Resolutions 2009

Whereas Rabbi Joel Meyers, the Executive Vice President of the Rabbinical Assembly, has been the chief professional at the helm of the RA since 1989;

Whereas the mission of the Rabbinical Assembly founded in 1901, is to advocate on behalf of and support the work of Conservative rabbis in their rabbinate;

Whereas the institution of the chief rabbi was established to provide leadership and status to the rabbinate based on a European model during the Mandate period in pre-state Israel;

Whereas instead the institution of the chief rabbinate has had an unfortunate impact on Israeli society due to political wrangling involved in choosing its leaders, and the sharp chasm that results between the office of the chief rabbinate and the Israeli public which has created a general antipathy to Judaism and its practices;

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly upholds the mitzvah of marriage with huppah and kiddushin;

Whereas the current climate established by the Orthodox religious authorities in Israel leads unfortunately to a large number of Israeli couples to seek alternatives to the mitzvah of huppah and kiddushin; and

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly and the Masorti Movement have been promoting a marriage initiative that is modern, compassionate and halakhic which has been met with wide success in Israel.

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly is committed to conversion according to halakhah and requires appropriate study and observance as well as milah/hatafat dam brit (ritual circumcision) and t’vilah (mikveh);

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly requires potential converts to be involved in their Jewish community’s life and rituals in order to be integrated into the Jewish people;

Whereas the observance of Shabbat has been a defining mitzvah for the Jewish people;

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly is committed to the halakhic observance of Shabbat;

Whereas the Rabbinical Assembly and the Masorti Movement seek to expand and enhance the joy of Shabbat among the Jewish people;

Whereas we recognize the rights of individuals while seeking to preserve the Jewish character of the State of Israel;

Whereas we seek common ground and not coercion in matters relating to Shabbat observance; and

“These are the deeds that yield immediate fruit and continue to yield fruit in the world to come: honoring parents, doing deeds of lovingkindness, making peace between one person and another and the study of Torah is the most basic of them all.” (Mishnah Peah)

Whereas the global economy is currently in crisis, millions of people have lost their jobs or are in danger of losing their jobs, and food prices have escalated worldwide;