The four-day convention of the Rabbinical Assembly of America, representing the Conservative rabbis, concluded here today with a resolution calling upon Jewish women in the United States not to cook, shop, and to avoid similar household work on the Sabbath. Rabbi Max D. Davidson was elected president of the organization.
The need to attend public worship on the Sabbath,–"an indispensable expression of loyalty to our faith"–was also emphasized by the law committee, which urged the Conservative movement to dedicate itself "to the task of restoring the disciplines and observances always associated with the Sabbath."
Other resolutions called for the creation of a commission on marriage and the family jointly sponsored by the Assembly and the United Synagogue of America, urged the establishment of Jewish religious courts of law throughout the country, recommended to the United Synagogue and the National Women’s League the setting of standards for Jewish lay leadership and on various occasions the presentation of citations "to those who meet and represent these standards."
Promulgation of a covenant with appropriate ritual by which the Jewish people would dedicate themselves to the achievement and maintenance of world Jewish unity was favored in principle by the convention. The idea of a World Jewish covenant was proposed in a resolution presented by Dr. Mordecai M. Kaplan, and was unanimously adopted "in principle" by the 300 Conservative rabbis attending. The convention also voted to launch a nationwide campaign to promote acceptance of a minimum code of religious observance among adherents of the conservative movement.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
