Conservative Judaism

In Conservative Judaism, Jewish values can be divided into ethical and ritual laws - the ethical laws do not change, while the ritual laws are used in different customs. Because oftentimes Jews have to be a part of the society they live in, some of the ritual laws must be adapted to it. Such adaptations also allow modern lifestyles.

Another belief in conservative Judaism is that the texts that are the basis of Judaism should not be read literally, and that they can be analyzed and criticized like any other text. In Conservative Judaism, women are seen as equal to men and are allowed to sit with the men when attending synagogue, whereas in Orthodox Judaism for example, women are expected to sit in a different area. Women are also allowed to not wear head coverings when attending synagogue.

Other websites

• The Core Principles of Conservative Judaism Archived 2013-07-18 at the Wayback Machine, by Ismar Schorsch on behalf of the Jewish Theological Seminary
• Conservative Jews in Israel Archived 2011-07-21 at the Wayback Machine: Official Masorti Movement website
• Standards for Congregational Practice Archived 2011-08-11 at the Wayback Machine by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
• Formulating Jewish Law For Our Time Archived 2008-06-22 at the Wayback Machine, by Dr. Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff, for the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism
• A Guide to Jewish Religious Practice:Official work on Jewish law, by Isaac Klein, 1992
• Emet Ve'emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism Archived 2011-07-26 at the Wayback Machine
• Research and articles on Conservative Judaism on the Berman Jewish Policy Archive @ NYU Wagner
• Conservative Judaism on My Jewish Learning
• An intro to Conservative Judaism Archived 1996-10-18 at the Wayback Machine on Soc.Culture.Jewish Newsgroups