The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) has issued the following statement regarding the Open Orthodoxy movement:
The Conference of European Rabbis will only accept Rabbis who are ordained according to halakha; Rabbis who hold true to fundamental, traditional Jewish values and who lead their communities according to Jewish traditions as derived from Mount Sinai which are passed on by the poskei hador. Since our foundation we have never accepted any individual who does not fulfil these criteria.
With regret, the CER has decided that the religious foundations within ‘Open Orthodoxy’ deviates from this tradition and hereby declares that those rabbis who act and teach according to its principles will not be recognized as rabbis.
The Conference of European Rabbis (CER) is the primary rabbinical alliance in Europe. It unites more than 700 religious leaders of the mainstream synagogue communities in Europe. The conference is designed to maintain and defend the religious rights of Jews in Europe and has become the voice of Judaism for the European continent.
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6 Responses
Will they also not recognize any “Rabbi” who enters Har Habayis? There is a long list!
I have no doubt that a rupture is finally in the offing; however I remain uncertain of where it may lead. To extrapolate forward, one must consider developments in Israel.. At the “liberal” end of the religious spectrum, the right wing of the mesorati movement, parts of Tzohar, numerous academic and educational institutions, etc. house a confluence of like-minded individuals. And unlike the Open UnO in the US, collectively, these groups can count in their midst a substantial number of rabbis and scholars of significance, women included. They are as yet an eclectic and a largely headless group with differing agendas and hashkafot. I do believe that these groups will provide more than adequate support for so called OUnO
Further, it totally ignores the reality of what goes on in Israel, where the center of Judaism is now firmly entrenched. The two women who were ordained by Rabbis Sperber and Hefter this summer barely made a blip on the radar. Partnership Minyanim are proliferating, again without any edicts so far declaring them outside of “orthodoxy”.
Avi Weiss officiated at a wedding on Sunday November 1st in the Atrium Hall in Monsey. The Chupah had a double ring ceremony. which disqualifies the kidushin. 5 woman were honored under the chupah.
כל מקום שאתה מוצא עבודה זרה אתה
מוצא זמה
Many of the graduates of YCT have gone on to become rabbis at out-of-town Modern Orthodox shuls, and many of them seem relatively un-controversial and indistinguishable from liberal MO!
In one community, a YCT-trained rabbi speaks at events alongside charedi rabbis at Orthodox community events, and taught in a charedi school. Several frum familities attend both his shul and other charedi or MO shuls in the neighborhood!
A big problem with the Moetzes pronouncement is that all it says categorically is that YCT semicha means nothing.Regardless of the pronouncement, many MO and confused naive frum will continue to treat YCT-trained rabbis as legitimate Orthodox rabbis,
Do they really think the general public will act differently before versus after the declaration about geirus or hashgacha that the OO perform, only because of a pronouncement ?
Will THEY now treat their kiddushin as invalid and not needing a get? Will they declare a get written by “Rabbi” Katz shr”y invalid, thereby creating mamzeirim? All they said was they will not recognize their semicha!
CHAZAL would declare a Yomtov on the days whenever the tzeddukim and similar problematic sectors who deviated from Mount Sinai were finally marginalized!
I actually think weiss may have good intentions but the steady decline towards kefira with his feminist agenda has been declared out of the machane by our gedolim.
Therefore any Jew who considers him/herself loyal to our mesorah must adhere to these rulings.
I think the more radical they become the better,so as to give clarity to even those who want to see them in a positive light.
I would assume that all the staff in his institutions must also be considered kofrim. Yes, there is room for a range of hashkofas in any institution, but once the place is labelled as a centre for apikorasas it is everyone’s duty to stay away, irrespective of personal negias and parnasa needs.The ribbono shel oilam will surely protect those who are מוסר נפש for his Torah.