SUMMARY OF EMET VE-EMUNAH GOD IN THE WORLD 1) God a. We believe in God, understand God in different ways. b. At is normal and acceptable to have moments of doubt in one’s faith and to ask searching questions about Judaism generally and about God in particular. One is not supposed to accept beliefs passively on faith = oF ignore the subject altogether. but we c. Some within the Conservative movement picture God as a supreme, supernatural being; others understand God to be a presence and power that transcends us but not the universe. 4d, For both views, God is evident whenever we look for meaning in the world and when ‘we work for morality and future redemption. 2) Revelation a. We believe in God's revelation to us at Mount Sinai and in God's continuing revelation 10 us through study of Jewish texts and through our lives as Jews. b. "Some believe that God's revelation at Sinai and subsequently consists of God's ‘own words (Conservative I); others believe that God inspired Moses to write what he did and has continued to inspire others (Conservative i); and stil others believe that revelation consists of a human encounter with God to which the people involved respond, in part, by trying to articulate the nature and meaning of that encounter (Conservative ti). Revelation can take place through our continuing interaction with ature and 201 history and through our Jewish study and action. 3) Halakhah (Jewish Law) a. Jewish law is indispensable to what it means to be a Jew for theological, ‘communal, and moral reasons. b. The sanctity and authority of Halakhah attaches to the body of the law, not to each law separately, for throughout Jewish history Halakhah has been subject to change. c. Change in Halakhah is not done tor its ‘own sake or out of disregard for the law; on the contrary, when rabbis change Jewish law, they do so to enable it to respond to the needs and circumstances of the times and 10 embody new ethical insights and goals. d. Authority for religious practices in each Congregation rests with the rabbi of that congregation (its mara d’atra); rabbis may Consult the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, which issues rulings shaping the practice of the Conservative community. 4) The Problem of Evi a, No theology can justify the mass slaughter of the blameless, as in the Holocaust, or the seeming randomness with which. natural disaster strikes, We deny as false and blasphemous the assertion of some that the Holocaust was the result of its victims’ transgressions or of the sins of Jewry asawhole. b. We must recognize that much of the world’s suffering, though, results from the misuses of human free will €. When words fail us, when we cannot understand why someone suffers, we can‘and should nevertheless respond with acts of ‘compassion and healing as well as with the ritual acts of our tradition like shivah which help people cope with their suffering or {oss. d. Despite the existence of unjustified suffering, we affirm that all is not chance, that, in general, right-doing does lead to well-being while wrong-doing results. in disaster, and that there is a divine plan even when we cannot clearly discern its contours. 5. Eschatology: Our Vision of the Future. a. We share classical Judaism's hopes for the future, specifically J. onthe individual level, that death does not mark the absolute end of a person's identity; ii, on the national level, that the Jewish people may be master of its own identity and successful in finding fulfillment as a people; and iii, on the universal level, that warfare, disease, and every social evil cease forever and that, conversely, all human beings enjoy a social order based on justice, compassion, and peace. 'b. Some Conservative Jews believe classical statements on these matters literally and others understand them metaphorically. Since no one knows what will happen “in the days to come," dogmatism in these matters is philosophically unjustified and potentially hazardous. ¢. We affirm a gradualist or evolutionary approach toward achieving Judaism's messianic goals, not one which employs revolutionary and often murderous methods. THE JEWISH PEOPLE 1. God’s Covenant: The Election of Israel a. "The election of Israel" and "the covenant ‘Of Israel” are two sides of the same coin. That is, the Chosen People idea expresses our self-understanding of having a special mission which we promised to fulfil! in our mutual promises (our *“covenant”) with God to transform this world into a Kingdom of the Almighty (malkhut shaddai). b. The idea of Jews being God's Chosen People has been distorted into an expression cf moral arrogance, that we Jews claim to be better than other nations. Because of that distortion, and because of the anti-Semitism caused by it, some within our movement would like to replace the Chosen People concept with the idea that each nation has its particular vocation. cc. Whether God has a unique relationship with the People Israel, unparalleled by specific covenants with other people, or whether God has a particular covenant with us and other covenants with other nations, the covenant idea states that we Jews have the mission to be a people dedicated to the service of God and to God's world. This concept thus offers a purpose for Jewish existence beyond our own narrow self- interest. 2. The State of Israel and the Role of Religion. a, Religious Freedom: The State of israel must preserve religious freedom for Jews as well as for all others. It should permit all rabbis, regardless of affiliation, to perform religious functions such as _ marriages, divorces, and conversions; failure to do that, isto grant religious freedom to people of all religions except Jews! b. The Religious Factor: Israel must balance: religious freedom with its identity as a Jewish state, a balance which is often hard to strike. In general, though, without being a theocracy, Israel should reflect the highest 202‘religious and moral values of Judaism and be saturated with Jewish living to the fullest extent possible in a free society. ¢. Religious understanding: We call for maximum dialogue and cooperation between religious and. non-religious elements of israeli society. d._ The Role of Religion in a Free Society: Feligion should act as a moral voice in Israeli society, not as a political power base for religious coercion. &. The Uniqueness of Israel: Israel should be a morally exemplary state. While understanding the- bounds of necessary security measures, we affirm that the litmus test of Israel's success in this mission will be fair treatment of minorities. 3. Israel and the Diaspora. a. The Central Role of Israel: We rejoice in the reborn national homeland in Israel. We understand the State of Israel not only in Political and military terms, but in religious terms as well, a product of God's promise to ‘our ancestors and their descendants. Judaism, though, has been land-centered but never land-bound, and through the centuries we have been able to survive creatively and spiritually in the Diaspora {tefutzot) as > well, . Conservative Judaism and Israel: The well-being of the State of Israel is a major concern of the Conservative Movement, expressed by our affiliation through Mercaz with the World Zionist Organization, our political and economic activities in the Diaspora on behalf of Israel, our pilgrimages there, our members who make aliyah, and the many projects we have established there through our Masorti synagogues, our rabbinical school, and our educational projects for children and teenagers (the Tali 203 ‘program, ~~ Ramah youth groups) and adults. ¢. Various Centers of Jewish life: We view it as both a misinterpretation of Jewish history and a threat to Jewish survival to negate the complementary roles of Eretz Visrael and the Diaspora. Currently there are various important centers of Jewish life in the Diaspora. Israeli and Diaspora Jews must aid and entich the other in every possible way. camps, Noam 4. Between Jew and Fellow Jew. a, We believe firmly in the principle of K'lal Yisrael, by which we mean that Jews, irrespective of philosophical or religious Persuasion, are part of one people, Am Yisrael. All Jews ate responsible for all © others, b. We also believe in pluralism among Jews. ‘AS the Rabbis said, every Jew at Sinai understood God's message in his or her own way, and while the community must have some coherence, we prize that pluralism just as much as our ancestors did. c. We call on our fellow Jews in strengthening the local and national umbrella groups which unite us as a Jewish community. We deplore the refusal of some elements of the community to join the rest in common efforts of importance to the Jewith ‘community as a whole. 5. Relations with Other Faiths. a. As Conservative Jews, we acknowledge without apology the many debts which nations of the world. b. While we are strongly committed to our own faith and pattern of life, we reject triumphalism with respect to other ways of serving God, and we consequently do not missionize among the adherents of other