Rabbinical Assembly

History

The Rabbinical Assembly was founded in 1901 as the Alumni Association of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America (JTS). Henry M. Speaker served as the first president. In 1918, the association changed its name to the Rabbinical Assembly, opening itself up to rabbis ordained at institutions other than JTS.

The longest-serving executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly was Wolfe Kelman, who accepted the post in 1951 and continued in the post until 1989.

In 1985, the RA admitted its first female member, Rabbi Amy Eilberg. It immediately afterward proceeded to admit Rabbis Jan Caryl Kaufman and Beverly Magidson. By 2010, 273 of the 1648 members of the Rabbinical Assembly were women.

In 1989, upon Wolfe Kelman's retirement, Joel H. Meyers became executive director of the RA. In 1991, Meyers was appointed executive vice president, and he served in this role until his retirement in 2008.

In October 2008, Julie Schonfeld was named as the new executive vice president of the Rabbinical Assembly, making her the first female rabbi to serve in the chief executive position of an American rabbinical association. She has since become Chief Executive Officer of the RA.

In 2011, Rachel Isaacs became the first openly gay rabbi to join the Rabbinical Assembly.

Bodies for interpreting Jewish law

Main article: Committee on Jewish Law and Standards

The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS) is the movement's central body on interpreting Jewish law and custom; it was founded by the Rabbinical Assembly in 1927, with Max Drob as its first head. It presently composed of 25 rabbis, who are voting members, and five laypeople, who do not vote but participate fully in deliberations. When any six (or more) members vote in favor of a position, that position becomes an official position of the Rabbinical Assembly. An individual rabbi, however, functions as the mara de-atra (מרא דאתרא, lit. "master of the house" in Aramaic, the local authority in Jewish law), adopting the position he or she considers most compelling, even if it has not been approved by the CJLS.

The Rabbinical Assembly of Israel (the Israeli arm of the RA) has its own decision making body, the Va'ad Halacha. Responsa by both the CJLS and the Va'ad Halacha are equally valid, although the Va'ad's emphasis is on issues pertaining to Israeli society. The CJLS and the Va'ad do not always come up with the same answer to a question. Individual rabbis are free to decide which responsa to adopt or to develop their own halakhic positions.

Publications

The RA has also published prayer books for Shabbat and weekdays, most recently Siddur Sim Shalom and Or Hadash: A Commentary on Siddur Sim Shalom by Reuven Hammer.

It has also published prayer books for Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, most recently Mahzor Lev Shalem. The RA has also published liturgical texts for other days on the Jewish calendar, such as Megillat Hashoah: The Holocaust Scroll for Yom Ha-shoah and Siddur Tishah B'Av for the fast day of Tishah B'Av.

In cooperation with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Jewish Publication Society, the RA published the Etz Hayim Humash, a Torah commentary for synagogue use.

In cooperation with the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, the RA also publishes a scholarly quarterly journal, Conservative Judaism, which is edited by Martin Samuel Cohen.

Under its Aviv Press imprint, the RA publishes books on Jewish spirituality and contemporary Jewish practice written by its members. The earliest publications by Aviv Press were:

• a Torah commentary by Ismar Schorsch
• meditations on the Jewish year by Jonathan Wittenberg
• meditations on the psalms by Martin Samuel Cohen
• a volume describing different approaches to Jewish law edited by Elliot Dorff
• an introduction to Judaism as a compassionate, mindful practice by Jonathan P. Slater
• an introduction to Musar as a spiritual path by Ira F. Stone

In April 2012, the Rabbinical Assembly published new guide to Jewish law and practice, The Observant Life: A Guide to Ritual and Ethics for Conservative Jews, edited by Martin Samuel Cohen and Michael Katz.

Members of the RA have their own private discussion group, "Ravnet".

Leadership

The Rabbinical Assembly has been served by a variety of volunteer presidents over the course of its history. Below is a listing of those who served as presidents during the 21st century:

• Vernon Kurtz (2000–2002)
• Reuven Hammer (2002–2004)
• Perry Rank (2004–2006)
• Alvin Berkun (2006–2008)
• Jeffrey Wohlberg (2008–2010)
• Gilah Dror (2010–2012)
• Gerald Skolnik (2012–2014)
• William Gershon (2014–2016)
• Philip Scheim (2016–2018)
• Debra Newman Kamin (2018–2020)
• Stewart Vogel (2020–2022)
• Harold J. Kravitz (2022–2024)
• Jay M. Kornsgold 2024~

References

References

1. "[https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/about-us/ra-history RA History]". ''The Rabbinical Assembly''. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
2. "[https://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/about-us/contact-us Contact Us]". ''The Rabbinical Assembly''. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
3. "[https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/detailsPage?ein=131663324&name=Rabbinical%20Assembly%20of%20America&city=New%20York&state=NY&countryAbbr=US&dba=&type=CHARITIES&orgTags=CHARITIES Rabbinical Assembly Of America]". ''Tax Exempt Organization Search''. [[Internal Revenue Service]]. Retrieved July 15, 2022.
4. "Rabbinical Assembly – About Us".
5. "Rabbinical Assembly – History".
6. JTA, [https://www.jta.org/news/article/2010/12/13/2742149/barriers-broken-women-rabbis-look-to-broader-influence Barriers broken, female rabbis look to broader influence] {{webarchive. link. (2010-12-17 , accessed 12-17-2010)
7. http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/nav/mission_statement.html {{Webarchive. link. (2010-11-27 . Accessed 10-20-2010.)
8. "RA History".
9. "RA History".
10. (2008-10-29). "R.A.'s choice of female rabbi makes history". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
11. "RA History".
12. Gordon Tucker, [http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/tucker_defense.pdf "A Principled Defense of the Current Structure and Status of the CJLS"] {{webarchive. link. (2010-11-27)
13. Mackler, Aaron. ''Life and Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics'' 2000, p.10: "The positions authorized by the Committee offer important guidance for Conservative Jews and others. Still, each Conservative rabbi has the authority to make halakhic judgments. Eash rabbi formulates decisions about numerous issues not discussed explicitly by the Committee, relying on other halakhic sources and his or her own judgment. For issues the Committee has addressed, each rabbi may choose among various positions endorsed by the Committee, or may even find a different position best mandated by halakhah."
14. (May 2022). "Aviv Press - Catalog".
15. (2009). "Celebrating the Jewish Year: The Spring and Summer Holidays: Passover, The Omer, Shavuot, Tisha b'Av". Jewish Publication Society.
16. (2006). "Celebrating the 350th". American Jewish Year Book.
17. (September 30, 2007). "Nickel Mines legacy: Forgive first".
18. (6 April 2009). "An Annotated Guide to America's Top Rabbis".
19. "Convocation Remarks".
20. (May 8, 2012). "Rabbi Gerald Skolnik of N.Y. elected Rabbinical Assembly president". Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
21. (May 8, 2014). "Shearith Israel Rabbi William Gershon tapped to lead Rabbinical Assembly".
22. (May 19, 2016). "New Head of Rabbinical Assembly Will Exemplify Canadian Values".
23. (April 25, 2019). "A Thriving Synagogue Hired Its First Female Head Rabbi. Here's Why That Matters.".