Union for Traditional Judaism

The Union for Traditional Judaism, founded in 1984, is a traditional, Halakhic Jewish outreach and communal service organization.^[1] It initially called itself "The Union for Traditional Conservative Judaism" but dropped "Conservative" from its title when it broke with the Conservative movement. In 1985 Rabbi Ronald D. Price was tapped to lead the organization as executive director and later as Executive Vice President.^[2] He served in that capacity for 26 years until his retirement in 2011. He was succeeded by Rabbi David Bauman and then Rabbi Gerald Sussman who is currently (2018) the executive director. In 1988 after attempting to affect change within Conservative Judaism, the UTJ membership voted to drop the word 'Conservative' from its title. Following a two-year period of negotiations, the Rabbinic Fellowship of the UTJ absorbed a modern Orthodox rabbinic organization, the Fellowship of Traditional Orthodox Rabbis. The merged rabbinic body is known today as MORASHAH (acronym for Hebrew: מועצת רבנים שומרי ההלכה, lit. 'Council of Rabbis, Protectors of Halakhah'). Some of the UTJ leaders at various times called themselves Conservative, Modern Orthodox or trans-denominational. The UTJ's Institute of Traditional Judaism (ITJ) (המתיבתא ללימודי היהדות) granted semikhah to a number of rabbis, though as of 2018^[update] there are no current semikhah students. The UTJ's Panel of Halakhic Inquiry has published three volumes of responsa titled "Tomeikh kaHalakhah." The UTJ produced the educational curriculum "Taking the MTV Challenge—Media and Torah Values" designed to provide high-school students with tools to respond to the electronic media. The UTJ is often viewed^{[by whom?]} as representing a denomination or inhabiting an ideological space between Conservative and Orthodox Judaism.^[3]