The Jewish world recently observed the 20th yahrzeit of the Lubavitcher Rebbe. Thousands stood in line for several hours in the July heat, in order to pass by and pray at the Ohel, the gravesite of Rabbi Menachem Mendel Schneerson, of blessed memory, at Montefiore Cemetery in Queens, N.Y.
Next year, a milestone yahrzeit of another prominent rabbi buried in a Queens cemetery will be observed. However, it is highly unlikely that thousands will visit Mount Hebron Cemetery in November 2015, on the occasion of the 100th yahrzeit of Rabbi Solomon Schechter.
One can understand the attention paid to the Rebbe’s yahrzeit and the emotional response of so many to his life and legacy. Chabad has had a huge impact upon Jewish life, evidence of which can be found in virtually any place on earth where Jews can be found. The Rebbe’s genius in creating a network of shluchim who would offer hospitality, minyanim and kosher food worldwide, helps us understand the passion that he continues to cultivate, even two decades after his death.
One could argue that Rabbi Schechter’s memory should generate an equivalent level of enthusiasm, since he was a rabbi of considerable accomplishment. One of our greatest scholars of all times, he brought the treasures of the Cairo Genizah to the attention of the Jewish world, revolutionizing virtually every field of Jewish study. His career culminated in his role as the founding father of Conservative Judaism, the institutions of which, to this day, owe their very being to Schechter’s vision.
The fact that Rabbi Schechter’s milestone yahrzeit will attract a miniscule fraction of the attention garnered by Rabbi Schneerson points to the primary weakness of Conservative Judaism, all of its institutional and educational successes notwithstanding. Conservative Judaism has failed to create a passionate following, an enthusiastic core of adherents who would wave its banners with pride.
The successes of Chabad are also instructive, should one want to suggest a program of regeneration to the Conservative Movement. Outreach, minyanim and easier access to ritual needs should be part of the Conservative agenda as well. Just as Chabad has established a network of minyanim that Jews who are travelling can attend to observe a yahrzeit, to celebrate a holiday, to experience Shabbat, so too, Conservative Judaism, with determined effort, could do the same.
Those in search of a woman-friendly prayer environment would welcome the alternative that a re-energized Conservative Judaism could provide.
Rabbi Schechter initiated a movement that would take Jewish scholarship to new heights. He built institutions that have trained generations of able Jewish leaders and scholars. But the current challenges of Conservative Judaism suggest the need to learn from the Rebbe, to be more activist in going out to where the people are, to meet their spiritual needs, to create a multitude of spiritual and Jewish-observance opportunities, to infuse their structures, their institutions, their beings with a passion for all things Jewish.
Rabbi Philip S. Scheim is spiritual leader of Beth David B’nai Israel Beth Am in Toronto and vice-president of the Rabbinical Assembly.
