You're Orthodox?

By Jonathan Dress
University of Cincinnati

This past Winter break, I was extremely fortunate to travel to Jerusalem, where I studied at the Aish HaTorah Yeshiva for two weeks. Having studied with an Aish rabbi for the past year, I understood that one of Aish's main objectives is to find non-Orthodox Jews and inspire them to become Orthodox. I am sure a large part of their success is somewhat caused by the greatly subsidized trips they offer to college students.

At the Yeshiva, it happens quite often that rabbis and students discuss their Jewish backgrounds. When the conversation was directed towards me, both rabbis and students were astounded by the fact that I was brought up at a Conservative Synagogue and that I was raised keeping both Shabbat and kashrut. They tried to demonstrate to me that I was not a Conservative Jew, but in fact, an Orthodox Jew. I then had to assure them that I learned these ideals, not just from my parents, but also from Conservative Jewish institutions, like Solomon Schechter Day School and United Synagogue Youth.

This seems to be a reoccurring theme in my life since I entered college. I tell a Jewish friend that I have restrictions on what I can eat and do on Shabbat and they automatically assume that I am Orthodox.

Why is this? It seems clear that there is a large contradiction between the actions of Conservative Jews and the ideals that the Movement holds. The National Jewish Population Survey shows that only 30% of members of Conservative Synagogues keep kosher at home (NJPS, 2001). The percentages obviously begin to decrease when the observance studied is more demanding, such as keeping kosher outside of the home, keeping Shabbat or praying daily.

The identifying factor that seems to make one identify as a Conservative Jew is not necessarily correlated to following the ideals of the movement, but instead, where they prefer to attend services. This creates a huge minority of people within the movement who wish to follow the principles.

Because of this dichotomy in observance level, on the college campus there is a mirroring division. People like myself, who believe in the ideals and proposed lifestyle of the Conservative movement, involve themselves more with the Orthodox community, like Aish HaTorah and Chabad, because the other communities lack the lifestyle we prefer. I can relate more to the Orthodox world in many ways than to the secular "Conservative" circle, especially on Friday nights, when I may not want to go to bars and clubs.

How do we unite and rid these unfortunate factions? How do we create a majority from the minority of mitzvot-commited, Conservative Jews?

Jonathan Dress is a second year architecture student at the University of Cincinnati. From Sharon, Massachusetts, he was greatly involved in the Jewish community in the Boston area.

[Posted 2/23/09]