The Message, Volume 43, Number 9, January 2008 Page: 2 of 6
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With Rabbi Rosen
Once again, it’s the “vision thing’’
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not Orthodox” - is no longer a compelling one.
The movement has other problems as well. Rather
than work together, the national arms of Conserva-
tive Judaism have a somewhat independent relation-
ship with one another. The Seminary Chancellor has
historically been the leader of our movement, but in
recent years that voice has lacked the clarity and force
that modem times demand.
And so when JTS went looking for a new chancel-
lor last year, it chose a man with proven communica-
tion skills, a man with vision and a deep understanding
and appreciation of Conservative Judaism, a man at-
tuned through a lifetime of study, writing and actually
living as a Conservative Jewish congregant.
And that is the man - Dr. Arnold Eisen - we will
be bringing to Beth Yeshurun as this year’s Rubenfeld
Scholar Jan. 18-19. That is why I am so excited be-
cause we will have the opportunity as a congregation
- actually, two opportunities! - to hear him speak, to
share his hopes and dreams and, yes, vision for our
movement and for congregations like our own.
I do urge you to look at your calendar now and be
with us for one or both of his presentations. On each
occasion, you will have the opportunity to not only
hear Dr. Eisen speak but to share your own concerns as
together we step forward as a synagogue and a move-
ment into this new century.
RUBENFELD SCHOLAR COMMITTEE
Rabbi Steven Morgen, Chair
Dr. Steve and Adele Croft
Eddy and Taryn Daniels
Sandra and Steve Finkelman
Marc and Joy Nathan
Dr. Dan and Toiee Roubein
Dr. Shelly and Linda Rubenfeld
Dr. Mark and Holly Skolkin
Dr. Kevin and Jordana Slawin
David and Andrea Stein
"V 'V "Thy would a distinguished professor of Jew-
% / ish religion and thought at one of the nation’s
V ▼ most prestigious universities, Stanford, a
man whose three books have
opened extraordinary doors for
him in the academic world here
and abroad - why would such
a man give up the comforts and
prestige of academia to become
the chancellor of a place like the
Jewish Theological Seminary,
which primarily trains rabbis,
cantors and educators for service
in the Conservative Movement?
Why would such a person accept a position that
will take him out of town almost every week of the
year, speaking to congregations, rabbis and cantors
and lay leaders in more than 800 synagogues here and
in Israel?
And why would a school like JTS, which primar-
ily trains religious leaders, offer its highest position to
a man who, for the first time in the Seminary’s history,
is not a rabbi but who will in effect become the “spiri-
tual leader” of Conservative Judaism?
These are the questions many people have been
asking for the last 18 months, ever since JTS offered
- and Dr. Arnold Eisen accepted - the opportunity for
him to become JTS’ seventh chancellor in its 121-year
history.
And the answer to all these questions comes down
to the “vision thing” - the ability of our new leader to
articulate what it will take for Conservative Judaism to
meet the challenges of the 21st Century.
It’s not a rhetorical question.
For more than half-a-century, Conservative Juda-
ism was the largest denomination in American Jew-
ish life. In recent years, however, some of our more
observant have left us for Orthodoxy, and some less
enchanted with traditional Jewish practice have moved
to Reform. Many are claiming that Conservative Ju-
daism lacks a message, and that the definition which
served our movement well for so long - “not Reform,
-
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Congregation Beth Yeshurun (Houston, Tex.). The Message, Volume 43, Number 9, January 2008, periodical, January 6, 2008; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1318667/m1/2/: accessed July 3, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.