Conference on Contemporary Issues in Modern Judaism Convened

YU Co-Sponsors Landmark Event

On October 13-15, a nationwide conference aimed at addressing, head-on, the major issues that concern modern Judaism and its society was co-hosted by YU in Israel. Prompted by the growing gap between religious and non-religious Jews in Israeli society, Modern Orthodox leaders felt it necessary to define more precisely their general outlook, specifically their position on social issues.

The three-day conference began in Kibbutz Ramat Rachel on the outskirts of Jerusalem and continued in Northern Israel at Kibbutz Lavi. The controversial nature of the issues broached worried some, yet, an optimistic Rabbi Jeffrey Woolf, Bar-Ilan Talmud professor and conference organizer, stressed that the conference was designed to be "a renaissance, not a revolution."

While the conference was aimed at providing a forum for the very broad subjects of a re-examination of Modern Orthodoxy and religious Zionism, the particular sessions targeted four basic issues. First, speakers addressed the issue of religious leadership in modern society. The list of speeches featured among others, an address from Rav Aharon Lichtenstein, Rosh Yeshiva at Yeshivat Har Etzion in Israel. Judaism, culture, and communication, specifically the use of electronic media, and Torah and democracy dominated other sessions.

The last of the four major issues was ma'amad haisha, the role of women in Jewish society. For this session, a group of 50 women hoping to expand their role in religion joined the proceedings after coordinating their views on the issue in a separate one-day discussion prior to the conference.

In accordance with the goals of the conference, the format of each committee session was specifically designed for group participation. Panels of speakers, usually four, would address the audience. Subsequently, the floor would be opened up for comments in both formal and informal discussion groups. This format was enhanced by the diversity of the participants; over 150 rabbis, leaders, and educators representing numerous different outlooks attended. The diversity of the participants was targeted by, but perhaps more importantly mirrored by, the heterogeneity of the conference's sponsors - the Religious Kibbutz Movement (Kibbutz Hadati), Yeshiva University, Bar-Ilan University, and Beit Morasha (an institute for Jewish education).

The success of the conference, many asserted, has yet to be determined. For the most part, it will depend upon the commitment of the participants to integrating the various views that were expressed during the conference and to carrying its message to leaders worldwide. Regarding specific viewpoints that were presented and adopted by the conference, attendees acknowledge that they didn't anticipate many conclusions, and accordingly not many were reached. At the same time, however, it was a "very important beginning in that it provided a forum that didn't exist before, for the discussion of certain issues," stressed one participant. Rabbi Dr. Norman Lamm, President of Yeshiva University, delivered the concluding remarks on Thursday, capping off the three-day event.

Just 25 years ago, American Jewish leaders called to meeting the Lavi Conference, where, together with Kibbutz Hadati, they addressed similar issues of concern to Jewish society. While the issues have changed their faces somewhat, the enthusiasm of the organizers has remained intact. Sponsors were excited, not only by the progress made at the sessions, but also about the message sent by simply having convened such an event. Looking toward the future, Rabbi Robert Hirt, Vice President for administration and professional education at the Rabbi Isaac Elchanan Theological Seminary (RIETS) and conference speaker, emphasized the need to take "a more assertive stance to integrate all segments of the Jewish community," and place the emphasis on "our common values." Conference participants both before and after the event echoed this sentiment.