Is Conservative Judaism in trouble? According to the latest findings of the Pew Report survey on the state of U.S. Jewry, Conservative Judaism is the stream of Judaism that is declining faster than any of the other streams. The number of affiliated congregations is down. Membership within congregations is decreasing and aging. The most committed, best-educated adults who are the products of Ramah camps and United Synagogue Youth are more likely to affiliate with independent minyanim or modern Orthodox communities. The numbers suggest to outsiders that the Conservative brand of Judaism needs fixing, if it is to be saved at all.

The Conservative brand of Judaism needs to be distinguished from the institutions that foster the brand and from the individuals who identify with the brand and support its institutions. As a brand, Conservative Judaism has much to commend it. It is broadly committed to Halachah, Jewish law and the halachic process, yet takes a progressive and historical approach to religious laws and rituals. It is committed to Israel, Zionism, Torah study, Hebrew language, belief in God and the centrality of our collective responsibility for klal Yisrael, the totality of the Jewish People and tikkun olam, the obligation to contribute to repairing the world in the broadest humanistic terms. Egalitarianism, the equalizing of the roles of men and women in public rituals and an increasing openness to the LGBTQ communities place the Conservative brand well within the spectrum of progressive liberalism.

It now becomes the task of Conservative institutions to trumpet what we stand for and market it. The institutions of Conservative Judaism, especially its mega-synagogues, will have to downsize, not only so that they will remain affordable to operate, but equally to provide the type of space that promotes community rather than anonymity. Synagogue prayer will need to be more engaging, more participatory. Belonging to a synagogue community will need to entail individuals covenanting to take personal responsibility for leading prayers, reading Torah and delivering divrei Torah. Rabbis and cantors will need to become educational catalysts who teach ritual skills and traditional and contemporary Jewish texts in private homes, in workplaces, in public institutions and not just in the synagogue building. Congregations will need to provide the platform for ongoing community service and tikkun olam projects that benefit both the congregation itself, as well as the broader community. Synagogues and the national Conservative institutions will need to re-invest in our youth and ensure that when they come home from Camp Ramah or a USY Shabbaton or a trip to Israel or when they graduate from university that they find in the synagogue and through the synagogue, peer-led, spiritual, educational and social action activities that build on their peak experiences at camp or in Israel.

All this and more will require a re-orientation of both the professional staff and the laity of the synagogue, and as always, an ongoing infusion of capital to pay for the infrastructure and the staff. The message of Conservative Judaism is vibrant. It provides an important voice for expression of Judaism in contemporary society. It is clearly not the only voice, but it deserves to remain a strong, competitive voice for Jews of all ages who wish to engage the world at large through the prism of a progressive, thoughtful and open approach to Jewish life, learning and living. 

Rabbi Lionel Moses is spiritual leader of Shaare Zion Congregation in Montreal.