IOverview
Conservative Judaism in North America and Masorti Judaism in Israel, Europe and Latin America are one movement. Masorti means traditional in Hebrew. Conservative here means conserving tradition and has nothing to do with politics.
The movement stands between the two poles. With Orthodoxy it holds that halakha is binding. With Reform it reads tradition through historical scholarship. From those two commitments comes its own position: Jewish law has always developed over time, and rabbinic scholars may continue to develop it using the law's own methods.
IIHistory
Rabbi Zacharias Frankel, 1801 to 1875, attended the Reform rabbinical conference in Frankfurt in 1845 and walked out when it moved to reduce Hebrew in the liturgy. He called his approach the positive-historical school: study history scientifically but keep a positive attitude to tradition. In 1854 he became head of the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau.
In the United States the Jewish Theological Seminary opened in New York in 1886. The scholar Solomon Schechter came from Cambridge in 1902, rebuilt the seminary and founded the United Synagogue in 1913. In the mid 20th century, as children of Eastern European immigrants moved to the suburbs, Conservative Judaism was for a time the largest American movement, before Reform overtook it.
- 1845Frankel leaves the Frankfurt conferenceA dispute over Hebrew in prayer, the usual starting point.
- 1854Breslau SeminaryFrankel heads a seminary in the positive-historical spirit.
- 1886Jewish Theological Seminary of AmericaOpens in New York, later the movement's centre.
- 1957Masorti OlamiThe movement's international body is founded in New York.
- 1985First woman rabbi of the movementAmy Eilberg is ordained by the Jewish Theological Seminary.
IIIBeliefs and Distinctives
- Binding halakha: Jews are obligated to observe the law, not merely consult it.
- Law has a history: the Talmud and later codes show the law adapting to circumstances, and rightly so.
- Change by method: change comes through legal responses, responsa, grounded in classical sources.
- Hebrew and peoplehood: Hebrew prayer and attachment to Israel are central.
The Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly issues the movement's rulings. It can approve two different opinions on the same question, leaving each congregational rabbi to choose. Notable rulings include permitting driving to synagogue on Shabbat in 1950, ordaining women, and in 2006 opening the way to ordaining gay and lesbian rabbis.
No. The name refers to conserving tradition in the face of 19th-century reform. On social questions the movement today generally stands between Reform and Orthodoxy.
IVWorship, Rites and Daily Life
Conservative synagogues pray mostly in Hebrew and keep the traditional structure of the service, with Saturday morning usually the main service. Most have mixed seating and women reading Torah, though some remain more traditional. The North American prayer book is Siddur Lev Shalem.
The movement encourages kashrut and Shabbat observance, and its institutions keep kosher, though individual practice varies widely. Camp Ramah summer camps and Schechter day schools nurture the younger generation.
VOrganisation and Distribution
In North America congregations belong to the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, rabbis to the Rabbinical Assembly, and training takes place at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York and other schools. Outside North America the movement is called Masorti and gathers in Masorti Olami, founded in 1957. Israel has the Schechter Institute in Jerusalem, and Europe has Zacharias Frankel College in Berlin, opened in 2013.
According to Pew Research Center in 2021, 17 percent of Jewish adults in the United States identify as Conservative, down from mid 20th-century surveys. The library has not found a global figure with a clear source and year.
VIIn Vietnam
The library has not found any source for an organised Conservative or Masorti congregation in Vietnam. All organised Jewish centres found belong to Chabad, see the Chabad branch page. According to figures cited by VietNamNet in 2025, Judaism is not among the sixteen religions recognised by the state.
VIISymbol of the Branch
No symbol of its own is recorded with a source for this branch, so the library uses the common symbol of the path.
VIIIOther Branches of Judaism
Reform Judaismיהדות רפורמית Yahadut ReformitTook shape in early 19th-century Germany (Hamburg Temple, 1818) and grew in North America.Uses the common symbol of the pathHaredi Orthodox Judaism, including Hasidismחרדים Haredim, חסידות HasidutStrictly traditional Orthodoxy centred on Talmud study, with distinctive dress.Uses the common symbol of the pathModern Orthodox Judaismאורתודוקסיה מודרנית, דתי לאומי Dati LeumiTook shape in mid-19th-century Germany with Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch.Uses the common symbol of the pathConservative Judaism (Masorti)יהדות מסורתית MasortiTook shape with Zacharias Frankel in mid-19th-century Germany and in North America from 1886.Uses the common symbol of the pathReconstructionist JudaismReconstructionist JudaismGrew from the thought of Rabbi Mordecai Kaplan in early 20th-century North America.Uses the common symbol of the path
Chabad-Lubavitchחב״ד ChabadA Hasidic group founded by Rabbi Shneur Zalman of Liadi (1745 to 1812).Karaite Judaismיהדות קראית Yahadut Qara'itAccepts only the written Tanakh as supreme authority, rejecting the rabbinic Oral Torah and Talmud.Uses the common symbol of the pathIXSources
The library cross-checks the sources below. Where they disagree, the page gives both.
?Quick Questions
How does Conservative Judaism differ from Reform and Orthodoxy?
Like Orthodoxy it holds halakha binding, and like Reform it reads tradition historically. So it holds that the law can develop, but only through rulings by rabbinic scholars using the law's own methods.
What is Masorti?
Masorti means traditional and is the name the Conservative movement uses in Israel, Europe and Latin America. Its international body is Masorti Olami, founded in 1957.
Does the Conservative movement have women rabbis?
Yes. The Jewish Theological Seminary ordained its first woman rabbi in 1985. Many Conservative congregations have women rabbis and women reading Torah.