Editing Rabbinical Assembly (section)

==Bodies for interpreting Jewish law==
{{Main|Committee on Jewish Law and Standards}}

The [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] (CJLS) is the movement's central body on interpreting [[halakha|Jewish law and custom]]; it was founded by the Rabbinical Assembly in 1927, with Max Drob as its first head.  It presently composed of 25 rabbis, who are voting members, and five laypeople, who do not vote but participate fully in deliberations. When any six (or more) members vote in favor of a position, that position becomes an official position of the Rabbinical Assembly.  An individual rabbi, however, functions as the ''mara de-atra'' (מרא דאתרא, lit. "master of the house" in [[Aramaic]], the local authority in Jewish law), adopting the position he or she considers most compelling, even if it has not been approved by the CJLS.<ref>Gordon Tucker, [http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/tucker_defense.pdf "A Principled Defense of the Current Structure and Status of the CJLS"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101127133411/http://www.rabbinicalassembly.org/teshuvot/docs/19912000/tucker_defense.pdf |date=2010-11-27 }}</ref><ref>Mackler, Aaron. ''Life and Death Responsibilities in Jewish Biomedical Ethics'' 2000, p.10: "The positions authorized by the Committee offer important guidance for Conservative Jews and others. Still, each Conservative rabbi has the authority to make halakhic judgments. Eash rabbi formulates decisions about numerous issues not discussed explicitly by the Committee, relying on other halakhic sources and his or her own judgment. For issues the Committee has addressed, each rabbi may choose among various positions endorsed by the Committee, or may even find a different position best mandated by halakhah."</ref>

The [[Rabbinical Assembly of Israel]] (the Israeli arm of the RA) has its own decision making body, the ''Va'ad Halacha''. [[Responsa]] by both the CJLS and the Va'ad Halacha are equally valid, although the Va'ad's emphasis is on issues pertaining to Israeli society.  The CJLS and the Va'ad do not always come up with the same answer to a question. Individual rabbis are free to decide which responsa to adopt or to develop their own halakhic positions.