July 20, 2010
Conservative Judaism
Official statements and historical and contemporary references on animals.
General Information
Conservative Judaism (known as Masorti Judaism outside of the United States and Canada) is a middle path between traditionalist Orthodox Judaism and liberal Reform Judaism.
Founded in the 1850s by Rabbi Zacharias Frankel, Conservative Judaism teaches that Jews should "conserve" Jewish laws and rabbinical traditions while remaining open to contemporary culture and scholarship. In 1988, the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism applied this moderate position to matters of faith through the Emet Ve Emunah: Statement of Principles of Conservative Judaism. According to the Emet Ve-Emunah, Conservative Judaism affirms: the existence of one God; the divine inspiration of Torah; the legitimacy of applying literary criticism and historical analysis to Torah; halakha (Jewish religious law) as normative and binding but also as evolving in response to changing historical circumstances; and Jewish identity as dependent upon matrilineal descent or conversion in accordance with law and tradition.
Number of Members in the United States:
1.7 million
Governing Body:
Within the United States and Canada, Conservative Judaism is a unified movement with policies and positions coordinated by the Leadership Council of Conservative Judaism. This council, which meets twice a year, is a coalition of member organizations, each of which represents identifiable interests within the Conservative movement. These member organizations include the influential United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (which provides resources for and represents the needs of congregations) and The Rabbinical Assembly (which shapes the ideologies and practices of the Conservative movement).
Official Statements on Animals
In 2007, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical Assembly joined together to form the Hekhsher Tzedek Commission. This Commission was assigned the task of articulating the ethical standards behind kashrut (Jewish dietary laws) and of providing a seal—known as the Magen Tzedek seal—to companies that adhere to these standards. According to the Hekhsher Tzedek Commission, the Torah, Talmud, and Midrash all assert that "God is concerned with the well-being of all his creatures, and so must we be."
For example, continues the Commission, "It is said in the Book of Proverbs (12:10): … 'A righteous man considers the soul of his beast' reflecting a relationship of man to beast similar to that of God to man." Likewise, "A poignant midrash has Moses designated as the leader of Israel out of Egypt, because God saw that 'you have compassion in shepherding a mortal's flock' and swore, 'by your life, you will shepherd My flock, Israel.' (Ex. Rabbah 2.:2)."
Over time, says the Commission, Jewish concern for the well-being of all creatures developed into a prohibition against causing living creatures to suffer (a principle known as tsa'ar ba'alei hayim). This prohibition, however, was difficult to reconcile with the Bible's acceptance of animal slaughter. Rabbis eventually concluded that animals may be eaten and sacrificed, but that slaughter must be done in a manner that causes animals the minimum amount of pain possible. When kosher methods of slaughter (shehita) first were instituted in ancient Israel, they were the most humane methods available.
Today, however, new methods of rendering animals unconscious before slaughter exist. Conservative Jews have debated whether or not these methods violate kosher regulations. In 2001, the Rabbinical Assembly (RA) declared that the practice of stunning was "halakhically reasonable and acceptable." The RA also declared that shackling and hoisting animals and/or utilizing pens that turn an animal upside down in preparation for slaughter "violate the laws prohibiting undue pain."
According to the RA, only "an upright pen satisfies the requirements of Jewish law forbidding cruel treatment of animals." Although Conservative Judaism has focused most extensively on the need to minimize animal suffering during slaughter, the Hekhsher Tzedek Commission acknowledges that cruelty can, and frequently does, occur during the raising of animals. After careful deliberation, the Commission decided to incorporate the standards set by Humane Farm Animal Care (HFAC) within its larger social justice framework.
According to the Commission, "Companies will be favored for the Hekhsher if they adhere to the Humane Farm Animal Care Standards (HFAC)." Humane Farm Animal Care standards require that all farm animals have adequate space, shelter, food, and water, and that animals are handled gently and knowledgably at all times. Specific requirements for each species of farm animal are available at the HFAC website.
Historical References on Animals
Conservative Judaism, like Orthodox and Reform Judaism, views hunting for sport as antithetical to Jewish principles. Historically, four reasons have been used to support this view: "First, it represents cruelty to animals (tsa'ar ba'alei hayim). Second, it violates the prohibition against wanton destruction. Third, it constitutes 'spilling of blood.' Fourth, it is a forbidden act of 'copying the ways of the gentiles.'"
Contemporary References on Animals
Conservative Judaism bases much of its treatment of animals on the concept of tsa'ar ba'alei hayim. According to Conservative Rabbi Jill Jacobs, this concept is implicit in the story of Adam and Eve, where God "establishes a fundamental connection between human beings and animals" and both "humans and animals originally speak one another's language."
The concept of tsa'ar ba'alei hayim receives further development in the Torah, explains Rabbi Jacobs, when God grants humanity permission to eat animals (possibly as a concession to human violence) while simultaneously instituting prohibitions "against unnecessary cruelty." Some Conservative Jews argue that a vegetarian diet is the logical extension of tsa'ar ba'alei hayim. According to Rabbi Barry Dov Lerner, "Judaism has endorsed vegetarianism as a 'higher' form of eating because it means not taking a life."
Others are uncomfortable with the label "vegetarian," however, because they can envision the possibility of eating meat if it "were produced in a sustainable way without cruelty, with minimal impact on the environment and without diverting significant resources from feeding the poor." "Current methods for raising animals," however, treat animals cruelly (violating the principle of tsa'ar ba'alei hayim), "divert needed food resources from the world's hungry (violating the principle of pato'ach tiftach--opening our hands to the needy) and threaten "the health of our environment (ignoring the command of l'ovdah ul'shomrah--preserving and working the land properly).