“The Conservative Movement is dying!” Recently, when anyone thinks about the future of the Conservative Movement, the immediate thought is that it is in a decline: losing members, fewer active members, fewer innovators. Meanwhile, no-one focuses on the past or the present, and few care to predict the future based on the history and current state of the conservative movement. Analysis of the movement from the first people to separate from orthodoxy in Eastern Europe, to the official founding of United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), and of the state of the movement today, might help to understand what the future will bring without making such rash initial assumptions.
The History
1840’s-1915
Though Conservative Judaism does have its roots in Talmud tradition and European Reform Judaism, contrary to popular belief, it was not a direct offshoot of Reform Judaism while it was still in “the old country”. As such, background on the related origins are necessary. The reform Movement in Germany reached it peak around the 1840. Around this time, rabbinic conferences to evolve jewish communities and practices were held throughout Germany from 1844-1846. Attendees at these meetings were on the verge of historical decisions for the jewish people. Among the attendees was Rabbi Zecharias Frankel, who expressed “misgivings of extremism” regarding the votes regarding Hebrew being advisable, among other things, but was overruled. When Frankel had the opportunity to explain his stances, he “outlined his personal convictions that the… dimensions [of judaism] were both vital to meaningful jewish practice.”1 When the first rabbinical school was founded in 1854 in Breslau, Rabbi Frankel was chosen as the first dean, and kept the title until he died in 1875.
[cyrus adler/louis marshal/JTS]
The Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) was created in New York City in 1887. The founders of the school didn't necessarily want a new denomination to judaism, as they saw that “Conservatism” as a tendency, rather, they intended to create a more traditional alternative to Reform Judaism.
Adler and Marshal became active in the reorganized Jewish Theological Seminary and arranged for Doctor Solomon Schechter to be the academic head of the school. Between Schechter’s Eastern European childhood, German training and English academic work, Schechter was the fresh voice necessary for the relatively new institution. After arriving in 1902, Schechter assembled a reputable faculty and redesigned the curriculum. Beginning in 1904 until 1905 the “Schechter craze” decreased due to criticism against Schechter , shrinking constituency, and the split on stances on Zionism.
More information on schechter
1910’s-1940’s
Until Schechter died, the conservative movement revolved around one man
The conservative movement revolved around one man until Solomon Schechter died, and the movement began to enter a new era for itself. Though the era is misleadingly called “The Consolidation Period”, the era was in fact a period of growth for the Conservative Movement both numerically and programmatically. This growing period was really an era of “sinking roots, finding an identity, building institutions, cultivating leadership, and developing structural forms”, and had a new leadership figure. Cyrus Adler, though a scholar rather than a rabbi, became the type of person needed during this period. Adler proved that it was possible to be born in the United States, remain a dedicated jew, and become active within national and international jewry. Like Schechter, Adler recruited additional leaders and professors who each gave JTS a longevity(?), and would also go onto to serve as president of JTS in 1924 and continued to hold executive positions within the conservative movement until his death in 1940.
The faith that Adler and Schechter had in new institutions such as JTS and The United Synagogue (later, United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, or USCJ) as the pioneers prospered gradually throughout this period of growth. The United Synagogue was founded in 1913 and had 22 congregations as members to their network, and grew to 170 member congregations by 1924. The demographics of the member communities didn't just grow and change in numbers, those individual congregations were also changing. Overall, synagogues were becoming notable institutions each being home to a broad range of programing with a large membership. The “institutional synagogue” also had men’s, women’s and youth organizations and education tracks, and social action clubs(?) among other things. JTS too developed, as it began to ordain rabbis and train educators. By 1939, over 300 rabbis had been ordained, and 500 educators and been trained by JTS. As it had been one of Shechter’s prides(?), the JTS library had become “one of the greatest collections of judaica in the western hemisphere.”
As the Conservative Movement evolved, prayer books special to the emerging congregations were deemed necessary. In 1927, United Synagogue produced its first holiday siddur after exhausting debates regarding its ideological format. As a compromise, a second edition was published but indicated that it was published mainly “for use in Conservative congregations affiliated with the United Synagogue of America.”
Following this move to unify the programming and resources used by the affiliates, The Women’s league, A Young People’s League, and the National Federation for Jewish Men’s Clubs had all been established by the late 1920’s. By the end of the 1930’s the conservative movement had finally established the institutions to be comparable to the reform and orthodox denominations.
Despite the countless positive outcomes of growth and institutional evolution, there were, of course, growing pains. One of the struggles that the movement began to face around Schechter’s death, and still faces today, is the balance of tradition and (religious) liberalism. For example, when Adler was the president of The United Synagogue, it seemed that the “rightists” and “traditionalists” were in control of the movement, on the other hand, when leaders such as Judah Magnas were being the frontrunners(?) of the movement, it leaned to the left.
1940-1965
By 1940, institutions affiliated with Conservative Judaism such as the Seminary, United Synagoge and the Rabbinical Assembly had already become a given among American Jews/jewry. By this point, Conservative Judaism had outgrown its Eastern European leadership had largely become lead by Americans. When America became involved in World War II, “it became clear that the conservative movement was as well equiped as any other movement to meet those needs” necessary for raising overseas aid, pro-zionist activism, and military chaplaincy among other things.
The Conservative movement continued to grow, as it did during the consolidation period, if not more. The growth of this period can be measured either through the funds raised, or by the amount of affiliated congregations. Rabbi Max Klein reported that each year of the annual fundraisning campheighns and exceeded the previous year’s revenue, to the point that the Conservative movement raised $517,000 in the 1944 campeign. The revanue incread as the movement added more programs and enriched their previously established ones. Additionally, the number of affiliated synagogues had reached 830 in 1963. Both of these measurements are co-dependant: the fundraisers encouraged affiliations of congregations, and affiliated congregations encouraged fund-rasiing within the community. These patterns continued to increase even
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