Mark Hoffman, at The Blogs

Mark Hoffman

Oct 29, 2024, 3:49 AM

Too Little, Too Late for Conservative Judaism?

Three years have passed since I posted two prior essays in the TOI, arguing that the steady decline of Conservative Judaism was at least partially due to a doctrinaire approach to halacha that has long been out of touch...

Dec 3, 2021, 10:23 AM

Redefining Conservative Judaism: The Conversation

I argued in my last post that Conservative Judaism needs to re-define itself in a way that speaks to the real lives of the majority of American Jews. Instead of simply being the halachic halfway point between Orthodox and...

May 24, 2021, 10:10 PM

Conservative Judaism: Time for a New Definition?

The recently released Pew Report on Jewish Americans confirms what has been obvious to Conservative Jewish lay leaders such as myself for years now. In contrast to the mid-20th century, when Conservative Jews represented the vast majority of the...

About Me

Mark grew up in Queens, NY during the "heyday" of American Judaism. He attended public schools and acquired a limited Jewish education. When he met his future wife, who was not Jewish, she insisted that religion be a part of their life together. She converted to Judaism and that launched him on his Jewish journey. He has been a synagogue president in Upstate New York for several years.

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