Union for Traditional Judaism

The Union for Traditional Judaism was a traditional Conservative Jewish outreach and communal service organization. It was split off of the Conservative Jewish movement, and initiallyed called itself "The Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism". A few years later they dropped the word 'Conservative'. Some of their leaders at various times called themselves Conservative, Modern Orthodox or trans-denominational. At one point the UTJ had a seminary, an association of rabbis, and a committee which has authority over religious issues. The UTJ is often viewed as representing a denomination or inhabiting an ideologic space nestled between Conservative Judaism and Orthodox Judaism.[1] In recent years the organization has ceased to exist. No synagogues today are members of the UTJ, and their seminary no longer exists.

The Union for Traditional Judaism, originally known as the Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism, began as a rabbinic rather than a lay movement. It was founded by a group of traditionalist Conservative rabbis, led by former Jewish Theological Seminary of America Talmud professor David Weiss Halivni, who broke with the movement because of ideological differences, including the Conservative's approach to changes in Halakha and the manner in which the issue of admitting women to the rabbinate was addressed.

Rabbi Halivni and other traditionalists claimed that in this and other areas of Jewish Law, the Conservative movement had made decisions to change from traditional practices in a legislative rather than a judicial fashion, by poll or majority vote. Traditionalists believed that halakhic decision-making should be made by Talmud and Halakha scholars following a process of legal reasoning.

One of the most prestigious Talmudic scholars of the 20th and 21st century, Rabbi Halivni had written a responsum that could permit a more limited role of women as rabbis, although by a more gradual process than the one approved by the Conservative movement. Halivni withdrew this responsum prior to leaving the Conservative movement and founding the UTJ. The UTJ issued a responsum opposing the ordination of women as part of its first volume of responsa.

The Union originally intended to form the elements of a separate denomination, including an association of rabbis, a rabbinical school, and an association of synagogues. The organization subsequently described itself as being trans-denominational in character.

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