Three Rabbinical Leaders Ask End to Theology Wars

The leaders of religious Judaism’s three major rabbinical bodies called Tuesday for an end to the theological wars being waged in the American Jewish community and for cooperation on matters of mutual concern.

In an unprecedented move, the three--Rabbi Kassel Abelson, president of the Rabbinical Assembly (Conservative), Rabbi Milton Polin, president of the Rabbinical Council of America (Orthodox) and Rabbi Jack Stern, president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (Reform) also urged that their statement be read from the 2,500 pulpits they represent on the Sabbath before Passover.

The statement emerges from a year of meetings by the three rabbis in an effort to overcome the sometimes bitter polarization that marks religious Judaism in the United States.

Sharp Differences

At the heart of the controversy are sharp differences between Orthodox Jews and other movements on such issues as the ordination of women and the Reform decision to recognize patrilineal descent in deciding Jewish identity and questions of intermarriage and conversion.

In the 450-word statement, the three rabbis said that as Jews they share a covenant of faith that “involves our understanding of and commitment to God and Torah.”

“Our understanding of the covenant tends at times to produce differences of opinion, even deep divisions within the people of Israel. Notwithstanding these real differences, there is nothing that prevents us from dialogue and cooperation on matters of mutual concern,” they said.

Distress at Polarization

The rabbis expressed their “distress over the polarization of the Jewish people” throughout the world.

“Recent events and strident statements reported in the media appear to highlight the differences in religious belief and practice that divide us rather than unite us,” they said.

Much of the division among U.S. Jews has stemmed from two interrelated developments: the decision by Reform Judaism to recognize children of Jewish fathers and Gentile mothers as Jews without need of conversion and the status afforded Conservative and Reform rabbis under the Orthodox religious establishment in Israel.