Conservatism can learn from Orthodoxy’s depth of commitment, while the latter needs to recognize that it can’t ignore history – or the wider world

Rabbi Avi Finegold
FOUNDER, THE JEWISH LEARNING LIBRARY, MONTREAL

Rabbi Philip Scheim
BETH DAVID B’NAI  ISRAEL BETH  AM CONGREGATION, TORONTO

Rabbi Finegold: I’m curious about what you see as the future of your denomination in the next 25 to 50 years. I have always imagined how I would write the pages in the Jewish history book of the future about the early 21st century, especially the evolution of Orthodox Jewry. What might be the parts that turn out to be important? The shift toward women’s inclusion? The recognition that social justice is not the exclusive domain of liberal Judaism? Or will the main narrative be the “slide to the right” and “charedification” of Orthodoxy? 

The fact that I will never know how these pages will turn out is thrilling, and a bit disheartening. I won’t know if my ideas placed me on the right side of history. But I remind myself I am helping to write that history. Unlike John Lennon, I am not content to simply watch the wheels go round and round. I am an aware, active participant in history.

Rabbi Scheim: I would categorize myself as a cautious optimist in terms of the survival of centrist Judaism, including my home-base Conservative movement. We tend to write off entities in the Jewish world, but their predicted demises often don’t come to pass. In the mid-20th century, many viewed the Orthodox as a vanishing breed. Happily, history has proven them profoundly off the mark.

Many also sensed the demise of Yiddish, and while the number of people proficient in the language has declined dramatically, the doomsayers could not have accounted for the miraculous work of Aaron Lansky and the creation of the Yiddish Book Center. They have rescued millions of Yiddish books and offer programs to large numbers of Jewish youth anxious to connect with a language so connected to our history and culture.

I believe there will continue to be a significant moderate-traditional religious stream in the coming decades, that Conservative Judaism will find its way through the myriad of challenges it currently faces. The fact that 60 per cent of students in our Toronto community Hebrew high school represent families affiliated with Conservative congregations reaffirms my optimism, however cautious it may be.

Rabbi Finegold: You mention history and culture – I think the most significant challenges for Orthodoxy lie in these two areas. Any movement that is unable to situate itself in a historical context will eventually find itself in jeopardy, in my estimation. Haredi Orthodoxy needs to begin to recognize that it cannot ignore history when it does not fit into their worldview, and modern Orthodoxy needs to situate itself better along a historical continuum of evolution and engagement with greater society. 

Culture cannot be ignored. In his brilliant essay Rupture and Reconstruction, Haym Soloveitchik points out that historically, family and community have been important keepers and transmitters of the Jewish faith, and that this has slowly been eroded in recent years. If the only place one can learn about Judaism is an academy, then we are doing something significantly wrong. We need to refocus, remind ourselves and our families that paying for day school tuition does not absolve you of creating a home life full of Judaism and learning. 

If this sounds like doom, I assure you that I am with you on the side of optimism. These are just areas where I wish we could do better. 

Rabbi Scheim: Conservative Judaism has long identified itself as representing the “historical school” of Judaism, so our movement’s appreciation of history has been fundamental to its evolution. Mordecai Waxman’s classic Tradition and Change(now undergoing revision) documented this precarious balance between the authenticity of handed-down tradition and the enticements of modernity. 

The rich Jewish home life to which you refer requires a significant dose of traditionalism, which sometimes can be elusive in the non-Orthodox world. Engagement with modernity is certainly critical, but, as our experience has taught us, it requires a measure of caution in its implementation. I look forward to the day when Jews of all streams are willing to learn from each other; when those within the Orthodox world will more readily interact with the wider community, Jewish and otherwise; and when the non-Orthodox will learn to appreciate and emulate Orthodoxy’s depth of commitment to the fundamentals of Jewish practice and learning.