I appreciate your clarification of the issue of observant laity. That sense of obligation is precisely what I discovered as I became more observant, keeping a 25 hour Shabbat and a kosher home.
As for dining out, I believe there is room for nuance and that our ancestors didn’t require a teudah to eat in an inn or a hechsher on every container. This is an example of present day orthodoxy introducing new stringencies in my opinion.
I’m grateful for your exposition of this debate about Halacha within Conservative Judaism. It’s true we haven’t learned about these controversies in our synagogues. Perhaps we should.
It's an important conversation that I think it worth having in any denomination. People should always be encouraged to think deeper about our connection to Judaism and the practices which stem from that. Of course there's often room for nuance in halakhic conversations. Kashrut in particular has a long history of otherwise-observant people needing to suddenly figure out what they can purchase in a random restaurant they find themselves in with co-workers and the like. Hechsherim are important helpers, but hardly the definition of what is or is not kosher. One of the things I try to get across whenever teaching about halakhic topics is the difference between halakhah and chumrah, which is far too often blurred. Apropos to nothing, if you happen to know of any synagogues (Conservative or otherwise) interested in being introduced to this conversation, I'd be happy to present it based on my writings here :)
I appreciate your clarification of the issue of observant laity. That sense of obligation is precisely what I discovered as I became more observant, keeping a 25 hour Shabbat and a kosher home.
As for dining out, I believe there is room for nuance and that our ancestors didn’t require a teudah to eat in an inn or a hechsher on every container. This is an example of present day orthodoxy introducing new stringencies in my opinion.
I’m grateful for your exposition of this debate about Halacha within Conservative Judaism. It’s true we haven’t learned about these controversies in our synagogues. Perhaps we should.
It's an important conversation that I think it worth having in any denomination. People should always be encouraged to think deeper about our connection to Judaism and the practices which stem from that. Of course there's often room for nuance in halakhic conversations. Kashrut in particular has a long history of otherwise-observant people needing to suddenly figure out what they can purchase in a random restaurant they find themselves in with co-workers and the like. Hechsherim are important helpers, but hardly the definition of what is or is not kosher. One of the things I try to get across whenever teaching about halakhic topics is the difference between halakhah and chumrah, which is far too often blurred. Apropos to nothing, if you happen to know of any synagogues (Conservative or otherwise) interested in being introduced to this conversation, I'd be happy to present it based on my writings here :)