CU8.6

=Grade 8 Lesson 6 (Template)=


 * TITLE:** Conservative Judaism: Yearning for tradition

**GOALS:** Explore how Conservative Judaism emerged from Jews in the Reform Movement who wanted more traditional ritual and a somewhat smaller role for rationalism.
Explore the role of rich Reform Jews in bankrolling the Conservative Movement as a way to Americanize the coarse Yiddish-speaking Jews from Eastern Europe Understand the basic beliefs and practices of Conservative Jews and how they compare with the Jewish groups previously studied Play Rock, Paper, Scissor Marathon: Each student partners up to play three rounds of Rock, Paper, Scissors. Who ever wins best two out of three moves on to play against another winner. The losers now become the winner's teammate and cheer their name while they play their new opponent. continue until there is a single winner and everyone else cheering his/her name Write MODERNITY on the board and have students come up with as many words within that word (Ex. Modern, mode, tine, rodent, note, mine, tone, tire, etc.). This activity can be done timed and individually or as a class. Highlight the word modern in modernity and define the word (Definition-Modernity: (N) the quality of being modern.) Ask, "Why is it relevant to know this word when learning about the evolution of Judaism?" (Answer: The question in Judaism at that time was, How much can we modernize, while retaining our Jewish essence?) In 1840's Rabbi Zachariah Fraenkel walked out of conferences of Reform Judaism. He felt that Reform had gone too far by ignoring Halachah, getting rid of Hebrew in services, etc. He developed idea of positive historical religion - Jewish law is not static but always developing. Jews should have a positive attitude toward accepting Jewish law and tradition as normative, but should be open to developing/changing the law as it has been done historically (changes should be based on Jewish legal principles and not just on reason and norms of modernity as the Reform would have it). The Conservatives (“Historical Judaism”) opened their Rabbinical Seminary in Breslau, ironically where Geiger had won his victory (1854). The name of the seminary was the Jewish Theological Seminary and its leader was the Conservative mobilizer Zacharias Fraenkel (1801-1875). It moved from the traditional yeshiva model to a secular university model, with all its secular academic requirements.(Wine, Sherwin T. (2012-10-10). A Provocative People: A Secular History of the Jews (Kindle Locations 6349-6351). IISHJ/Milan Press. Kindle Edition.)
 * MATERIALS:** Conservative and Reform Judaism summary argument sheets; Cartoon paper, scrap paper, pens, Oleanna lyrics
 * LESSON:**
 * 1. Gain attention of learner:**
 * 2. Relevant past learning:** Previously we learned about how the Reform and New Orthodox were responses to modernity. The turmoil in Eastern Europe brought over 2 million Jews to the United States and they were not particularly comfortable with either response.
 * 3.** **Introduce new material:** Use timeline to find Conservative Judaism (Conserv in the chart). The success of the Reform Movement in mid to late 1800's were a time when many of the modern Jewish movements trying to deal with modernity created their first organizing institutions. Conservative Judaism arose from those Reform Jews who felt that accommodating modernity was a good thing but that the Reform movement had gotten rid of too many of the beliefs and practices of traditional Judaism.

1883 - First graduation of Reform rabbi's from Hebrew Union College – menu included clam, crab, shrimp and meat and ice cream which galvanized the conservative reformers and some m odern orthodox who were worried how much Reform Judaism was dominating American Judaism to create the Jewish Theological Seminary of NYC in 1886 for training rabbis in a more conservative version of Reform (hence the name of conservative Judaism). By 1900, JTS was hardly functioning. The sophisticated Reform German Jews were concerned for the welfare of the flood of Yiddish speaking immigrants but were embarrassed by their ill-mannered, poor, coarse and self-segregating behaviors*. Several very well-to-do German Reform Jews revived the failing JTS training and its Conservative Jewish Religion which they felt would be more acceptable than Reform Judaism to these immigrants. Reviving JTS was seen as a way to Americanize(civilize) and thereby help these immigrant Jews. The objective was to integrate and not just assimilate. The strategy was for JTS rabbinic graduates to be hired by Orthodox synagogues and would lead the congregation to Conservativism. Solomon Schechter was brought in to run the school and shortly thereafter 100 teachers left to be replaced by those more in line with the liberal Schechter. By 1913, enough synagogues had been created/converted to formally begin the Conservative Movement with the creation of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. By the 1940’s, Conservative Judaism had become the dominant Jewish denomination in America.

While Conservative Jews have a high regard for Halachah in principle, the actual observance of Jewish law is mostly done by the rabbis. The vast majority of Conservative Jews do not keep kosher or observe Shabbat.

Beliefs ([|Add Conservative beliefs and practices here]) Law can change (as opposed to Orthodox who say it doesn’t) Each student will write down a time their parents embarrassed them and put the papers in a pile. Volunteers will pick out of the pile and read the situation (Purpose is to give students a sense of the embarrassment felt by the Reform German Jews towards their lower class Eastern European coreligionists. The Norwegian folksong Oleanna is about what life in the United States was suppose to be. Teach and sing several verses of the song. Ask what is the message of this song? (Answer: Europeans thought that those emigrating were naïve in thinking their lives would be great once in America.) Do you think Jewish immigrants to the US had similar idea about America? What were the feelings of the Jews already in the US (A: similar to sentiment of Oleanna) Class simulates a graduation dinner at JTS - Teacher dresses up as Jakob Schiff. "My name is Jakob Heinrich Schiff, although I changed it to Jacob Henry Schiff. I was born in 1847 in Frankfurt Germany. I am a refined and reform Jew. I was highly educated and became a broker and a banker. In 1865 I moved to America, where I worked on Wall Street and had several businesses. Because of my wealth, I had the opportunity to enter many charitable endeavors. One of which being the Jewish Theological Seminary. Of course you know that because you immigrants are all students of this rabbinical school. Welcome to your graduation dinner! Remember, the amount of donation this school will receive this year is dependent upon your newly acquired table manners. You must eat with fork and knife. No elbows on the table. Absolutely no Yiddish speaking! Do not slurp, but rather take small, silent sips. Sit up straight; no bending over your food like a bunch of savages. And last but not least, smile."
 * 4. Provide Guided Practice**


 * 5. Provide independent practice:** Students will create a cartoon to tell the story of the formation of the Conservative Movement. Students must use buzz words in their cartoons: Jewish Theological Seminary; Hebrew Union College; Rabbi Zacharias Fraenkel; Kike; Immigrants; modernity;
 * 6. Close the lesson:** (review and wrap-up of independent practice and important points of the lesson. Add Conservative to table of Jewish varieties. Generate answer to parents' question "What did you learn today")
 * 7. References:**
 * 1) Wine, Sherwin T. (2012-10-10). A Provocative People: A Secular History of the Jews. IISHJ/Milan Press. Kindle Edition.
 * 2) []
 * 3) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oleanna_%28song%29
 * 4) Sachar, Howard M. (2013-07-24). A History of the Jews in America (Vintage). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.


 * With their own transplanted memories of backward Ostjuden, America’s German-Jewish community in the United States had consistently opposed the large-scale immigration of Russian Jews. Indeed, they had opposed it even during an earlier influx in 1869, following a Russian cholera epidemic and famine. If the Easterners must come, Rabbi Bernhard Felsenthal suggested, then let them be dispersed throughout the Western territories, where they could be more swiftly Americanized. Throughout the 1870s, B’nai B’rith leaders complained that “Russian Jews [are] coming to the United States [solely] to improve their economic prospects,” and insisted that New York’s United Hebrew Charities refuse help to any “unemployable” immigrants. The Jewish Messenger proposed the dispatch of missionaries to the Pale to “civilize the Russian Jews rather than have their backwardness ruin the American Jewish community .” “Let those who do not possess a useful trade stay in Europe,” pleaded Isaac M. Wise in the Deborah, for “we have enough beggars and humbug-seeking vagabonds here.” Such people were divorced (“ herausgerissen”) “from all forms of modern civilization.”
 * Sachar, Howard M. (2013-07-24). A History of the Jews in America (Vintage) (Kindle Locations 2705-2714). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.**

It was the peril of inundation by “uncouth Asiatics,” as the Milwaukee Zeitgeist, a Jewish publication, described them, a “superstitious vestige of antiquity.” Periodic warnings were issued that “[ the Russian-Jewish immigrants] are alien to our civilization ,” that American Jewry— in the words of Jacob Schiff —was “called by Divine Providence to stand guard” and defend their community against the onslaught from Eastern Europe. Otherwise, declared August A. Levey, successor to Kursheedt as secretary of HEAS, “only disgrace and a lowering of the opinion in which American Israelites are held … can result from the continued residence among us … of these wretches.” Editorializing from the fresh air of Cincinnati, Isaac M. Wise observed: We are Americans and they are not. We are Israelites of the nineteenth century in a free country, and they gnaw the bones of past centuries.… The good reputation of Judaism must naturally suffer materially, which must without fail lower our social status.
 * Sachar, Howard M. (2013-07-24). A History of the Jews in America (Vintage) (Kindle Locations 2744-2752). Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. Kindle Edition.**

