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Criticism of Conservative Judaism is widespread in the Orthodox Jewish community, although the movement also has its critics in Reform Judaism and in other streams of Judaism. While the Conservative movement professes fidelity to Jewish tradition, it considers ''Halakha'' (Jewish religious law) to be a dynamic process that needs reinterpreting in modern times. The criticism by Orthodox Jews and traditionalists within the movement itself revolves around the following: * Conservative Judaism, or some of its decisions and positions does not follow halakha, according to many Orthodox Jews, because: * * The legal analyses of its rabbinate deconstruct or manipulate religious obligations, rather than being faithful to and fostering respect for them; * * It hoists certain historical or cultural assumptions onto a law, then disavows the assumption, granting itself license to disavow the law itself; * * It issues "emergency decrees" in the absence of legitimate emergencies, rather than following a legitimate, faithful, or reverential approach to halakha; * * Its decisions consistently lead to more lax, rather than stringent or balanced observance; * * It generally makes communal decrees through a council of (often lay) leaders, rather than relying exclusively on Talmudic scholars, resulting in decisions reflecting popular opinion rather than scholarship; and * * Accommodating the values and likeness of the broader society has taken precedence over a dedication to the internal integrity of halakhic sources. Critics also claim that the legal analysis of the Conservative movement tends to be ideologically-driven, resulting in intended outcomes to such an extent that it is outside the bounds of traditional halakhic analysis. ==Criticism from Orthodoxy== From Haredi Judaism perspective, criticism is exemplified by Rabbi Avi Shafran of Agudath Israel of America. Shafran wrote in 2001 that the Conservative movement's leaders "trample" halakha while proclaiming fealty to it. He argued that the movement was a failure because nearly three-quarters of Conservative Jews said that they consider a Jew to be anyone raised Jewish, even if his or her mother was a gentile—the official Reform position, rejected by Conservative leaders as nonhalachic.〔Safran cited a study of Conservative congregants conducted by the Jewish Theological Seminary’s Jack Wertheimer in 1996. Shafran also noted that only about half of Conservative bar and bat mitzvah receptions were kosher, by any standard.〕 Shafran further argued that Conservative Judaism "movement is not honest" because, though stating its commitment to halakhah (Jewish law), it approved the ordination of women based on a commission containing mostly laypeople and only one Talmud scholar. Shafran stated that the movement should have relied on the Talmud faculty of JTS.〔Shafran also stated that the decision was made against faculty wishes. He cited Rabbi Daniel Gordis, former dean of the University of Judaism’s Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies for stating that “the Conservative Movement allows its laity to set its religious agenda.”〕〔Avi Shafran, ("The Conservative Lie" ), ''Moment'', February 2001.〕 Similarly, in 2006, Rabbi Shafran criticized the decision by the Conservative movement's Committee on Jewish Law and Standards to adopt a responsum liberalizing its position on homosexual conduct. Shafran repeated his assertion that the Conservative movement, despite its "claim of halachic integrity", did not follow the "true halachic process".〔Avi Shafran, ("Conservative vote chance for halachic Jews to go Orthodox" ), Jewish Telegraphic Agency, December 7, 2006.〕 Morever, Rabbi Avi Weiss, a Modern Orthodox rabbi on the left wing of Orthodox Judaism, also characterized the differences between Orthodox and Conservative Judaism in a manner critical of the Conservative approach: :Despite variations in style and approach, the system that we hold as holy sets us fundamentally apart from our Conservative co-religionists whose vision of the Jewish legal process is so very different in each of these three fundamental areas of Halakha: ''Torah mi-Sinai'' (from Sinai", the belief that the Torah was given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai ), rabbinic interpretation, and rabbinic legislation. :The belief in ''Torah mi-Sinai'' is, for all Orthodox Jews, the foundation of faith and at the core of the halakhic process. Conservative Judaism does not subscribe to this teaching. Moreover, in the area of rabbinic law, we Orthodox—Modern and Right alike—contend that legal authority is cumulative, and that that a contemporary ''posek'' (legal decisor) can only issue judgments based on a full history of Jewish legal precedent. In contrast, the implicit argument of the Conservative movement is that precedent provides illustrations of possible positions rather than binding law. Conservatism, therefore, remains free to select whichever position within the prior legal history appeals to it. Likewise, we adhere and turn to the wisdom of the most distinguished religio-legal authorities in making Halakhic determinations. Not so the Conservatives. Truth be told, when the Conservative movement faced some of its most controversial "new ''halakhot''", such as the ordination of women, it turned away from its own Talmudic scholars and experts in Halakha, who had almost universally rejected the reasoning on which this new practice was to be based, and who have since virtually all left the faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary. :Finally, in understanding the value of rabbinic law legislated by today's rabbis, it must be appreciated that at this juncture in our people's history in America, the Orthodox community is blessed with large numbers of ritually observant Jews. Across the spectrum of Orthodoxy, myriads of people meticulously keep Shabbat (the Sabbath), Kashrut (the Dietary Laws), ''Taharat ha-mishapahah'' (the Laws of Family Purity) and pray three times a day. Thus, if a "permissive custom" is accepted, it can become binding. This is not true of Conservatism's constituency, which is generally not composed of ritually-observant Jews. Thus, only in our community if a "permissive custom" is accepted, can it be meaningful.〔Avraham Weiss, , ''Judaism'', Fall 1997.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Criticism of Conservative Judaism」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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