Rabbi Andy Sacks was posted in Shefa (its not clear whether he wrote specifically for Shefa or whether this was posted from some other origin) writing an implicit response to Avi Shafran's charge that the Conservative Movement has abandoned Halacha. Rabbi Sacks writes, "The Masorti/Conservative Movement is indeed a Movement committed to deep respect for Halacha . Those that pay heed to the writings of the Movement in matters of Jewish law know that the level of scholarship is high and the respect for sources runs deep." He goes on to say that "Far too often those to the right, in particular those in the fervently Orthodox world, confuse Minhag (custom) with law. We find custom, which has a central place in our tradition, becomes frozen and somehow sanctified. This applies to the black garb that many Orthodox wear and it applies too much in the realm of the (in)active participation of women in public Jewish ritual life."
The rest of the article is an attempt to argue that the current debate about homosexual practices within Judaism is well within halachic norms. I have to say that I agree with Rabbi Sacks up to this point. I think that each of the statements he makes, except for his fundamental premise, is correct. I think that Masorti and Conservative Rabbis do, by and large, have enormous respect for the sources from which our traditions spring. I agree that the right-wing has become unable or unwilling to distinguish between Minhag and Halacha, though there is a strong argument that Minhag can become "like" Halacha (e.g., the requirement that men wear a Kippah at least when engaged in ritual activity). I would go farther to say that the right wing's fear of innovation has led to a defensive posture that manfiests itself in lashing out at anyone who would dare to engage in such innovation. I agree that debate on any subject, including homosexuality, is condoned and protected by Halachic standards. There was no subject off-limits to Chazal and there should be no subject off-limits to us.
However, I think Rabbi Sacks fails to make his basic point, that this debate, being within a Halachicly-recognizable process, will yield a valid halachic outcome. Rabbi Sacks fails to identify what he means by Halacha and how it is that the current (or previous) debates fell within that definition. Simply respecting the sources and using them in the context of a Tshuvah is not enough to make something Halachic. The arguments made and the conclusions reached are not Halachic only by citing enough traditional sources; a Halachic decision requires something more and Rabbi Sacks has not identified what it is (and neither will I, because I am not sure I know either).
But, let us say that the elites of the Conservative movement, both Rabbis and educated and engaged laypeople, do engage in Halchically recognizable and defensible debate; it is still too evident that the vast majority of the Conservative movement, with the acquiesence if not outright approval of the elites, have abandoned any serious commitment to Halacha in a practical sense. It is facile to point to the number of Jews affiliated with the Conservative movement who have abandoned any pretext of keeping Kosher or Shabbat. We can look to the elites of their communities for a more compelling argument. In how many congregations have large sections of the liturgy been abandoned to save time? In how many congregations have accommodations been made to allow photography, electronic music and other Shabbat-prohibited activities for the sake of a Simcha? How many Conservative communities have acted to build Mikvaot so that their members can fulfill be more closely bound to the mitzvot associated with the laws of Niddah?
In how many congegrations that call themselves "Egalitarian" has this come to mean that women can do, or not do, anything that they choose, without any concomitant responsibilities. Is the same expectation of Tallit and Tefillin placed on women that are placed on men? Are women who claim that Kippah, as a Minhag and not Halacha, is not obligatory making a valid point or have they lost any perspective of the damage that their decision does to the halachic understanding of the rest of their community? Certainly, there are some congregations that have applied Egalitarianism in a thorough way, but they are simply the exception that proves the rule. To argue on the one hand that Egalitarianism can be defended within Halcha and then to use it to abandon Halacha is simple hypocrisy.
There is certainly a place somewhere between the ossification of the right-wing Orthodox and the hypocrisy of the left-wing Conservatives. Whether it lays with the Modern Orthodox, who have not been able to find their way to a full engagement of women within ritual practice, or in the so-called traditional Egalitarian synagogues who struggle to explain their decisions to a laity that is unengaged with halachic debate, remains to be seen.
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