Revised Standards for Congregational Practice

by Ed Rudofsky

To paraphrase the famous New York Sun editorial of 110 years ago, “Yes, Virginia, the Conservative movement does have standards!”

At its June meeting, United Synagogue’s board voted overwhelmingly to recommend that the organization’s biennial convention adopt the revised standards for congregational practice proposed by the Committee on Congregational Standards. This is the first major revision of the standards in 16 years; they were first adopted by the biennial convention in 1957 and amended at conventions in 1961, 1969, 1971, 1985, 1989, and 1991.

The standards – now 11 separate guidelines – are a central statement of United Synagogue’s values, addressing the role of the rabbi and the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards; observance of Shabbat, the festivals, and the laws of kashrut; standards for membership and the role of non-Jewish family members in congregational life; educational programming; fundraising, and relationships between congregations and with the community. Congregations that do not adhere to the standards may be suspended or expelled by the board.

This latest revision is the result of a yearlong effort by the Committee on Congregational Standards, a 40-member committee, directed by Rabbi Moshe Edelman, that includes members of United Synagogue’s board, a regional executive director, and representatives of the Rabbinical Assembly, the Cantors Assembly, the Jewish Theological Seminary, the Jewish Educators Association, and the North American Association of Synagogue xecutives. The committee is responsible for drafting the standards and enforcing them; it is responsible as well for mediating and arbitrating disputes between congregations and clergy or professional staff.

As the work began, subcommittees studied the text, its history, and any new issues that arose around any one of the standards, and recommended changes. The proposals were then considered by the full committee.

In the midst of this process, the Rabbinical Assembly’s Committee on Jewish Law and Standards issued its December 2006 teshuvot validating alternative practices concerning gay and lesbian Jews. In a joint statement with United Synagogue’s president, Dr. Raymond Goldstein, our executive vice president, Rabbi Jerome Epstein, who is United Synagogue’s mara d’atra, said, “One of the basic tenets of the Conservative movement is that each rabbi who is the spiritual leader of a congregation is the mara d’atra, or final decisor of Jewish law, in that congregation. Therefore, the decisions of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, while important, are advisory.” This cogent reaffirmation of the role of the individual synagogue rabbi as the mara d’atra of the congregation became the basis for the revision of Standard I.

Another notable revision is the explicit reference to the Rabbinical Assembly’s standards of rabbinic practice, which prohibit RA members from accepting patrilineal descent, presiding at or even being guests at intermarriages, and officiating at a wedding where the bride or the groom has been married before and did not receive or give a get. These are the bedrock principles of the Conservative rabbinate. The revised standards for congregational practice require Conservative congregations to engage rabbis who adhere to these rules, whether or not the rabbis belong to the Rabbinical Assembly.

The revised Standards for Congregational Practice stress the partnership between each rabbi and his or her congregation in determining local practices. The revision strives to balance the role of the rabbi as spiritual leader and mara d’atra of the congregation with the role of other staff and lay leaders in setting and implementing ritual and non-ritual policy and practice.

The revised standards also seek to implement the guiding principles of the Edud (Passionate Outreach) Initiative and the 2005 policy statement Al Ha’Derekh (On The Path), encouraging congregations to welcome the non-Jewish spouses of Jewish members into the life of the congregation, with a view toward eventual conversion and a fully Jewish family. To that end, Standard (previously Article) IV was revised to include the requirement that

Congregations should engage in sincere outreach to non-Jewish spouses and children of any Jewish members, in order to promote participation by such family members in congregation life as permissible under Jewish law, rules and customs with the goal of encouraging and supporting conversion to Conservative Judaism.

Concomitantly, Standard V (Membership) provides that “Only persons of the Jewish faith, as determined by the rabbi, may be admitted to membership in the congregation.” This was a topic at issue in meetings of both the Standards Committee and United Synagogue’s board of directors. While it is clear that only Jews may be voting members of congregations, there is a concern that the language is unnecessarily off-putting to the non-Jewish spouses of intermarried members and counterproductive to the edud initiative. The committee struggled with this issue, proposing that the word “only” be dropped from the standard and “only Jews may be members” instead be explained in commentary. Ultimately, the board determined to restore the word “only” to the standard in the version to be presented for approval at the biennial convention in December.

New Standard VI also deserves special attention. Apparently the committee inserted Article VI, “The Synagogue School,” into the standards in 2001, following board approval of the report of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Jewish Education. The article quoted extensively from the report and was longer than the rest of the standards combined. It did not address any other aspect of synagogue-based education.

The new standard requires congregations to subscribe to the “Statement of Aims of the Conservative Synagogue School” and refers congregations to the “Framework for Excellence in the Conservative Synagogue School” but refocuses attention on the genuine need to provide educational programming for all age groups, as well as the importance of supporting the local Solomon Schechter day school:

It is incumbent upon congregations to encourage, provide and/or sponsor ageappropriate formal and informal educational programming for all members of the congregation and their families, including: early childhood (nursery school); a Synagogue School; Kadima and United Synagogue Youth programs; a Hebrew High School; participation in KOACH; family education; adult education; and Israel travel programming for teens, college youth, adults and families.

The Synagogue School should subscribe to the Statement of Aims of the Conservative Synagogue School as adopted by the United Synagogue Commission on Jewish Education.The congregation should support the establishment and maintenance of a Solomon Schechter Day School in the local Jewish community, where feasible.

Another important aspect of the proposed new standards is that the document now contains both the standards themselves and commentary that explains them. The central text appears in bold type, and the commentary – the Rashi – follows in bracketed italics.

The new standards document also has citations to authoritative United Synagogue and Rabbinical Assembly sources on each topic, which should assist congregations in understanding and implementing the standards. These references are included in the bracketed italic text following each standard and will be updated by the committee as required.

The revised standards,as approved by United Synagogue’s board, will be presented to the plenary session of the biennial convention for approval on Friday afternoon, November 30, 2007. They are an important statement of who we are as a movement and a vital step in focusing on the issues that confront us today.