{"id":10010,"date":"2013-10-15T14:50:30","date_gmt":"2013-10-15T20:50:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=10010"},"modified":"2013-10-18T05:08:24","modified_gmt":"2013-10-18T11:08:24","slug":"at-united-synagogue-centennial-tough-talk-about-need-for-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/at-united-synagogue-centennial-tough-talk-about-need-for-change\/","title":{"rendered":"At United Synagogue centennial, tough talk about need for change"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By URIEL HEILMAN<\/p>\n<p>BALTIMORE (JTA) &#8212; It will be years before it\u2019s clear whether or not this week\u2019s conference of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism was a success.<\/p>\n<p>To be sure, the centennial gathering in Baltimore by nearly all accounts was a far more dynamic and well-attended biennial than those of recent years, drawing some 1,200 people.<\/p>\n<p>But the Conservative movement is in serious decline &#8212; evidenced by the Pew Research Center\u2019s survey of U.S. Jews recent findings, the shrinking number of synagogues that affiliate with the movement and the empty pews in Conservative synagogues across the country.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10088\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10088\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10088 lazyload\" title=\"kidsrockin\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10088\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10088 \" title=\"kidsrockin\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/kidsrockin.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-10088\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children dancing at the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism&#39;s centennial celebration in Baltimore, which was better attended and seen as more dynamic than in recent years. (Mike Diamond Photography)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Under that shadow, the central preoccupation of the centennial wasn\u2019t celebrating the past century of Conservative Judaism &#8212; the milestone was hardly marked at all during the three-day confab &#8212; but how to ensure that Conservative Judaism has a future.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOur house is on fire. If you don\u2019t read anything else in the Pew report, we have maybe 10 years left,\u201d said Rabbi Ed Feinstein of Valley Beth Shalom in Encino, Calif., at a session Monday morning that caused a major buzz at the conference.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the next 10 years I see the rapid collapse of synagogues and the national organization that supports them,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we continue what we are doing, our house will burn down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is broad recognition from the movement\u2019s leaders on down that significant rejuvenation is needed if Conservative Judaism is to reverse its negative trajectory. The conference, whose theme was \u201cThe conversation of the century,\u201d was billed as an opportunity to talk about how.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSince last week, all anyone wants to do is talk about the Pew study; I don\u2019t,\u201d Ron Wolfson, a professor of education at American Jewish University in Los Angeles, said in a speech at the gathering. \u201cIt\u2019s time to stop talking and start doing.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The movement\u2019s leaders offered few specifics, instead sticking to broad outlines.<\/p>\n<p>Arnold Eisen, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, proposed a threefold strategy of being as welcoming as possible, taking Conservative Judaism beyond the bounds of the synagogue, and getting members to commit more money and time to the movement.<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10084\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10084\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10084 lazyload\" title=\"wernick3\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3.jpg 992w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/196;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10084\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10084 \" title=\"wernick3\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3-300x196.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"196\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3-300x196.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/wernick3.jpg 992w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-10084\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. (Mike Diamond Photography)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of United Synagogue, called for turning synagogues into communities, for which he used the Hebrew term \u201ckehillot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Author and movement giant Rabbi Harold Kushner argued for emphasizing the discipline inherent in Jewish commitment, suggesting the movement adopt the bumper sticker mantra of \u201ckadsheinu b\u2019mitzvotecha\u201d &#8212; sanctify us with your commandments.<\/p>\n<p>The nitty-gritty of strategies for counteracting the movement\u2019s erosion came in breakout sessions and in the hallways, where everything from whether the movement should perform intermarriages to how synagogues can reinvigorate services came up for discussion. No decisions were made &#8212; except, perhaps, in closed-door sessions of the movement\u2019s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards &#8212; but there was plenty of debate. For that, even longtime critics of United Synagogue gave the organization credit for facilitating the discussions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI think they understand there has to be the grassroots development in order for Conservative Judaism to continue,\u201d said Marsha Davis, president of Beth El Temple in Harrisburg, Pa. \u201cLeadership has to happen bottom-up. You\u2019re involved and encouraged to be part of the decision.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Plenty of ideas were bandied about. Rabbi Sid Schwarz of Rockville, Md., said synagogues should designate 5 percent of their budgets for mini-grants for young Jews to create innovative synagogue programs. Rabbi Rachel Ain of Sutton Place Synagogue in New York said it isn&#8217;t programs that matter but the relationships that synagogues forge with their congregants and among congregants.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi David Booth of Congregation Kol Emeth in Palo Alto, Calif., argued that the movement needs to be more welcoming to non-Jews and proposed giving non-Jewish spouses and friends a place in synagogue ritual by allowing them to open the ark during services. Attorney Vicky Vossen, past president of the Kane Street Synagogue in Brooklyn, N.Y., said the movement&#8217;s rabbinical association needs to loosen its control of the hiring process so congregations can hire the rabbis they want.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Schatz of Philadelphia, the incoming president of the movement\u2019s Jewish Educators Assembly, said synagogues need to stop being territorial about educational programs and support Hebrew schools outside the synagogue if they have stronger programs. Rabbi Elie Spitz of Congregation B\u2019nai Israel in Tustin, Calif., said synagogues must put ego aside and welcome independent minyans that want to create alternative services.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cUnless you\u2019re making people uncomfortable, you\u2019re not making real change,\u201d said Rabbi Lizzi Heydemann in a session titled \u201cAlternative Minyanim &#8212; Congregation Builder or Destroyer?\u201d \u201cIf we keep doing something basically along the same trajectory, things will stay the same and eventually peter out and die.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_10087\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignleft\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21.jpg\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10087\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10087 lazyload\" title=\"nesh2\" data-src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" data-srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21.jpg 1200w\" data-sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" style=\"--smush-placeholder-width: 300px; --smush-placeholder-aspect-ratio: 300\/200;\" \/><noscript><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-10087\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-10087 \" title=\"nesh2\" src=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-300x200.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21-1024x682.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/nesh21.jpg 1200w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/noscript><\/a><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-10087\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Neshama Carlebach and Josh Nelson performing at the United Synagogue centennial in Baltimore. (Mike Diamond Photography)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>The conference wasn\u2019t all doom and gloom. At the Sunday evening gala, musicians Neshama Carlebach and Josh Nelson led a rousing rendition of \u201cAm Yisrael Chai\u201d that had attendees dancing in the aisles and prompted Nelson, an alumnus of the United Synagogue\u2019s youth movement, to deliver a positive pronouncement.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor the first time in as long as I can remember, there is a sense of electricity among this group of people,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Rabbi Raphael Ostrovsky, a retired pulpit rabbi who lives in Munster, Ind., said he found the afternoon prayer service inspiring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen you davened mincha, it was very moving. I felt like it was an active Orthodox synagogue,\u201d Ostrovsky told JTA. \u201cIt was loud and full of life. The average Conservative synagogue doesn\u2019t have that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In one-on-one discussions, many attendees credited the United Synagogue with changing its modus operandi following an uprising several years ago by a handful of renegade synagogues that withheld their dues in protest.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA few years ago, it was send us your money and that\u2019s it. That\u2019s how our synagogue viewed the USCJ &#8212; they were simply collecting dues without providing a service,\u201d Ralph Downard, president of Congregation Beth Shalom in Wilmington, Del., told JTA.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow they\u2019re actually giving considerable services for the dues. We actually have benefits &#8212; there\u2019s leadership development, strategic planning, a blog for synagogue presidents to exchange ideas. United Synagogue is actually engaging us.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The conference hardly marked the beginning of the conversation about how to reinvent Conservative Judaism for the 21st century. For years, lay leaders and rabbis have bemoaned the movement&#8217;s decline.<\/p>\n<p>Now, however, the conversation about how to address the decline is being embraced by organizational leaders. Whether and to what extent the conversation will lead to changes on the ground &#8212; and how open the movement\u2019s national organizations will be to undergoing major reforms themselves, as many have suggested is necessary &#8212; remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou\u2019ve got to be willing to undergo self-examination and figure out how you need to change,\u201d said one synagogue president from New Jersey who asked not to be identified by name. \u201cAnd self-examination is the single hardest thing for human beings to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"https:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\" src=\"data:image\/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAAAAACH5BAEKAAEALAAAAAABAAEAAAICTAEAOw==\" class=\"lazyload\" \/><noscript><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-medium.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top: 5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/noscript><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"Tumblr\",\"Email\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"medium\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\"At%20United%20Synagogue%20centennial%2C%20tough%20talk%20about%20need%20for%20change\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[1662,8790,8795,8788,2951],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10010"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":10085,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10010\/revisions\/10085"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}