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Responsa and Papers of the Committee On

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Conservative Judaism's evolving approach to Jewish law comes alive through fifty years of legal decisions documented in this comprehensive bibliographical index of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards (CJLS). From 1927 through 1980, over 200 responsa reveal how the Conservative movement navigated traditional halakha amid modern American Jewish life, addressing contentious issues from abortion to women's roles in religious practice. Through systematic compilation of CJLS minutes, Rabbinical Assembly archives, published journals, and proceedings, this research builds upon earlier cataloging work by Rabbi Max Davidson and Seminary students. The index meticulously tracks each responsum's official status within the CJLS voting framework: unanimous adoption, majority opinion, minority opinion, or submitted without vote. Procedural shifts in 1966 and 1972 regarding majority/minority designations illuminate the Committee's developing decision-making process. Notably, the research establishes that both majority and minority opinions maintain equal official standing, empowering individual rabbis (mara d'atra) to select which positions to follow - a finding that underscores Conservative Judaism's distinctively pluralistic interpretation of halakhic authority and its ongoing influence on contemporary Jewish practice.

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    Robert Slosberg