In 1984, Rabbi Reuven Hammer z”l, asked me to write a booklet on the Conservative Movement’s approach to halakha as part of a series he was editing for the Conservative Movement. The booklet appeared in 1986 under the title “Halakha for Our Time.”
That edition was translated into Spanish and appeared in the Journal of the Conservative Movement in South America.
In 1987, I prepared an expanded second edition of “Halakah for Our Time,” which was also published by the Conservative Movement.
In 1991, I prepared a third, expanded edition of the booklet in English for the Conservative Movement in North America.
In 1995, my friend and former student Rabbi Rivon Krygier translated the English version into French and included it in his book on the Conservative Movement’s approach to halakha. Subsequently in 1998, my students Mosiah Winger and Michael Kobsen translated the English version into Russian.
The current edition is an expanded fourth edition based on the second edition in Hebrew and the third edition in English.
One of the important differences between the various streams of Judaism in our time is their approach to halakha: Is halakha binding, and if so, why? Who has the right to interpret halakha? Is it permissible to change halakha? And according to what principles?
In this booklet, we will attempt to answer these questions from the perspective of the Conservative Movement. The views expressed here are not the official position of the Conservative Movement, but they represent accepted views among the movement’s rabbis and leaders.