very few members of Conservative shuls observe mitzvot and ritual in their individual lives. Can the movement survive (much less grow) with only lip-service to observance, ritual, and spirituality? Or will American Judaism devolve further in Israeli-style observant vs. secular strata. Then there is the politics of the Conservative rabbinate. Support for Israel is good, but when rabbis teach Torah and preach observance of mitzvot but condone and support secular political platforms that are hostile to values embodied in the mitzvot of the Torah, rabbinic leadership is weakened by its hypocrisy. As somebody who grew up in a Conservative shul and is now in a modern Orthodox shul, I think that problems facing the Conservative movement and organizations are not so much about national bodies and services to constituent synagogues, but rather about the spiritual identity of Conservative Judaism.

Conservative theology seems to me to be greatly disconnected from the way most Conservative Jews practice.  Conservative Judaism calls for observance of mitzvot including Shabbos, Kashrus, and related ritual, but very few members of Conservative shuls observe mitzvot and ritual in their individual lives. Can the movement survive (much less grow) with only lip-service to observance, ritual, and spirituality? Or will American Judaism devolve further in Israeli-style observant vs. secular strata.

Then there is the politics of the Conservative rabbinate. Support for Israel is good, but when rabbis teach Torah and preach observance of mitzvot but condone and support secular political platforms that are hostile to values embodied in the mitzvot of the Torah, rabbinic leadership is weakened by its hypocrisy.

]]> 2012-02-09T;19:12:00-05:00 Comment by ASC asc@njjewishnews.com Too little too late? The organization has a big deficit they had to close, so can probably be excused if the first thing they worked on was meeting budget and trimming the organization, as opposed to the Bonim’s agenda. They also whittled down a huge board to more manageable size, which should streamline any future reforms. Finally, there is a strategic plan in process, which is slated to take the next year. See more local reaction here: http://njjewishnews.com/article/statewide/conservative-umbrella-to-merge-area-offices/ Too little too late?

The organization has a big deficit they had to close, so can probably be excused if the first thing they worked on was meeting budget and trimming the organization, as opposed to the Bonim’s agenda. They also whittled down a huge board to more manageable size, which should streamline any future reforms. Finally, there is a strategic plan in process, which is slated to take the next year.

See more local reaction here:
http://njjewishnews.com/article/statewide/conservative-umbrella-to-merge-area-offices/

]]> 2012-02-09T;19:12:00-05:00