Shoring up Judaism's 'middle' ground
With its observance of most traditional Jewish laws, coupled with a willingness to update practices with the times, Conservative Judaism has been the third way between Judaism's Reform and Orthodox movements.
But it has not been a growth industry. In 1990, it claimed a plurality of synagogue-affiliated American Jews; by the 2001 National Jewish Population Survey, it had slid to one-third of synagogue Jews, with fewer adherents than Reform Judaism.
Arnold M. Eisen is hunting for a way to reinvigorate his branch of the faith. Chancellor-elect at New York City's Jewish Theological Seminary, JTS, a 120-year-old school that calls itself "the intellectual and religious center of Conservative Judaism," Eisen is traveling the country, meeting Conservative Jews and soliciting their suggestions.
"We're calling this a listening tour," he says.
The feedback he gets, plus other views solicited via e-mail and Eisen's own research (he's the former head of Stanford University's religious studies department), will form the backbone of a policy paper he'll issue on strengthening the movement. "The first message I bring is there's no crisis," that the movement retains strong synagogues, schools, and camps, says Eisen, who was to speak yesterday and today at Newton's Temple Emanuel. Excerpts from a recent interview follow.
Q What's your message to the folks in Newton?
A Give people a sense of what we're up against and what we can do about it. In particular, how we can advance the cause of the Conservative movement as part of American Judaism, and what we intend JTS to do in service of these objectives. The numbers are shifting away from Conservative Judaism at the moment.
Q Why is that?
A There were trends working in favor of Conservative Judaism as recently as 20 years ago that are no longer in our favor. The areas of the country where Conservative Judaism is strongest are losing Jewish population to the areas where Conservative Judaism is weaker. We're very strong in the Midwest and the Northeast, and the growing areas of the country are the South, the Southwest, the West, the Pacific Northwest. Often, when you migrate, you move away from strong affiliations.
Conservative Judaism has not been as welcoming as it could be of intermarried couples. . . . Jewish law holds the mother [must be Jewish for a child to be Jewish], and Conservative Judaism follows Jewish law. So the child of a Jewish father and a non-Jewish mother is a non-Jew.
Q Why does migration dilute a community? I would think a Conservative Jew would transplant [his] religion and seek out other Conservative Jews.
A Remember Oscar Wilde's quip about socialism, that it's a very nice thing but it takes up too many evenings? I came to Palo Alto [Stanford's home] in 1986. I did find a Conservative synagogue. But there was no day school outside of the Orthodox day school, so I had to join with some people to found one. If you have the time, you can do things. But scholars of religion will tell you that migrants tend to take on the pattern of the place to which they migrate.
These are opportunities. If you don't have a synagogue, let's found one and get the resources to you from JTS. That's what we're going to do. There are three things we know JTS can help with. Number one is message. There is often a lack of clarity about what Conservative Judaism is. Most people know it's not Reform, it's not Orthodox, it's somewhere in the middle, as if all we are is wishy-washy. I'm proud that, city for city, if we were to do a survey of Jewish professionals -- like David Gordis , head of Boston's Hebrew College -- a lot of the leaders are Conservative Jews. By virtue of being in the middle, it's easier to reach out to people on both sides and have them feel comfortable with you.
Q Maybe building a Jewish community, rather than one of the branches, is what matters the most to people.
A You're touching on the issue of pluralism. There are lots of great ways to be a Jew, and at the end of the day, what counts is to be a good Jewish human being and contributing to the world. At the same time, people develop different ways of doing this.
Q Many Americans thought the civilian casualties inflicted by Israel in the war against Hezbollah were unjustifiable. How important to American Judaism is Israel's moral authority in this country?
A Support for Israel among American Jews is crucial to the future of Israel and to the life of the American Jewish community. I think American Jews are going to leave criticism of Israel to Israelis, who are doing a good job of taking every piece of this war apart.
Questions, comments or story ideas can be sent to spiritual@globe.com. 
