ShefaNetwork: The Conservative Movement Dreaming from Within
LifeCycles
Sections below:
► Individuals ► Couples ► Babies ► Parents/Grandparents ► Bar/Bat Mitzvah
► Healing/Illness ► Death/Mourning ► CJLS LifeCycle Teshuvot {new!}
For Individuals
Jewish Domestic Violence: A Response
Elliot N. Dorff: "Family Violence"Also see:
For Couples
Sample GLBTQ Marriage/Partnering Rituals
Also see:
The MyJewishLearning.com Marriage Page
The LGBT Resource library from Jewish Mosaic
Jewish Weddings/Partnering Cermonies from Ritualwell.org
For Babies
Circumcision: Wholeness and Sacrifice
Also see:
MyJewishLearning.com "Ceremonies for Newborns" page
The "Babies & Children" page on RitualWell.org
Bar/Bat Mitzvah
You’re Invited to a Bar/Bat Mitzvah
Also see:
MyJewishLearning.com "Bar/Bat Mitzvah" page
The "Adolescence" page on RitualWell.org
For Parents & Grandparents
Blessing Children on Shabbat or Holidays
What Parents Owe Their Children
A College Graduation Ritual (Koach)
Jewish Grandparenting
Healing and Ilness
Bikkur Cholim Handbook: "Give me your hand"
Death and Mourning
Preparing the Dead for Life's Final Passage
A Guide for the Bereaved and the Comforters
Also See
The MyJewishLearning.com "Death and Mourning" Page
Resources for "Death and Mourning" from Ritualwell.org
CJLS Halachic Teshuvot
Sections below include: Interpersonal Relationships, Homosexuality, Abortion, Marriage and Fertility, Divorce, Visting the Sick and Medicine, Responding to Death and Mourning, Pidyon HaBen and Circumcision, Conversion, Niddah and Mikveh. Note: All CJLS Teshuvot can be viewed online at http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/law/teshuvot_public.html.
Interpersonal Relations
- Kassel Abelson, "The Non-Jewish Spouse and Children of a Mixed Marriage in the Synagogue " EH 16.1982a
- Jacob B. Agus, "The Mitzvah of Keruv" EH 16.1982b
- Joel Roth, Daniel Gordis, "Keruv and the Status of Intermarried Families " EH 16.1982c
- Seymour Siegel, "Comments on "Keruv and the Status of Intermarried Families " EH 16.1982d
- Harry Z. Sky, "The Mitzvah of Keruv " EH 16.1982e
- Joel Roth, "Synagogue Honors for the Intermarried Jew " EH 16.1984a
- Committee Members, "Synagogue Honors for the Intermarried Jew: A Dissenting Opinion " EH 16.1984b
- Henry A. Sosland, "May the Reception Following an Intermarriage be Held in a Conservative Synagogue?" EH 16.1987
- Jerome M. Epstein, "Congratulations to Mixed Marriage Families" EH 16.1989
- Jerome M. Epstein, "The Role of the Non-Jewish Parent in Blessings for Bar/Bat Mitzvah" EH 16.1993
- Jerome M. Epstein, "Participation of Non-Jewish Parents or Grandparents in Home Religious Ceremonies" EH 16.1995
- Jerome M. Epstein, "Issues Regarding Employment of an Intermarried Jew by a Synagogue" EH 16.1997
- Consensus Statement on Homosexuality EH 24.1992a
- Joel Roth, "Homosexuality" EH 24.1992b
- Reuven Kimmelman, "Homosexuality and the Policy Decisions of the CJLS" EH 24.1992c
- Mayer E. Rabinowitz, "On Homosexuality" EH 24.1992d
- Elliot Dorff, "Jewish Norms for Sexual Behavior: A Responsum Embodying a Proposal" EH 24.1992e
- Kassel Abelson, "The Status of Homosexuals in the Synagogue: A Concurring Opinion" EH 24.1992f
- Avram Israel Reisner, "On Homosexuality and Biblical Imperatives: A Concurrence" EH 24.1992g
- Howard Handler, "In the Image of God: A Dissent in Favor of the Full Equality of Gay and Lesbian Jews Into the Community of Conservative Judaism" EH 24.1992h
- Kassel Abelson, "Placing Homosexual Rabbis in Congregations" EH 24.1993a
- Arnold Goodman, "Placing Homosexual Rabbis in Congregations" EH 24.1993b
- Aaron Mackler, "A Concurring Opinion to Arnold M. Goodman's 'Placing Homosexual Rabbis in Congregations'" EH 24.1993c
- Ben Zion Bergman, "The Gay Placement Question: A Dissenting Opinion" EH 24.1993d
- Joel Roth, "Homosexuality Revisited" EH 24.2006a
- Elliot Dorff, Daniel Nevins and Avram Reisner, "Homosexuality, Human Dignity and Halakhah" EH 24.2006b
- Leonard Levy, "Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah" EH 24.2006c
- Baruch Frydman-Kohl, "Homosexuality and Halakhah" EH 24.2006d
- Loel Weiss, "Same-Sex Attraction and Halakhah: A Concurring Opinion" EH 24.2006e
- Myron Geller, Robert Fine and David Fine, "A New Context: The Halakhah of Same-Sex Relations" EH 24.2006f
- Gordon Tucker, "Halakhic and Metahalakhic Arguments Concerning Judaism and Homosexuality" EH 24.2006g
- David M. Feldman, "Abortion: The Jewish View" HM 425:2.1983a
- Robert Gordis, "Abortion: Major Wrong or Basic Right? " HM 425:2.1983b
- Ben Zion Bokser, Kassel Abelson, "Statement on the Permissibility of Abortion " HM 425:2.1983c
- Kassel Abelson, "Prenatal Testing and Abortion " HM 425:2.1983d
- Isaac Klein, "A Teshuvah on Abortion " HM 425:2.1983e
- Avram Israel Reisner, "Ein Dohin Nefesh Mipnei Nefesh" HM 425:2.2001a
- Susan Grossman, "Partial Birth Abortion and the Question of When Life Begins" HM 425:2.2001b
Marriage and Fertility
- Joel Roth, "When There Was No Ketubbah" EH 66:3.2002
- Morris M. Shapiro, "The Text of the Ketubbah " EH 66:6.1983a
- Joel Roth, Daniel Gordis, "Sociological Reality and Textual Traditions: Their Tension in the Ketubbah " EH 66:6.1983b
- Robert Gordis, "A Proposal for the Text of the Ketubbah " EH 66:6.1983c
- "A New Ketubbah Text" EH 66:6.1987
- David H. Lincoln, "Surrogate Motherhood" EH 1:3.1984
- Elliot N. Dorff, "Artificial Insemination, Egg Donation and Adoption" EH 1:3.1994
- Aaron L. Mackler, "In Vitro Fertilization" EH 1:3.1995
- Aaron Mackler and Elie Spitz, "On the Use of Birth Surrogates" EH 1:3.1997a
- Elie Spitz, "On the Use of Birth Surrogates" EH 1:3.1997b
- Aaron Mackler, "Surrogate Parenting" EH 1:3.1997c
- Kassel Abelson and Elliot Dorff, "Mitzvah Children" EH 1:5.2007
- Elie Spitz, "Mamzerut" EH 4.2000a
- Daniel S. Nevins, "A Concurring Opinion Regarding Mamzerut" EH 4.2000b
- Mayer Rabinowitz, "Status of Transsexuals" EH 5:11.2003
- David H. Lincoln, "Accepting Egyptian Karaites into Our Communities " EH 4:37.1984
- Arnold M. Goodman, "Solemnizing the Marriage Between a Kohen and a Divorcee" EH 6:1.1996
- Arnold M. Goodman, "Solemnizing the Marriage Between a Kohen and a Convert" EH 6:8.1996
Divorce
- Lionel E. Moses, "Mix and Match: The Use of Aramaic Phrases in Legal Documents Written in Hebrew" EH 126:1.1996
- Edward M. Gershfield, "A Statement on Gittin " EH 131:7.1981
- Ben Zion Bergman, "On Restoring the Shaliach L'Kabbalah" EH 140:3.2000
- Kassel Abelson and Mayer Rabinowitz, "Renewal of Marriage for Couples Without Get" EH 150:4.1999a
- Judah Kogen, "Renewal of Marriage for Couples Without Get--A Dissenting Opinion" EH 150:4.1999b
Visiting the Sick and Medicine
- Joseph H. Prouser, "Chesed or Chiuv: The Obligation to Preserve Life and the Question of Post-Mortem Organ Donations" YD 336.1995
- Joseph Prouser, "Organ and Tissue Donation Card" YD 336.1996
- Joel Roth, "Organ Donation" YD 336.1999-
- Elliot Dorff, "Stem Cell Research" YD 336.2002
- Elliot N. Dorff and Aaron L. Mackler, "Responsibilities for the Provision of Health Care" YD 336:1.1998
- James Rosen, "Mental Retardation, Group Homes and the Rabbi" YD 336:1.2000
- Avram Israel Reisner, "A Halakhic Ethic of Care for the Terminally Ill" YD 339:1.1990a
- Elliot N. Dorff, "A Jewish Approach to End-Stage Medical Care" YD 339:1.1990b
- Avram Israel Reisner, "Mai Beinaihu?" YD 339:1.1990c
- Amy Eilberg, "On Halakhic Approaches to Medical Care for the Terminally Ill: A Response" YD 339:1.1990d
- Joel Roth, "A Response to Rabbis Dorff and Reisner" YD 339:1.1990e
- Aaron L. Mackler, ed., "Jewish Medical Directives for Health Care" YD 339:1.1993
- Avram Israel Reisner, "Peri- and Neo-Natology: The Matter of Limiting Treatment" YD 339.1995
Responding to a Death and Mourning
- Isidoro Aizenberg, "Treatment of the Loss of a Fetus Through Miscarriage" YD 340:30.1987
- Debra Reed Blank, "Response to Miscarriage" YD 340:30.1991a
- Amy Eilberg, "Response to Miscarriage: An Alternate View" YD 340:30.1991b
- Stephanie Dickstein, "What Should Jewish Practice Be Following a Stillbirth?" YD 340:30.1996a
- Ben Zion Bergman, "What's In a Name?: A Concurrence and Dissent" YD 340:30.1996b
- Elliot N. Dorff, "Assisted Suicide" YD 345.1997a
- Statement on Assisted Suicide YD 345.1997b
- Kassel Abelson, "Suicide" YD 345:2.2005
- Paul Plotkin, "Burial of Jews Practicing Christianity" YD 345:5.1994
- Myron S. Geller, "Bury Him, Yes, Bury Him" YD 345:5.1998
- Morris Shapiro, "Cremation in the Jewish Tradition" YD 348.1986
- Ben Zion Bergman, "I Shall Sprinkle Pure Water Upon You and You Shall Be Purified" YD 352:3.1998
- Ben Zion Bokser, "A Statement on Funerals in the Synagogue " YD 353:3.1983
- Morris Feldman, "May a Mausoleum Be Used for Jewish Burial? " YD 362:1.1983
- David H. Lincoln, "The Use of Mausoleums for Jewish Burial " YD 362:1.1983
- Myron S. Geller, "Exhuming the Dead" YD 363.1996
- Ben Zion Bergman, "A Matter of Grave Concern" YD 367:1.1991
- Myron S. Geller, "Peaceful Paths" YD 367:1.1994
- Daniel S. Nevins, "Ad Heikhan Hu Bodek? -- Contemporary Criteria for the Declaration of Death" YD 370:1.2004
- Joel Rembaum, "Converts Mourning the Death of Close Relatives" YD 374:5.1998
- Isidoro Aizenberg, "Mourning for a Newborn" YD 374:8.1987
- Stephanie Dickstein, "What Should Be Jewish Practice Following the Death of an Infant Who Lives Less Than Thirty One Days?" YD 374:8.1992a
- Avram Israel Reisner, "Kiyyam Li: A Dissenting Concurrence" YD 374:8.1992b
- Kassel Abelson and Mayer Rabinowitz, "Ritual of Mourning When a Body is Not Recovered" YD 375:7.2001
- Isidoro Aizenberg, "On the Status of Missing Persons" YD 397.1987
- Baruch Frydman-Kohl, "Welcoming Mourners on Shabbat" YD 400:1.2000
Circumcision and Pidyon HaBen
- Morris M. Shapiro, "Improperly Circumcised Children and Parents' Synagogue Membership" YD 262:1.1981
- David H. Lincoln , "Naming of an Improperly Circumcised Child " YD 262:1.1984
- David Novak, "The Question of Hattafat Dam Brit (Hebrew)" YD 264:1.1982a
- Joel Roth, "Hatafat Dam Brit " YD 264:1.1982b
- Vernon Kurtz, "Anesthesia and Brit Milah" YD 264:3.1998
- Arnold M. Goodman, "Shabbat and Brit Milah" YD 266.1988
- Vernon Kurtz, "Induction Leading to Birth of a Baby on Shabbat and Brit Milah" YD 266:2.1996
- Gerald Skolnik, "Should There Be a Special Ceremony in Recognition of a First-Born Female?" YD 305:1.1993
- Vernon Kurtz, "Delay of Pidyon HaBen" YD 305:11.1995
- Howard Handler, "Pidyon HaBen" YD 305:24.1991
Conversion
- Joel Roth, Akiba Lubow, "A Standard of Rabbinic Practice Regarding Determination of Jewish Identity " YD 268.1986
- Ben Zion Bergman, "The Case of the Unconverted Spouse" YD 268.1993
- David Novak, "The Status of Non-Halakhic Conversions " YD 268:3.1982
- Herbert J. Mandl, "Conversion to Judaism Without Circumcision Due to Medical Complications" YD 268:1.1994
- Aaron L. Mackler, "Maternal Identity and the Religious Status of Children Born to a Surrogate Mother" YD 268:6.1997
- Avram Israel Reisner, "On the Conversion of Adopted and Patrilineal Children" YD 268:7.1988
- Joel Roth, "Should the Kashrut of Conversions Be Investigated?" YD 268:10.1984a
- David Novak, "A Teshuvah on the Subject of the Investigations of Conversions Today (Hebrew)" YD 268:10.1984b
- Steven Saltzman, "The Status of Ethiopian Jews" YD 268:10.1986
- Steven Saltzman, "May a Conversion Obtained Through Deceit Be Annulled?" YD 268:12.1989a
- Avram Israel Reisner, "On Annulling a Conversion Obtained by Deceit: A Concurring Opinion" YD 268:12.1989b
- Morris Shapiro, "Addendum I On: May a Conversion Obtained by Deceit be Annulled" YD 268:12.1989c (part 1)
- Morris Shapiro, "Addendum 2 On: May a Conversion Obtained by Deceit be Annulled" YD 268:12.1989d (part 2)
- Gerald Zelizer, "The Return of Second Generation Apostates" YD 268:12.1995
Niddah and Mikveh
- Miriam Berkowitz, Susan Grossman, Avram Reisner, "Mikveh and the Sanctity of Family Relations" YD 183.2006a
- Susan Grossman, "Mikveh and the Sanctity fo Being Created Human" YD 183.2006b
- Avram Reisner, "Observing Niddah in Our Day" YD 183.2006c
- Miriam Berkowitz, "Reshaping the Laws of Family Purity for the Modern World" YD 183.2006d
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