Identity/Crisis

The Case for Commandments

May 9, 2023

47:03

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Episode notes

Introduction

2min

The Connected Critic

3min

Cosgrove's Diagnosis of the Conservative Movement

2min

The Challenges of Conservative Judaism in America

3min

The Importance of Context in the Development of Reform Judaism

2min

The Importance of Congregational Affiliateship

5min

The Differences Between Jewish and Conservative Judaism

2min

The Difference Between Reform, Conservative and Modern Orthodox Jews

2min

Conservative Judaism's Discourse on Halachah

6min

10.

The Importance of Momentary Actions in Mitzvah

4min

11.

The Importance of Hyphenation in Conservative Judaism

4min

12.

The Place for Being Commanded in the World of Radical Autonomy

3min

13.

The Language of Obligation and Commitment

3min

14.

The Call of the Hour Is to Train a Generation of Rabbis Jewish Educators and Communal Professionals With the Spiritual Pedagogic and Practical Skills to Capture the Hearts and Souls of an American Jury

3min

15.

The Market Forces in the Jewish Community Are Pushing the Field Forward

5min

For the majority of American Jews today, commitment to halakha (Jewish law) is not the engine that drives religious life. Instead, most American Jews see their lived Judaism as the product of their own choices, which may or may not have anything to do with Jewish law. In this episode, Elliot Cosgrove, rabbi of the Conservative congregation of Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, joins host Yehuda Kurtzer for a conversation about his recent article in Sources: A Journal of Jewish Ideas, which argues that liberal Jewish institutions have not properly responded to this reality. Together, they discuss what it might mean to make the case for mitzvot (commandments) within a framework of an autonomous, choice-driven Judaism.

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