Conservative Judaism occupies the middle ground between Orthodoxy and Reform — holding that halakha is binding and authoritative but subject to development through scholarly interpretation, and that the Jewish people have always adapted their practice to new circumstances. It emerges formally in Germany with Zacharias Frankel’s ‘positive-historical’ Judaism (~1845) and develops its American institutional home at the Jewish Theological Seminary (founded 1886). Conservative Judaism accepts critical biblical scholarship while insisting on traditional observance. Its rulings are issued by the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. Women were admitted to the rabbinate in 1985. Conservative Judaism is experiencing significant numerical decline in America as members move toward either Orthodoxy or Reform.