Modern Conservative Judaism

Elliot N. Dorff is rector and Sol and Anne Dorff Distinguished Service Professor of Philosophy at the American Jewish University and visiting professor at UCLA School of Law. He was an editor of the official Conservative statement of principles Emet Ve-Emunah and coeditor of the Conservative commentary Etz Hayim. He is author of twelve books, four published by JPS, including To Do the Right and the Good: A Jewish Approach to Modern Social Ethics (2002), winner of the National Jewish Book Award.  

Foreword, by Rabbi Julie Schonfeld    
Preface    
Introduction: The Roots of Conservative Judaism    Conservative Judaism’s European Beginnings    
Taking Root in America    
Rabbi Solomon Schechter’s Concept of “Catholic Israel”    
Taking Off in America    
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan’s Concept of “Judaism as a Civilization”    
Articulating Conservative Judaism’s Faith and Practice    
Definitions and Demographic Declines    
Reading This Book    
Suggestions for Further Reading    Part 1. God
1. Emunah: Theology    Emet Ve-Emunah on Theology    
Modern Conservative Theologies    
Rationalism    
Religious Naturalism    
Process Thought    
Mysticism    
Feminist Theology    
Suggestions for Further Reading    2. Tefillah: Prayer    Emet Ve-Emunah on Prayer    
Introducing Conservative/Masorti Theories of Prayer    
Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan    
Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson    
Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff    
Prayer through the Lens of Prayer Books    
Maḥzor Lev Shalem Offers a New Window into Conservative Prayer    
The Evolving Conservative Prayer Service    
The Next Frontier in Conservative Worship    
Suggestions for Further Reading    Part 2. Torah
3. Talmud Torah: Study    Emet Ve-Emunah on Jewish Study    
Dr. Arnold Eisen on Conservative Jewish Learning    
Suggestions for Further Reading    4. Halakhah: Legal Theories1913 Preamble to the Constitution of the United Synagogue of America    
Emet Ve-Emunah on Jewish Law (1988)     
Understanding Theories of Law    
Some Conservative/Masorti Theories of Jewish Law    
Rabbi Joel Roth on a Deductive Legal System    
Rabbi Neil Gillman on Communal Responses to Shared Myths    
Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff on an Organic System That Expresses Love and Addresses Morality    
Rabbi Harold Kushner on Jewish Law as an Opportunity for Holiness    
Rabbi Alana Suskin on Investing Jewish Law with Egalitarian/Feminist Principles    
Suggestions for Further Reading    5. P’sak Din: Determining Conservative PracticeThe Local Rabbi    
A Central Communal Institution    
Movement Organizations and Local Institutions    
Custom    
Emet Ve-Emunah on Authority for Jewish Practice    
Rabbi Gordon Tucker’s Rationale for Pluralism in Jewish Law    
Suggestions for Further Reading    6. Nashim: Women in Jewish LifeEmet Ve-Emunah’s 1988 Stance    
The Report of the Commission on the Ordination of Women as Rabbis    
Aftermath of the Commission Report    
Responsa on Women’s Issues    
Rabbi Pamela Barmash’s Responsum on Women’s Equality    
Egalitarianism in Practice Worldwide    
Suggestions for Further Reading    7. Ḥayyim u’Mavet: Rulings on BioethicsResponsum on Contraception    
Responsum on Procreation    
Responsa on Birth Surrogates    
Responsum on Abortion    
Responsum on Stem Cell Research and Cloning    
Responsa on End-of-Life Care    
Responsum on the Distribution of Health Care    
Suggestions for Further Reading    8. Masa u’Mattan: Legal Rulings on Business EthicsResponsum on Intellectual Property    
Responsum on Whistle-Blowing     
Responsum on Employers and Employees    
Suggestions for Further Reading    9. Bein Adam LaMakom: Rulings on Ritual ObservanceResponsum on Tattooing and Body Piercing    
Responsum on Forming a Minyan on the Internet    
Responsum on Playing Sports on Shabbat    
Responsa on the Dietary Laws (Kashrut)     
Magen Tzedek (Shield of Justice)     
Suggestions for Further Reading    10. Tikkun Olam: Moral Guidance on Social IssuesTraditional Means of Inculcating Morality    
Emet Ve-Emunah on Building a Moral and Just World    
The Rabbinic Letter on the Poor    
Responsum on Capital Punishment    
Suggestions for Further Reading    11. Ḥayyei Min u’Mishpaḥah: Moral Guidance on Sex and Family LifeA Rabbinic Letter on Intimate Relations    
Responsum on Family Violence    
Addressing Interfaith Marriage    
Addressing Gays and Lesbians    
Responsa on Transgender Individuals    
Responsum and Documentation on Divorce    
Suggestions for Further Reading    Part 3. Israel
12. Am Yisrael: PeoplehoodDeveloping the Doctrine of the People Israel    
Emet Ve-Emunah on the People Israel    
Emet Ve-Emunah on Judaism’s Relations with Other Faiths    
Dr. Arnold Eisen on Why Our Covenant Matters    
Who Is a Jew?     
Suggestions for Further Reading    13. Tziyyonut: Zionism and the State of IsraelEarly Religious Responses to Zionism    
Conservative Movement Responses to a Jewish State    
Emet Ve-Emunah on the State of Israel and the Diaspora    
Conservative/Masorti Life in and for Israel    
Why Israel Matters to Conservative Jews    
Suggestions for Further Reading    14. Teshuvot Medinat Yisrael: Masorti Responsa in and for IsraelResponsum on Ceding Land in a Peace Agreement    
Responsum on Extraditing a Jewish Criminal from Israel to Another Country    
Responsum on the Conscription of Women into the Israel Defense Forces    
Responsum on the Conscription of Yeshivah Students into the Israel Defense Forces    
Responsum on Riding to the Synagogue on Shabbat    
Suggestions for Further Reading    Epilogue: The Ideal Conservative Jew    
Appendix: Institutions of the Conservative Movement    Academic Centers of the Conservative Movement    
Professional Organizations of the Conservative Movement    
Lay Organizations of the Conservative Movement    
“Joint Commissions” of the Conservative Movement    Source Acknowledgments    
Notes    
Bibliography    
Authors of Excerpted Texts    
Index