Schechter's disciples: How Solomon Schechter's students created Conservative Judaism, 1902--1946

While the boundaries between Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Judaism are as clear today as they have ever been, this was not always the case. My work seeks to understand how Conservative Judaism emerged as its own unified movement, and I argue that it was created by Solomon Schechter's disciples.;Solomon Schechter, the charismatic leader of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, believed that he could revitalize and unite traditional American Jewry. His disciples heartily adopted this message, and united by close friendships with Schechter and with each other, made it their life's mission to realize Schechter's dream.;Before his death, Schechter and his disciples created the United Synagogue of America. This organization was a big tent, allowing all of Schechter's disciples to work together to implement his vision in an environment that both acknowledged and respected their differences of opinion.;Their ability to work together, however, deceived them into thinking that they could still unite traditional Jewry behind Schechter's message. Orthodox rabbis who did not study under Schechter saw no need for a United Synagogue, though they were welcome to join. They were particularly galled by the presence of rabbis who did not even consider themselves Orthodox, and saw little benefit in sharing power with those more liberal rabbis. It was because the United Synagogue was a big tent, willing to accept diversity of opinion, that non-Seminary rabbis created their own organizations, forcing the United Synagogue to reluctantly create a program of its own.;As it became clear to Schechter's disciples that their separate program was becoming a movement, they tried valiantly to articulate a platform. Ironically, the very big tent that forced them to become a movement now prevented them from defining its boundaries. With so many differences of opinion, and united only by their commitment to their teacher and to each other, Schechter's disciples were never able to articulate a platform. They did, however, create the Conservative movement, and left it to future generations to define its boundaries.