Liberal-Conservative Judaism

Liberal-Conservative Judaism sometimes called "Traditional Reform" or "Progressive Conservative" is the term sometimes used to describes Jews and synagogues whose beliefs and practices place them on the continuum somewhere between Reform Judaism and Conservative Judaism. In the Reform movement these adherents might sometimes be referred to as "traditionalists" while in the Conservative movement they are referred to as "reformative."
With the advent of the new Reform siddur "Gates of Prayer" in the 1970s, Reform Judaism began to slowly make a shift back toward more Conservative and Traditional elements of Judaism. Such changes saw re-emphasis upon Hebrew in the liturgy, re-inclusion of prayers like the Aleinu, and the celebration of minor holidays such as Simchat Torah and Tu Bishvat. Furthermore, Jewish ritual practices such as wearing a kippah, tallit, and tefillin became more commonplace in Reform congregations. This traditionalist move away from "Classic Reform" was movement wide with pockets of resistance that refused to adopt the new siddur or what they saw as more "Orthodox practices." Such examples of "Classic Reform" congregations are Congregation Emanu-El of New York and Congregation Mickve Israel in Savannah, GA.
Conversely, within Conservative Judaism in the United States many congregations began to adopt what were considered to be more "reformative" practices such as the playing of musical instruments during services, female clergy, Torah honors to women, mixed seating, and shortened services. While today most Conservative congregations in the United States have adopted egalitarian practices, some have always been considered more "reformative" in their practices such as the use of organ and choir with liturgy, truncated services (such as the alleviation of mussaf or other parts of the liturgy, adoption of only one day of observance for Yom Tov, and liberal views of halacha. Examples of such Conservative congregations which fall into this category are: , Park Avenue Synagogue in New York City, Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA, and Shaare Shalom Synagogue in Kingston, Jamaica.
Typically, synagogues which fall into the category of being "Liberal-Conservative" are more likely to hire a rabbi or cantor from the accompanying movement, such as the case of a rabbi trained at Hebrew Union College serving a congregation that is affiliated with the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism. Liberal-Conservative congregations are also the result of a merger between two congregations (one Conservative and one Reform), which adopt the practices of both communities as is the case of Shaare Shalom Synagogue in Kingston, Jamaica. This is commonplace in rural areas of the United States such as The South where singular Jewish communities embrace a spectrum of beliefs and practices.
While there has never been any official governing body for this form of Judaism, parties on both sides have generally enjoyed full cooperation with one another in matters of policy and action.
Liberal-Conservative Congregations in North America
*Tree of Life Congregation in Pittsburgh, PA
*Shaare Shalom Synagogue in Kingston, Jamaica
*Congregation of Adath Jeshurun in Aiken, SC

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