JewsByChoice.org

I just stumbled across this while I was googling for Jewish podcasts. I’m listening to the first episode as I type this and so far so good. Too soon to tell for sure but this might be of value to those undergoing a CJ conversion or are new to Jewish law, as it framed and understood within the Conservative Movement.

At any rate, enjoy and do feel free to share any thoughts below.

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IS CONSERVATIVE JUDAISM HALACHIC, AND WHY DOES IT MATTER?

Conservative Judaism has always claimed to be a halachic movement (following Jewish law), but in recent years, Rabbi Neil Gillman has famously challenged this notion.

Through readings, text study, and discussion, we’ll explore these questions:
-What does Conservative Judaism stand for?

-How does halakha function in theory and in practice in Conservative communities like Kol Shofar?

-What’s the spiritual and theological significance of questions of halachic obligation for a Conservative Jew today?

http://www.kolshofar.org/Current_Classes-detail-309

Thanks for the tip, Avi. I’ve listened to the first session plus half of the second one while doing dishes and while driving to pick up my son from a Boy Scout event (played from my iPhone through the speakers in my car). Pretty interesting, and I appreciate the way the rabbi brings the ideas back to the topic when sometimes some of the people in the class seem to get a little off topic or simply misunderstand the issue.

Poking around the synagogue website also showed me an example of how that CJ synagogue deals with membership and non-Jews, something I have been meaning to bring up in my main minyan. Since I converted, it doesn’t apply to me anymore, but I think my minyan ought to have a policy that would not have the potential to incorrectly imply lack of welcome for families with non-Jewish members or prospective converts.

Glad you like!

I’m ( I think) 4 sessions in and am really enjoying how much interaction is taking place between the Rav and the participants. It’s like being a fly on the wall! looking forward to seeing how the rest of it unfolds.

(Originally posted on Group discussion, then moved to this forum where it belongs)

I finished listening to the third session last night. This session had the best comments from the participants in the class so far. In previous sessions, some of the participants seemed to not understand the issues and would just be talking about their own observances. As an example, there was the man who talked about lighting candles for Shabbat early: (A) He did not know that lighting candles somewhat *early* is not considered to be a problem; whereas making fire *after* Shabbat has started is actually a violation (B) I really do not care what his personal level of observance is and I do not think it added to the discussion. In contrast, the people who commented in the 3rd session were more generally knowledgeable and some also had outside knowledge that was relevant, such as those who were lawyers. And they had insightful and thought-provoking comments.

I see what you are saying but I kind of like that sort stuff. I thought it was a great ‘in the moment teachable” for him , not to mention the rabbi. I got the sense this lecture series was about getting the shuls people to dig into questions around personal theology and observance. I like that and would love to see a similar courseat my own shul.

Anyhow, I agree the quality of the Q&A is better in the 3rd lecture and imo continues to get more interesting each session right up until the end.

I enjoyed listening to the 4th class, including the personal stories. The framing of the issue with the question “Do you feel commanded to observe the mitzvot?” steered the responses to address *why* people made certain choices or how they *felt* about what they did rather than simply stating what they did or did not do. The classes have definitely been getting better and better as the series progresses.

I just finished the podcast series. I really enjoyed listening to the class (not to mention how much more enjoyable snow shoveling and washing dishes was while listening to the class with my iPhone). It was interesting to get to “know” the various participants from their comments.

I suppose observant people would not move to Marin, but it was interesting that they made changes to attract less observant Jews (like adding a Shabbat service with musical instruments), but seemed not to worry nearly as much that those same changes would be alienating to more observant Jews. Some were upset that a kosher kitchen might mean only “herring from a jar”, but only the rabbi seemed bothered by the fact that more observant visitors had to be served special kosher food at the old shul because of its non-kosher kitchen. (LOL about the idea that kosher would mean having nothing to eat: I wish they could see the bountiful all-hechshered kiddush spreads provided by members at my minyan. The rabbi should take the people who are worried on a field trip to the local supermarket and point out how many items have a hechsher. I’m going to email her about something else I saw on their shul website, so maybe I’ll suggest that.)

A comment on the reference to the San Francisco JCC:
I was there this fall for the bat mitzvah the daughter of one of my husband’s cousins and I accidentally ate a tiny amount of treif meat in an appetizer (I didn’t even know it had meat in it until later) because it never occurred to me to question food served at a JCC until I saw meat & cheese pizza appetizers also being served. The JCC’s in my area are all strictly kosher facilities.