From the Detroit Jewish NewsBy Shelli Liebman Dorfman Rabbi Daniel Nevins sees his new job as dean of the rabbinical school at the Conservative movement’s Jewish Theological Seminary in New York as “both an honor and a challenge.” The rabbi has served Adat Shalom Synagogue in Farmington Hills for 13 years. He will begin his…
When Rabbi Danny Nevins, my friend, colleague, and personal rabbi, told me a couple months ago that he was being considered for the position of Dean of the Rabbinical School of the Conservative Movement’s central academic institution, the Jewish Theological Seminary, I was immediately torn. On the one hand, I knew how many people at…
I was surprised to see one article in the Wall Street Journal incorporate three organizations I’ve been involved with: The Jewish Theological Seminary, Hillel, and the STAR Foundation’s Synaplex. This is a great article about how Jewish organizations are finally going out and learning what the people want. If I wrote this article (and I’m…
I just received an announcement from the Conservative Movement’s lay organization, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ), that they have sold their international headquarters building — Rapaport House. USCJ has entered into a contract for the sale of 155 Fifth Avenue in Manhattan and are working to establish a closing date for the purchase…
Kosher than a jar of another brand of salsa even if it bears a heksher (authorized symbol of kashrut certification) as well. With Paul Newman donating all his Newman’s Own net profits to tzedakah (charity), we have the ethical obligation to support his company’s products. [He’s donated over $200 million to charity thusfar, not to…
The Michigan Daily published an article in today’s edition on the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) meeting in which four teshuvot (responsa) were presented regarding Gay commitment ceremonies and the ordination of Gay rabbis and cantors at Conservative seminaries. I spent quite a bit of time on the phone with the author of…
Below is the “Breaking news” from JTA.org that no vote was made on any of the teshuvot (responsa) presented. This was no surprise for me having sat in on several Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) meetings while a student at The Jewish Theological Seminary. Teshuvot are presented, studied, debated, and then re-written or…
A Manifesto for the Future Drop ‘Conservative’ Label to Tap True Meaning and Reach the Faithfulby Rabbi David Wolpe In early November, I spoke at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. The topic was “The Future of Conservative Judaism.” I prepared for the talk by asking colleagues, friends and congregants to define Conservative Judaism…
My colleague Rabbi Joshua Hammerman published this article in The NY Jewish Week. He is spot on with his analysis of the Conservative Movement. Lately the Conservative movement has seemed less than concerned about conserving itself. The bad news has come in droves: budget woes at the Jewish Theological Seminary; the flap over gay marriage and…
From the NY Times A rabbi who has officiated at the marriage of gay and lesbian couples has been threatened with expulsion from the Conservative movement’s rabbinical association, though movement officials say it is not her activism that is at issue but her repeated defiance of the movement’s rules. Ayelet S. Cohen, the junior rabbi…