What is today the Masorti movement – known as Conservative Judaism in the United States – began in 1854, when Rabbi Zacharias Frankel founded the Juedisch-Theologisches Seminar, the Jewish Theological Seminary in Breslau, designating his approach as “positive-historical” Judaism. Even though it began in Germany, Masorti is still relatively new and growing in German-speaking countries after the Shoah. Through our relationships with our international partners, we bring impulses and resources from the global Masorti movement to Germany, adapting them to our own regional needs, and thus building the local movement.
Wherever you travel, in Israel, the USA, or anywhere else in the world, you will find Masorti communities that feel like home: a welcoming space to celebrate Shabbat, find community and connect with new friends.
Masorti Olami
Masorti Olami – The World Council of Conservative/Masorti Synagogues – is the umbrella organization for Masorti communities outside of Israel and the U.S. If you are looking for a Masorti community anywhere in the world, their website is the place to look.
Mercaz Olami is the Zionist party of Masorti, representing us at the World Zionist Congress and in the four “National Institutions” Mercaz representatives make sure that Masorti values influence the four national institutions and that resources are available for Masorti communities in Israel and around the world.
The four National Institutions are: the World Zionist Organization (WZO), The Jewish Agency for Israel (JAFI/Sochnut), Keren Hayesod and Keren Kayemet LeIsrael/Jewish National Fund (KKL/JNF)
NOAM Olami
NOAM Olami is the global network that connects Masorti youth around the world. Our common goal is to develop Jewish identity and increase knowledge among Masorti youth based on the values of NOAM: Zionism, Community Life, Democracy and Tikkun Olam. This global community of Masorti youth allows the exchange of ideas and experiences, the opportunity to learn from each other and most importantly, to belong to a supportive, caring extended and international family.
Local NOAM activities include: Summer camps, weekend retreats (Shabbatonim), trips and more.
Marom Olami
Marom is the young adult organization of the Masorti Movement, providing a platform that empowers young adults to take ownership of their Jewish identity and sets them on a journey of self-discovery, knowledge and experience.
Marom is the international Masorti organization for young adults and students aged 18 to 35. Each Marom chapter operates independently while maintaining close cooperation across countries. Marom organizes events, seminars, and meetups for participants from Berlin, Germany, and Europe.
The Origins and Development of Masorti Worldwide
The founding of the Jüdisch-Theologisches Seminar (Jewish Theological Seminary) in Breslau by Rabbi Zacharias Frankel in 1854 marked not only the beginning of the Wissenschaft des Judentums (the academic study of Judaism), but also established a rabbinical seminary where, until its closure by the Nazis, 250 rabbis and many educators were trained – many of whom had significant influence in Germany and beyond.
Frankel was the founder of the “positive-historical school” of Judaism, which emphasized both the central role of Halacha and its evolution through history, thus the beginning of what today is called Masorti/Conservative Judaism.
The Masorti tradition in Germany, which was brutally halted by the Shoah, was revived in Germany in 1995, when Rabbi Bea Wyler, a graduate of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, became rabbi of the Jewish communities in Oldenburg and Braunschweig, the first female rabbi in Germany after Rabbi Regina Jonas, who was ordained in 1935 and killed in Auschwitz.
Masorti e.V. was officially established in 2002 in Berlin by Rabbi Gesa S. Ederberg.
USA and Latin America
The founding of the Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS) in New York in 1886 marked the beginning of the Conservative Movement in the United States.
Its alumni formed the Rabbinical Assembly, which now includes over 1,700 rabbis worldwide, with active regions in the US and Canada, in Israel, Europe and Latin America.
Conservative synagogues in the U.S. are united under the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism.
In Buenos Aires, Rabbi Marshall Meyer founded the Seminario Rabinico Latinoamericano in 1962. In 2007, Masorti Amlat was founded and today includes 85 congregations across Latin America.
Israel
Among American immigrants to Israel, many identified as Conservative Jews but initially joined whatever synagogue was nearby. By the 1970s, when the need for a distinct religious identity became clearer, Conservative Jews established preschools and schools, providing their children and grandchildren with a Jewish education reflecting Masorti values, a system that later developed into the TALI preschools and schools.
In 1979, the Tenua Masortit (Masorti Movement in Israel) was founded. Today, Masorti Israel is firmly established with over 80 Kehilot (congregations), an active youth movement NOAM, its own rabbinical seminary: the Schechter Rabbinical Seminary, its TALI schools and preschools and many more educational programs, providing religious services to a growing number of Israelis.
Europe
In Europe, the first Masorti congregations were founded in the 1960s in the UK under the leadership of Rabbi Louis Jacobs and in France after 1989. In 2006, Masorti Europe was founded as a network of European Masorti communities.