The Rabbinical Assembly: Voice of Conservative Judaism

The Middle Path’s Rabbinate

Conservative Judaism — known as Masorti Judaism outside North America — occupies a distinctive position in Jewish life. It affirms the binding nature of halakha (Jewish law) while insisting that law has always evolved and must continue to evolve. It respects tradition while engaging with modernity. And the organization that gives voice to this approach is the Rabbinical Assembly (RA), the international association of Conservative rabbis.

Founded in 1901, the Rabbinical Assembly today has over 1,700 members serving congregations, schools, hospitals, military units, and communal organizations across North America, Israel, and dozens of other countries. Through its publications, conventions, and — most importantly — its Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, the RA shapes religious practice for the millions of Jews affiliated with the Conservative/Masorti movement.

Origins and Growth

The Rabbinical Assembly grew alongside the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York, which has served as Conservative Judaism’s flagship institution of rabbinical training. The RA was initially a small alumni association of JTS graduates. As Conservative Judaism grew dramatically in mid-twentieth-century America — becoming the largest Jewish denomination by the 1950s — the RA grew with it.

The organization’s growth reflected the appeal of Conservative Judaism’s central promise: you can be fully modern and fully halakhic. You can study the Torah with critical scholarship and still observe Shabbat. You can embrace American life and still keep kosher.

The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards

The CJLS is the RA’s most distinctive institution. Composed of twenty-five rabbis (plus lay representatives), the committee receives questions about Jewish law and issues formal responsa (teshuvot). What makes the CJLS unique is its willingness to accept multiple valid positions on a single question.

When the committee votes on a teshuvah, any position that receives at least six votes is considered a valid option. Individual congregational rabbis — as mara d’atra (local halakhic authority) — then decide which position to follow in their community. This system allows for diversity within a shared framework.

Landmark Decisions

The RA’s history is marked by several pivotal decisions:

Driving on Shabbat (1950): The CJLS permitted driving to synagogue on Shabbat — and only to synagogue — recognizing the reality that suburban American Jews lived too far from synagogues to walk. This ruling was praised as realistic by supporters and criticized as a slippery slope by detractors.

Women’s ordination (1985): After years of debate, the JTS faculty voted to admit women to the rabbinical program. The first woman ordained by JTS, Amy Eilberg, joined the RA in 1985. This decision was transformative for the movement.

LGBTQ inclusion (2006): The CJLS accepted a teshuvah permitting the ordination of openly gay and lesbian rabbis and the celebration of same-sex commitment ceremonies, while simultaneously accepting a more traditional teshuvah. This “big tent” approach exemplified the RA’s pluralistic methodology.

Challenges and Adaptation

The Conservative movement faces significant demographic challenges. From its peak as American Judaism’s largest denomination, it has declined in numbers as members gravitate toward Reform Judaism on one side and Orthodoxy on the other. Younger Jews increasingly identify as “just Jewish” rather than denominational.

The RA has responded by emphasizing the movement’s intellectual rigor, its commitment to serious Jewish learning, and its ability to hold tradition and change in creative tension. The Masorti movement has grown internationally, particularly in Israel and Latin America.

The RA’s Ongoing Role

For rabbis who believe that Jewish law matters but must breathe, that tradition is a living conversation rather than a static code, the Rabbinical Assembly provides both community and authority. Its teshuvot, published and debated, represent one of the most fascinating ongoing experiments in Jewish legal thought — the attempt to apply ancient principles to modern life without abandoning either.