The Conservative Movement in Judaism: Dilemmas and Opportunities (Suny Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s) [Hardcover]

Daniel J. Elazar (Author), Rela M. Geffen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000 | Series: Suny Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s

Illustrates how the American Conservative Movement in Judaism can continue to prosper amidst ideological and institutional challenges. Viewing the Conservative Movement at a turning point, this book analyzes the problems facing the religious movement with the largest synagogue membership in the American Jewish community and outlines a plan of action for the future. Elazar and Geffen suggest: clarifying ideology, mission, and purpose, finding the right balance between traditionalists and advocates of change, unifying movement institutions in a cooperative effort, staunching the decline of membership to the left, recapturing the loyalty of lapsed adherents, closing the gap in observance between the laity and the standard bearers of the movement, developing the Movement in Israel and world-wide, and strengthening ties with Jewish federations and other Jewish communal bodies. The authors propose that the Conservative Movement's remedying of these problems will benefit not just American, but all world Jewry. "This book should be a welcome addition to every Jewish household. In addition to the detailed discussion of the Conservative Movement, the authors provide an in-depth analysis of current American Jewish identities" -Nitza Druyan, Hofstra University

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Daniel J. Elazar was the President of the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and Professor Emeritus of Intergovernmental Relations at Bar-Ilan University. He was the author and editor of more than seventy books, including, with coauthor Harold M. Waller, the National Jewish Book Award Winner Maintaining Consensus: The Canadian Jewish Polity in the Postwar World. Rela Mintz Geffen is Professor of Sociology at Gratz College. She is the editor of several books including Celebration and Renewal: Rites of Passage in Judaism, and with Marsha Bryan Edelman, Freedom and Responsibility: Exploring the Dilemmas of Jewish Continuity. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 238 pages
• Publisher: State Univ of New York Pr (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0791446891
• ISBN-13: 978-0791446898
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,822,954 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a field guide to the Conservative movement, December 25, 2005

By 

Michael Lewyn (Forest Hills, NY) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Conservative Movement in Judaism: Dilemmas and Opportunities (Suny Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s) (Suny Series, American Jewish Society in the 1990s) (Paperback)

The most interesting things about this book were not the suggestions (which were probably more interesting for Conservative rabbis, congregational officials, etc. than for me) but the impressive collection of data and the authors' speculation about why the Conservative movement has lost ground.

One especially interesting table addressed denominational changes among Jews, categorizing Jews both by the denominations they were raised in and by the denominations they now choose.

As of 1990, 89% of Orthodox Jews were brought up Orthodox; only 11% came to Orthodoxy from other denominations. (By contrast, only 55-60% of Conservative and Reform Jews were born in their denominations).

If I read the book's data tables correctly, only 23% of the people who were born Orthodox stayed Orthodox; most have become Conservative or Reform. Conservative Jews have a 60% retention rate, and Reform Jews have an 80% retention rate. Conservative Jews who "defect" to other denominations usually move left instead of right: only 0.5% of born Conservatives are now Orthodox, while 27% are now Reform and the rest have no denominational affiliation or are Reconstructionist.

Of course, the authors were using data that is now 15 years old; I wonder if more recent figures are available. (A second edition of this book would be nice, taking into account the 2000 National Jewish Population Survey; for example, the growth of Orthodox outreach may have increased defections to Orthodoxy).

The authors speculate that the decline of Conservative membership has in large part been due to factors beyond anyone's control, such as:

*The decline of the nuclear family and in particular of American Jewish birth rates. Because Conservative synagogues have been heavily family-oriented, this trend has hit Conservative congregations hard.

*The move of the Reform movement towards traditionalism, thus making Reform Judaism acceptable to many Jews who would have been less interested in Reform during its more radical period decades ago.

*The dying-off of the World War II generation, which tended to favor Conservative Judaism because it was more similar to Old World classical Judaism than Reform, but less demanding than Orthodoxy.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Reading for all Conservative Jews, July 12, 2002

By 

A. Hein (Jerusalem, Israel) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Conservative Movement in Judaism: Dilemmas and Opportunities (Suny Series in American Jewish Society in the 1990s) (Suny Series, American Jewish Society in the 1990s) (Paperback)

This book is the most important book for all leaders of the Conservative movement, from synagoguge board members to JTS professors. It accurately depicts the problems of the Conservative movement, but instead of leaving it at that, outlines numerous suggestions to make the Conservative Movement the authentic and halachic movement that it claims to be and has the potential to be.

A MUST READ!