The Changing Face of Judaism

May 31, 1999

Source: The Courier-Journal

On May 31, 1999, The Courier-Journal of Louisville published an article on Congregation Keneseth Israel in Louisville, which recently voted to give men and women equal roles in worship services. Women in this Conservative synagogue will now be allowed to read from the Torah during services. Rabbi Shmuel Mann, leader of Keneseth Israel, stated: "I have ambivalent feelings, in the sense that it's tough for a congregation to go through this move, but hundreds of Conservative congregations have done that over the last 25 years. On the whole I think it's a positive move...It brings the worship service more in line with the way we think and the way we live our lives."