Editing Modern Orthodox Judaism (section)

===Conservative Judaism===
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In some areas, Modern Orthodoxy's left wing appears to align with more traditional elements of [[Conservative Judaism]], and in fact some on the left of Modern Orthodoxy have allied with the formerly Conservative [[Union for Traditional Judaism]]. Nonetheless, the two movements are generally described as distinct. Rabbi [[Avi Weiss]], from the left of Modern Orthodoxy, stresses that Orthodox and Conservative Judaism are "so very different in ... three fundamental areas: ''Torah mi-Sinai'', rabbinic interpretation, and rabbinic legislation".<ref name="Avraham Weiss">Avraham Weiss: {{cite web|url=http://www.yctorah.org/downloads/articles/aw-open-orthodoxy.pdf |title=Open Orthodoxy! A modern Orthodox rabbi's creed |access-date=2006-05-21 |url-status=bot: unknown |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050305235117/http://www.yctorah.org/downloads/articles/aw-open-orthodoxy.pdf |archive-date=March 5, 2005}} ''Judaism''; Fall 1997</ref> Weiss argues as follows:
* ''Torah mi-Sinai'' ("Torah From [[Sinai Peninsula|Sinai]]"): Modern Orthodoxy, in line with the rest of Orthodoxy, holds that Jewish law is Divine in origin, and as such, no underlying ''principle'' may be compromised in accounting for changing political, social or economic conditions,<ref name="Kaplan">See for example, Rabbi [[Aryeh Kaplan]], [http://www.aish.com/jl/m/pm/48932007.html ''The Rules of Halacha''].</ref> whereas Conservative Judaism holds that [[Posek|Poskim]] should make use of literary and historical analysis in deciding Jewish law, and may reverse decisions of the [[Acharonim]] that are held to be inapplicable today.<ref name="Avraham Weiss" /><ref name="Elliott N Dorff" />
* Rabbinic interpretation: (Modern) Orthodoxy contends that legal authority is cumulative, and that a contemporary ''[[posek]]'' (decisor) can only issue judgments based on a full history of Jewish legal precedent,<ref name="Kaplan" /> whereas the implicit argument of the Conservative movement is that precedent provides illustrations of possible positions rather than binding law. Conservatism, therefore, remains free to select whichever position within the prior history appeals to it.<ref name="Avraham Weiss" /><ref name="Golinkin">Rabbi Professor David Golinkin: [http://www.responsafortoday.com/about/about.htm ''The Hows and Whys of Conservative Halakhah'']</ref>
* Rabbinic legislation: Since the (Modern) Orthodox community is ritually observant, rabbinic law legislated by (today's) Orthodox rabbis can meaningfully become binding if accepted by the community (see [[minhag]]).<ref name="Kaplan" /> Conservative Judaism, on the other hand, has a largely non-observant laity.<ref name="Avraham Weiss" /><ref name="NJPS">According to the 1990 [[National Jewish Population Survey]], 29% of Conservative congregants buy only [[kosher meat]] and 15% consider themselves [[shomer Shabbat|Sabbath observant]]. According to the 2001 survey, 30% keep Kosher at home and 50% Light Shabbat candles. See also: [http://www.jtsa.edu/x497.xml#6 Sacred Cluster #6] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111005151246/http://www.jtsa.edu/x497.xml |date=2011-10-05}}, jtsa.edu and [[Conservative Halakha#Conservative Jewish observance of Halakhah|Conservative Halakha]].</ref> Thus, although Conservatism similarly holds that "no law has authority unless it becomes part of the concern and practice of the community"<ref name="Elliott N Dorff">Elliott N Dorff: [http://www.adath-shalom.ca/dorff158.htm "How Conservative Judaism Makes Decisions in Jewish law halakha"]</ref> communal acceptance of a "permissive custom" is not "meaningful", and, as a result, related rabbinic legislation cannot assume the status of law.

In general, Modern Orthodoxy does not, therefore, view the process by which the Conservative movement decides ''halakha'' as legitimate—or with the non-normative weighting assigned to halakha by the Conservative movement. In particular, Modern Orthodoxy disagrees with many of Conservative Judaism's ''halakhic'' rulings, particularly as regards issues of [[egalitarian]]ism. See further on the [[Orthodox Judaism#Beliefs about Jewish law and tradition|Orthodox view]] and the [[Conservative Judaism#Jewish law|Conservative view]].

Modern Orthodoxy clearly differs from the approach of [[Reform Judaism]] and [[Humanistic Judaism]], which do not consider ''halakha'' to be [[normative]].