Category: Halakhah

Non-Fasting Sh”tz on Yom Kippur

When should we use a non-fasting sh"tz on Yom Kippur? This CJLS teshuvah, originally written by Rabbi Gail Labovitz, explains.

Reena Bromberg Gaber September 28, 2023 CJLS Halakhah

Halakha and the Assessment of Risk

Halakha can be used for the assessment of risk; this can be relevant for pikuach nefesh (saving a life) or kashrut.

Rabbi Avram Israel Reisner September 7, 2023 Ethics Every Day

Protected: Distinctive Emphasis in Conservative Judaism: Vis-a-Vis the Halakha (1952)

There is no excerpt because this is a protected post.

Rabbi Max L. Forman z"l June 29, 2023 CJ Journal - 1945-1959 Conservative Judaism

Jewish Obligations of Parents to Children

When speaking about family, there is a wide variety of opinions and also a variety of obligations of parents, situations and relationships.

Rabbi Daniel Nevins, The Observant Life (Book) May 30, 2023 Family Halakhah

A New Egalitarian Divorce

Rabbi Barmash's new teshuvah empowers women and infuses the rites of marriage and divorce with more equality and dignity for both partners.

Rabbi Deborah Megdal May 8, 2023 CJLS Divorce

When Using Tribal Distinctions, How Might Women Be Called Up for Aliyot?

While writing a teshuvah on changing our language for aliyot to kohenet from bat kohen, Rabbi David J Fine, PhD, reflects on egalitarianism.

Rabbi David J Fine, PhD April 30, 2023 Blessings CJLS

Mujaddara on Passover

How my family created and passed down cultural traditions, and how the Conservative Teshuvah on Kitniyot impacts our life outside the academy.

Emily Jaeger March 19, 2023 Food Halakhah

When Can a Passover Seder Start Early? Other Festivals?

When is the earliest time that we can begin observing Jewish festivals, on first or second day of Yom Tov, in particular, the Passover seder?

Exploring Judaism March 19, 2023 CJLS Halakhah

What Does Jewish Law Say About Autopsies and Organ Donation?

The halakhah does not generally permit autopsies, due to honoring the dead. However, there are two important exceptions to that rule.

Rabbi Carl Astor, The Observant Life (Book) February 28, 2023 Confronting Death Death and Dying

Is Alcohol the best way to celebrate Purim?

According to a well-known custom, drinking – and drinking to excess – on Purim is required for Jews celebrating the holiday. What is the origin ...

Rabbi David Golinkin, The Schechter Institutes February 5, 2023 Halakhah Learning

How to call Non-Binary Jews to the Torah

Being called to Torah is a moment of sacred encounter. Here's how to call Non-Binary Jews to the Torah based on the CJLS Teshuvah in ...

Rabbi Deborah Silver August 1, 2022 CJLS Halakhah

What does Conservative Judaism say about Abortion?

There are different sources, published by the Rabbinical Assembly, that express Conservative Judaism’s approach to abortion.

Exploring Judaism May 3, 2022 CJLS Halakhah

What are Kitniyot and when can I eat it?

In the early medieval period, it became customary for Ashkenazi Jews to not eat a category of foods called kitniyot. What are they?

Exploring Judaism March 31, 2022 CJLS Halakhah