“Something within you will tell you: Continue … on your way.”
Have you ever been asked, “What does it mean to be a Conservative Jew?”
Since my path crossed and merged with the Masorti (Conservative) movement decades ago, I have been asked this question frequently.
One of my teachers once answered: “I am 90% Orthodox and 10% Reform; therefore, I am Conservative!”
Another teacher taught: “The Masorti movement advocates for evolution within the framework of Halakha (Jewish Law).”
Others like to emphasize that we embody the “Middle Way” or the “Golden Path” of Maimonides’ ethics; walking the moderate center.
While I embrace all of the above descriptions, I am happy to add another characterization: I am a Continuing Jew (one might also say a “Jew of Continuity” — Yahudi Hemshechi — to distinguish it from “Messianic” — Mashiachi …).
I am a Continuing Jew because I am rooted in the past, living in the present, and acting for the sake of the future.
Does “Continuing Jew” describe you, as well?
