[Avodah] Reform and Conservative

Richard Wolberg cantorwolberg at cox.net
Sat Jan 2 15:51:02 PST 2010


Someone wrote: "One may not count Conservative or Reform Jews towards a minyan."

I'm very curious why if you believe that, why not say "One may not count non observant Jews towards a minyan?"
So you might answer that they still can believe in TSBP and not be shomer Shabbos.
It's also possible for a Conservative Jew to believe in TSBP without being observant according to orthodoxy.
So would that person be counted toward a minyan?
And if you say that any non observant Jew would not count toward a minyan, how would you handle members who belong to orthodox shuls and are non observant.
The orthodox shul in Fall River had a majority of non observant Jews. So therefore should the rabbi not count them also for a minyan?
I think this type of thinking contributes to sinas chinam. Wouldn't darchei shalom preclude the original statement -- namely that one may not count Conservative or 
Reform Jews towards a minyan?
I have no ax to grind because if you didn't count me towards a minyan, I wouldn't attend your shul.
But I know several O. rabbis who find that theology odious and inappropriate on several levels.
Kol tuv.




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