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From the Rabbi's
Desk..
Recent polls and surveys of young Jews reveal that people between the approximate ages of 20 and 30 are finding and choosing different points of entry into Jewish life. We are told that young Jews today are connecting to Jewish life through theatre, films, museums, book groups, social events and other cultural activities. The entry or connecting point today, unlike earlier generations, is not the Synagogue. The absence of young Jews from Synagogues suggests that they want to experience their Jewishness in ways other than religious connections. This phenomenon has both positive and negative implications. On the one hand it is reassuring to learn that young adult Jews identify as Jewish, feel Jewish and search out Jewish experiences through the arts while also searching for prospective spouses. They are experiencing their Jewishness in untraditional ways.
On the other hand, I question if this kind of Jewish identification can ensure future Jewish generations. To be sure, today we have the reality and the vitality of Israel to assist us in achieving continuity. Israel experiences such as Birthright are powerful and can ignite Jewish sparks. There is no doubt that Birthright and similar programs impact young Jews positively. Let me cite one example: I know a young man who went to Israel with Birthright a few months ago. His parents are Jewish as are his grandparents. They are average non-observant American Jews. Neither his parents nor grandparents have ever been to Israel. He returned from Birthright and is now planning to spend his junior year of college at Hebrew University. Birthright is indeed a great help in creating and nourishing Jewish identity.
Ultimately however, it is the established institutions of the organized Jewish community such as the Jewish home, the Jewish school, the Jewish camp and the synagogue which can ensure future generations of Jews. The entry points which attract young Jews today are only that…entry points. Sustaining Jewish life in the future will always be, as it has been in the past, a combination of the Jewish home, the Jewish school, the Jewish camp, the synagogue and now, the emotional impact of Israel all working together.
Some of these venerable institutions need fixing and there is much effort being expended today to support and reinvigorate our schools and synagogues. Jewish life will not be sustained by cultural institutions however important they may be. Children and adults need education, emotional support, spiritual
inspiration and ‘community’. It is most importance that people feel connected to each other, to common causes, and to feel that they belong to an organic, life sustaining and supportive community. There is no substitute for the vitality, the inspiration and emotional support that a Jewish community can provide. This concern occupies my attention almost daily. How can I build community? What can I do to create bonds of friendship and caring? What can I do to make people feel comfortable and at home in the Synagogue? What can I do to make people want to be here, to love being Jewish and to take pride in their Jewish heritage?
This Shabbat, December 22, we will be reading the last Torah portion in the Book of Genesis. Upon completion of the last verse everyone in the Synagogue chants “Hazak Hazak Venithazek: be strong, be strong and let us strengthen each other.” There is no greater imperative than for us to be strong, to strengthen each other and to build strong communities.
Rabbi Albert Thaler
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