Rabbinical Assembly Convention

I just returned from the Annual Convention of Conservative Rabbis. The setting this year was a little bit different and out of the box – it was in Las Vegas, and the theme of the convention was, “Out of the Box Judaism.” The conference was extremely stimulating and intellectually rewarding.

One of the things I find so interesting about these conventions is the balance between practical and theoretical. One hour I was studying medieval Hebrew texts pertaining to laws of Tzedekah and noting how they apply to today. In the next hour I was moderating a session dealing with the future of the Conservative Movement. At another time we were dealing with questions about the issue of Halakhah, and then we were in sessions dealing with finding effective ways to use the new social media as a platform to get our message out and to reach our congregants.

And with all of this, there also was time for informal conversations and sharing. And yes – even Elvis made an appearance. One night an Elvis impersonator sang while we had refreshments, while another night we were treated to a Frank Sinatra impersonator, and we also visited the Hardwood Suite at the Palms Hotel. All in all, an “out of the box convention.”

Also published on Medium.