As a child growing up in the 50's, I took Conservative Judaism at face value. It wasn't my grandparents' Judaism, but just an American hop, skip and jump away. As a mother of 4 in the 90's, I began to feel that Judaism was trying to be too many things to too many people. I didn't want my synagogue to be the JCC, I wanted it to be the synagogue. I always felt that this was the downfall of American Judaism. Ironically, by immigrating to American, our grandparents were paving the way for the demise of their religion.
Too bad my children and their peers never truly learned to appreciate the sacrifices their great grandparents made to insure the continuation of Judaism. They seem to have taken the right to practice their religion for granted.
And now comes Chabad, to light up the synagogue, to bring back the soul of Judaism, to remind us of Shabbat and the true meaning of the Torah!
As a grandmother in the teens, I hope to bring my grandchildren to see the Ne'er Tamid and to be inspired by the the wonders of and the beauty of the Hebrew language and and the religion of their ancestors.
2
The Jews of the American West (the title of an interesting book) had different priorities. The next thing after creating a burial society was to create something that benefited the entire community, not just the Jewish Community.
4
It is one thing to be a Jew, by birth to a Jewish mother, and to practice the religion of Judaism. The former requires no effort. The latter does.
The practice of Judaism entails guided community participation from childhood, and age-appropriate graduated intellectual effort and learning, with behavioral commitment, at times painful.
It entails a degree of distance from what may be current behavioral fads and fleeting fashions, in favor not of vague "spiritual values," but of what are eternal behavioral verities, and of a moral and religious religiolegal code, e.g., "Honor thy father and thy mother." Always, as difficult as it may seem. "Thou shalt not steal." Never, not ever. "Thou shalt not bear false witness ... " Never, not ever. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Never, not ever.
And, in sum, what is perhaps the most difficult, "Thou shalt not covet" thy neighbor's house, his wife, ... or anything, at all that is thy neighbor's."
"That which is abhorrent unto thee, do not unto thy neighbor." "Honor the Sabbath day of rest," not just for you, but for all who work for and with you. Observe the Judaic dietary restrictions. Just as physicians, lawyers, and scientists do, commit to lifelong learning.
Genetic Jews are incomplete. If they leave Judaism, they simply prune it. Jews have always been "minute among the nations." We are comfortable with that.
But, now, after two thousand years of torture, we defend ourselves, and do not die passively. Tough. Get used to it.
6
Jewish religiosity has nothing to do with being *born* Jewish, any more than being unable to speak Italian pertains to being of Italian descent. The Nazis certainly didn’t ask Jews whether or not they were religious. I also don’t subscribe to the old adage that Jewishness is derived matrilineally. If you have one Jewish parent, you’re half-Jewish; end of story.
My father was raised Orthodox and my mother was raised Reform, so they compromised on Conservative. I attended Sunday School for eleven years, which I enjoyed. My family observed the major Jewish holidays. Meanwhile, however, I realized - at the age of 12 - that I was an atheist, and I’ve never wavered in nearly 55 years. It’s not at all a contradiction, as per my reference of culture vs. religiosity.
My husband and I (he was raised Reform and he's an agnostic) belong to the City Congregation (affiliated with Humanistic Judaism). This is the perfect solution for those of us who aren’t trying to deny or forget our culture and want to maintain an affiliation, but meanwhile we don’t believe in the existence of god.
4
Reform and Conservatives Judaism will cease to exist in the next hundred years as the offspring of those followers slowly but surely assimilate and become part of the Christian majority.
This is not exactly unusual.
Tens of thousands of Jews were lost to Christianity as part of the Spanish Inquisition and Expulsion.
In both cases, a smaller but more observant remnant survives and carries on what is now called Orthodoxy.
4
The fundamental problem is that the sterile, arms-length decorum of interpersonal relations in secular modern life makes the desire to "believe in something" particularly compelling so as to lift us out of the tedium of a life of struggling to survive in an ethno-cultural vacuum. At the same time, the rationalist foundations of this modern life, the equivalent of a religious dispensation in the way they guide the smallest details of the conduct of life, make it "heretical" to use belief as the mark of a properly lived existence. Placing one's hopes in the Orthodox community is an optimistic delusion, since the children of the Orthodox, modern or otherwise, will be exposed to the same "deconstructing" tendencies as everyone else is exposed to. Like Jews of earlier generations, they will inexorably travel the road from "piety for tradition" to "piety for piety" (Adolf Böhm) and leave the tradition. What is needed is a new theology that addresses the realities of the day while preserving the tradition for its beauty. Mimicking Protestantism as the German Jews did in the 19th century led to no better outcome for the Jews of Europe than did strict observance, conversion, or atheism. The central concept of Judaism is remembrance: of both the commandments and of the history of the people. What is needed, like the Josiah of Biblical days, is a set of Jewish theologians who can reconcile tradition and modernity without resorting to the ridiculous. That alone is the way.
Once, a gay man who told me he'd had a long-term relationship with the son of a Orthodox-leaning Conservative rabbi, asked the rabbi whether he was upset when his won brought home another man as his partner. "I was more upset that you weren't Jewish," the rabbi replied.
3
This piece leaves out the elephant in the room: the question of faith. How can you maintain and revive a monotheistic religion when the majority of people born into it no longer believe in God? There can be no Judaism without this belief and Jews must face up to this fact.
2
Excellent article and its analysis. My only disagreement is with the statement that " Israel's primary mission is the security of the Jewish people". As a nation, member of the UN, Israel's mission should be the security of Israeli people. I would accept that Israel declares that its national religion is Judaism, but that is it. Orthodoxy would be any one of the religious branches that is allowed to exist, but not call the national shots!!!
3
Not surprised---as usual---that the discussion of the future viability of American Judaism doesn't include a curious and exhaustive survey of the Orthodox. And just why not? Every lousy statistic in the article contained the caveat in some sort of wording of, 'not including the Orthodox.' If this was a business article, you'd be bending over backwards to model their success. The Orthodox are the Amazon of religion. For the Orthodox are not just the past and present of viable Judaism, they are its future. And whatever liberal bias you bring to bear against them, from racist to sexist, from patriarchy to misogyny, they're doing far more that is survival-worthy than any other sect. The proof is in the numbers: less assimilation, less divorce, more babies, more commitment. You name the success metric, they have it. As history tells us, all streams that veer from Pharisaic Judaism fail. You fail to consider them because you simply don't like them. Bad learning strategy. Worse survival strategy.
7
There is faulty logic to comparing Jews and Irish. The Irish had 2 major waves of immigration to America. The first were Protestants looking for economic opportunity but fitting in with the majority American Protestants. The second wave came fleeing for their lives from threat of starvation arising out in policies that didn’t care about the deaths of the Catholic majority.
In diverse America, both groups have members happy to celebrate St Patrick’s Day. However, there are also those who remain devoutly Catholic, and those who pushed back about a narrative that those who wanted equal rights for Catholics in Northern Ireland were one and the same with the IRA. (Those of us in the latter camp have been happy to watch changes since the Good Friday Agreement 20 years ago and the scaling back of violence on both sides. It has also given us less reason to have politically engaged about Northern Ireland.)
As I have commented before when the issue arises: Jews are a people, mostly descended from a particular family in the ancient Middle East and practicing the Jewish faith. Likewise, Judaism is a faith practiced mostly but not only by those with a mother descended from that family. Jews and Judaism are woven more tightly together than “Irish” and Roman Catholicism” or “Saudi” and Sunni or “Indian” and Hindu”.
3
My father's grandparents came to America during the late nineteenth century Jewish Great Migration from Eastern Europe. My mother's people came from England and Holland to New Orleans before 1820. I don't know if these middle class people owned slaves. My g-g grandfather did fight as a corporal in the Confederate Army while my g-g grandmother's brother was the second highest ranking Jewish officer in that army (it's quite a story).
Growing up I was immersed in the southern family more and the Holocaust. I experienced three years of both mild and intense anti-Semitism in high school, which in turn made me a supporter of the Civil Rights cause.
I feel as American as can be and I feel my (non observant) Jewishness as well. When an individual or organization tells me I'm not a real Jew or the right kind of Jew, I try to remind them that the Nazis didn't make such subtle dileniations when the trains pulled in. Stephen Miller and the ultras please take note.
5
How conflicted American Jews must be. If they support Likud Israel, they are supporting the right-wing Jewish support for Trump and his ilk, which is synonymous with supporting white nationalism and anti-Semitism. But since Likud is the only game Israelis will allow in town, are Jews supposed to NOT support Likud Israel in order to back progressive American politics, the only politics firmly opposed to anti-Semitism in America (even if many progressives, Jews and Gentiles alike, committed to universal human rights, are necessarily critical of Likud Israel's treatment of the Palestinians)? It's no longer possible, logically, to be both politically progressive and pro-Israel, since Israel itself has chosen not to be progressive. What a mess!
3
Early in the genetic code ancestry days I remember reading an interaction between two Jewish "allele cousins" . One was incensed that his genetics came back with a lot of Polish but few Jewish markers. Incandescent he declared "my family has been Jewish for 35,000 years". The woman cousin justly pointed out probably not 35,000 years.
Identity is one thing, daily faith another, but the time line is long. Be a better human primate. Then again you could go paint deer in a cave, eh.
Are there no books by women written on this topic? That might have added to the conversation.
5
Nice piece, including the warning against victimhood-defined identity. But Beckerman begs a big question re survival of the Jewish religion, why? That is beyond the threat posed by bigots, who may treat those with Jewish blood as guilty of bloody sinners, or threats, or both.
I've no problem with those seeking in a synagogue, or for that matter a national park, some sentimental connective tissue with the great beyond. However, for those of us born and brought up as Jews who have drifted toward not only toward atheism or agnosticism, but away from religious ritual and its focus on an unbelievable and oft quite nasty god, the questions are whether survival of this archaic religion is important and, if so, to whom?
In other words, is the tribal juice worth the relevance squeeze?
2
Judaism made a terrible choice when it didn't do what Paul had done for Christianity and go all-in for proselytizing, thereby forever condemning it to a tiny few. As a Jewish New Yorker, I'm surrounded by Jews, most of whom don't practice and don't much identify. At the same time, many non-Jewish friends express a real interest in the religion. Judaism's traditional tribal identity and matrilineal identification need to be abandoned.
3
I respectfully disagree with Ms. Beckerman's conclusion. The only Jews who will survive in a century from now are ultra-Orthodox Jews (Haredim) and Modern Orthodox Jews. Non-Orthodox Jews will vanish because of assimilation, intermarriage and low birth rates.
I grew up as a Haredi Jew in the Boro Park section of Brooklyn, NY. Like all Haredim, I was taught never to befriend non-Jews. Hence I wore Haredi attire, which distinguished me from Gentiles and reminded me that they were the Other.
Indeed, there are countless Judaic laws that discriminate against non-Jews, based on religion and theology, not because of persecution. An important Israeli organization which combats this is Daat Emet.
http://daatemet.org.il/en/torah-science-ethics/religion-ethics/gentiles-in-halacha/
The fastest growing segment of American Jewry is the ultra-Orthodox because of their huge birth rates. They are totally disconnected from non-Jews, don't serve in the military, and live in their own Haredi enclaves They include Boro Park, Crown Heights, Flatbush and Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY; Monsey, Spring Valley and Kiryas Joel outside of NYC; Lakewood, NJ.
If a sociologist wants to see the future of American Jews, visit these shtetls.
8
The lack of interest in seeking converts, coupled with strict definitions of "who is a Jew" are the contributing factors to the decay of non-Orthodox movements. Populations are aging, just like in Christian churches in America. I have been trying to convert for years, although my fiance is secular and non-Jewish (raised Catholic). We are discouraged by a lack of representation and can't find our own community, even though as a woman my conversion would actually add to the Jewish population when we start a family. There isn't really a place for converts or those in interfaith relationships. This isn't for a lack of trying on the rabbi's part. The larger Jewish movements in America have not really created the infrastructure.
19
I am the product of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother, neither of whom had religious faith during the time I was a child. I became a Christian at the age of 29, by reading Martin Luther and then the Bible ("I am the bread of life" said Jesus, and I knew God was present and speaking to me) after a troubled youth. I am now an Evangelical Christian, but retain, at least in my own personal spiritual life, a sense of my Jewish identity. "The real Jew is inwardly a Jew, and the real circumcision is in the heart - something not of the letter, but of the Spirit. A Jew like that may not be praised by man, but he will be praised by God." Rom. 2:29. If I were invited to participate more in my Jewish-Christian identity, I would be all for it. But Messianic Judaism, in any form, only seems to irritate many Jewish people (although that had been getting better); a point raised again in the recent Pittsburgh tragedy. I note that this article reviewing five books makes no mention at all of believers in Jesus who have Jewish roots. If my Christian faith moves me irretrievably outside the circle of the Jewish community, well, so be it, but that won't change my morning prayers, which commence by addressing "Dearest Father, Almighty God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob." I feel myself to still be a Jew, who believes in Jesus - like Elisha's servant, sometimes your eyes have to be opened.
6
Amazingly insightful piece about American Jews. Mazel Tov!
In the first paragraph the author writes " America, a country that has never seen even a hint of a pogrom. " I guess she's unfamiliar with Crown Heights and Mayor Dinkins Pogrom..When the Government allows a mob of citizens to run wild through the streets shouting "Kill The Jews" and the mob actually kills Jews, that's a Pogrom.
4
To be a Jew, or not.
Well, it's darn fascinating to try to understand us, or meaningless.
Non Jews name their kid "Jacob," which is reassuring. slightly.
The now popular name is at the top of the list, or close.
So, don't worry,except about everything that we should worry about, including ending a sentence with a preposition.
A superficial and at times supercilious review, e.g., use of the term "professional worriers", or "thornbush" for Israel.
The naivety of the writer is mind-boggling. To imply that the long list of violent anti-semitic incidents in America are not be pogroms is to play with words.
It's a lesson I think finally only the years bring, that the cafeteria mode, the mixed marriage mode, the assimilation mode, of being a Jew offer not a whit more of existential security to Jews than the traditional "infrastructure of Judaism". If anything, they are counter-productive, as Jewish history in Nazi Germany showed.
3
I am so tired and annoyed reading/hearing the term "anti-semitism". Other than Israelis and other middle-eastern Jews most of us are not semitic and haven't been for about 2000 years. The people who are described as "anti-semitic" are Jew Haters and that is the term to be used. Are we (Jews) supposed to be polite in speaking of people who would just as soon kill us since we are Jews. Enough.
1
Jews were reading probably before anyone else in the Western world. Is it any wonder that this head start has given this small group of people an outsized influence on the modern world? Talk about “Head Start” programs!
As we all know, we live in a world in which you can get instant information on line.
Consider this then:
On Sept. 1, 1939 there were 16.8 million Jews in the world out of a worldwide population of 2.2 billion.
On May 8, 1945 (May 9 in Europe, where WWII ended that day), there were 11 million Jews in world population reduced by over 60 million by that war, including 5.8 million murdered Jews.
Today in a worldwide population of 7.6 billion there are 14.5 million Jews.
Yet, even now, a man walks into a synagogue and shoots 11 of those 14.5 million to death because? Because they are Jews. Again today hate and fear of Jews pervades the charnel house of Western Europe, and if the "Gentlemen's Agreement" of American country club anti-semitism is no more, the violence that claimed Leo Max Frank in Georgia in 1915 is asserted vividly in Charlottesville.
Why then am I, raised in a far-left non-believing home, who regards religious belief and custom as primitive and fearful; who regards belief in some higher being as surrender, considers organized religion rapacious -- why then am I a Jew?
Because somewhere in this world, indeed all over this world are people who hate me because I am.
Would I have survived in Europe in those years? Most very likely not.
But I wasn't there. I'm here now. I bear witness. I am a Jew always because I am that witness.
Now, I'll have a ham sandwich, sure that nothing and no man or god will strike me dead for it.
3
I tried to search this article for "Moses," and got Moses Mendelssohn,
Did the same for Elijah, got no results found.
An article about Judaism without 10 Commandment Moses or Elijah the Prophet?
1
Sherm, below, hit the nail on the head: "To use professional sports vernacular, the historic Jews traded their star player, Jesus."
Jesus never rejected his Jewishness. Neither did his apostle to the gentiles, Saul (Paul) of Tarsus. They both offer the good news to Jews and non-Jews alike that righteousness is not attained through ritual but through faith and obedience to the commandment . . . Love God, and love your neighbor as you love yourself.
But, as Sherm observes, Jews rejected that simple, obvious proposition as have (apparently) 80% of Evangelicals. As a result both "traditions" are floundering and looking for a Messiah. Evangelicals seem to believe they've found him in Trump.
3
I was raised orthodox, am no longer religious, and have been married to a non-Jew for 30 years. I think Jews can be seen as a either small religious population in the larger world or one of the larger global families that can trace their common roots back across millennia.
I am less conflicted about religious Judaism versus biological Judaism relating to race and ethnic identity. Both seem to me equally kosher. We are a family that embraced a religion which happened to sustain us when we were disconnected in a Diaspora. The religion and cultural tradition remind us we are still of the same family, but we are nevertheless bound by DNA regardless.
Having a grounding in the religion but not necessarily its practice does help us define that common cultural identity in a more compelling way than simply understanding it through a DNA test. A cultural tradition exists as well through language and forced living together in ghettos through the centuries that had its roots in shared religious practice and language, but is separate from it, (klezmer, Yiddish theater, etc.).
Whether more or less religiously or biologically Jewish through intermarriage we remain Jewish and define as individuals what that means to us. What's causing shpilkes is how we define it as a community. But we've always been a variety of separate communities. Didn't we evolve from 12 tribes in the first place? Even as an ancient kingdom we split. And yet through almost six millennia we remain connected...
As a matrilineal Jewish atheist who wants nothing to do with religion, organized or otherwise, I find these quests to define one’s self as Jewish irksome. They remind me that while I do not identify myself with a religion, I am still Jewish and have most of the traits usually associated with Jewishness, i.e. self-deprecating humor, bookishness, a large nose and a love of lox and bagels. I also have blond hair, blue eyes and a love of risky sports. I wasn’t born in a Jewish state, nor have I been in a temple since my bar mitzvah, but I am Jewish. From the inside of my Jewishness looking out I see a world where us Jews are still seen has having horns with the perennial potential to be scapegoated on a large scale. Looking in from the outside, I see a people perpetually struggling to figure out whether Jewish is a religion, a race, an ethnic group, a nationality or all of the above. Looking at Israel from this perspective, I see a country with the potential to become a theocracy akin to Iran and that disturbs me. Israel represents an attempt to give Jews a nationality, but it has failed at that. For now, regardless of how these reviewed books intellectualize the concept, one can’t escape one’s Jewishness any more than one can escape being Italian, or even Christian, but the future, still a fairly distant one, will belong to those who identify themselves as human and one’s ancestry will be less than irrelevant.
4
Raised Christian, I always wanted to be Jewish. Even as a child, I preferred the study of Torah or old testament readings and stories. As a musician I began singing in a reform congregation's professional choir in the 80's. I loved the reform choral music and the "operatic" cantorial phrases intersperced throughout the well composed music of Bloch, Sharlin, Fromm, some Lewandowski and many others. I converted, was batmizvah'd and sang as a cantorial soloist for 20 years. Then a lot of poorly composed music by "composers" who were composing music that didn't sound Jewish, because they ignored the modes in which chants and cantorial/choral compositions were based became popular amongst the camp set. Synagogues who have completely lost their musical traditions have added guitars, and jazzy musical interpretations of songs and hymns. Done well it is serviceable but inspiring? No. Classical reform music sung operatically by undertrained voices is also not good. A combination of well trained musicians and cantors who practice regularly, continue vocal study, and can straddle several musical styles are the best bet for the long run. Lastly, Rabbi's who haven't mastered an instrument or voice should not be the final word on music sung in any synagogue.
2
We are not going away any time soon. We will do what we always have. Divide, retrench, move and start over.
Thank you for this interesting essay prompted by several newish books. I was brought up in a reform environment coupled with strong principles of social justice from my parents and others. Over decades as an adult I have drifted away from all but a few rituals on certain holidays because of Israel and its inability to change policies re the occupation. The situation is intolerable. I don’t feel the least bit special or chosen. I feel privileged in America and want the Jewish community to stop making an exception for Israel as though we’d all stop breathing if we dared to actively oppose its policies. Bravo to those Jews who do. Join them.
4
My jewish ancestors came from a Baltic port to England in the 19th Century. They were successful merchants in Riga but were attracted to the most advanced country in Europe and they were successful there too. But they converted from Judaism to Christianity. Why?
The answer is I do not know but the more interesting question for me is whether I would do the same in the early 21st Century, or put the other way round would I revert to Judaism?
The answer is no and for two reasons:
1. A Jew is never safe and never can be.
2. The religious experience as practiced and to the extent practiced by my jewish friends and their extended communities is difficult of access, anachronistic and spiritually barren.
Now religion, of all faiths, has been on the retreat in America since 1950 and that retreat is seemingly accelerating. Can this be reversed? Possibly but for Judaism I fear it is too late.
As a Jew I affirm my beloved family’s cultural background and the grandness bequeathed to me. As an atheist I accept social democracy as my spiritual guide. I’m not troubled by contradictions.
5
As one who is very familiar with the Jewish community in America and Israel, one thing that is clear to me is that ultra-Orthodox Judaism is causing Jewish assimilation and alienation from Jews. If we need to talk about something, this is the issue of religion and religion. Everyone understands that the center of the problem is one who thinks religion is only For those who behave like they do in the Orthodox education system after they are away from them, they complain about assimilation. I think that this is not a religion but an elite of whites that decided to rule over religion
7
We Jews have a long history with both rich scriptures, that is, subject to varying interpretations, and rich encounters with other cultures. Abraham started outside the supposedly Promised Land, and most of our history has transpired outside it. “Meaning”? put this term in the plural, and you’ll realize that we’ve plenty of meanings. And we will, as long as we don’t all toe the same line. No need to, in these United States -- so far?
1
Well, I think when serious, overt anti-semitism emerges in America, all these questions will be moved to the background. Ludwig Wittgenstein's family found that two generations of conversion and assimilation and achievement didn't do them much good in late '30s Austria.
A college friend, raised Conservative, was filling out the Hillel form one year. When asked how he defined a Jew, he wrote that, for him, the definition was by other people -- this, in the first generation that grew up after WW2.
Of course. I'm sure that African American folks have similar thoughts. "One drop....".
1
@Jack Walsh Conditions and culture here are entirely different. It won't happen.
This article touches on a larger problem that all diverse, multi-ethnic, and faith-neutral societies like the U.S. face today: by accepting everything, we ultimately stand for nothing. By welcoming all peoples and beliefs, we lose a definable identity. I've been following this slow society-wide realization for years. Rod Deher's book "The Benedict Option" was focused on Catholics loss of shared faith and community. This article focuses on the issue amongst Jews. The fact is that group identity is only strengthened by adversity and external threats (e.g. Roman persecution of the early Christians, the Holocaust) and weakened by acceptance. I've heard many a gay man lament the loss of community that has accompanied the spread of gay marriage and other equal rights. In life, a gain is always met with a trade off. Progress in one area always comes with some cost, even if not realized immediately. Maybe one day we'll figure out how to maintain shared ideas, culture, and community amongst groups of people without the threats of war, discrimination, or persecution, but not as of yet.
2
@JD : In theory, the notion of "identity" is empty: it just means staying the same. In practice, we're all different, with history grouping us in various traditions: the Jews are a good example because, though a small minority worldwide, they differ considerably among themselves -- fortunately! Bias of one group toward another may strengthen some hollow sense of identity. But mutual understanding enriches us all.
1
A reviewer is supposed to review - not write an essay on personal attitude, then say, oh yeh, some authors have recently offered theirs ...
First and foremost, as the last great Jewish storyteller, essayist and writer to fall to old age, Harlan Ellison* wrote in a book of essays on television:
“Everyone is entitled to an opinion?
“WRONG, everyone is entitled to an INFORMED opinion.”#
Where does any reviewer claiming expertise on Jewish history in the US get the idea ‘there has never been a hint of pogrom”? Because they were less-frequently lynched than blacks? The US had no objection, pre-Pearl Harbor, to Nazi Party members dressed in full army uniforms marching down America’s main streets, but refused to accept Jewish refugees of ha-Shoah.
They were denounced as Anarchists, Communists, and, worst of all, Jews, who would pollute the US Christian bodily essence.
Jews made up a very large percentage of those chosen for persecution by HUAC and McCarthy.
In the year following Donald Trump,’s election, anti-Semitic acts climbed 57%, and continue to climb as Trump declares himself a “Nationalist.” Anti-Semitism, like other forms of blind hatred, is acceptable again.
Just a few examples ...
*Ellison, a cross between Mark Twain and Jorge Luis Borges, wrote or when he died this year due to the Book Review’s refusal to touch anyone ghettoized as a “ScienceFiction writer” except in occasional columns writ by those who also know nothing of their subject.
#”Harlan Ellison’s Watching”
7
the perception of Jewishness or what is imagined Jewishness ought to be ,doesn’t imply any congruence towards being Jewish by heart and soul...
NOT ALIVE HERE
I am the Jewess lost
And forever fear
I always will be.
The cost:
Jewishness can never be near
And I will forever feel lonely.
Against Orthodoxy my mother fought
Against Judaism my father jeered
And I will forever feel lonely.
In shame the Christmas garlands were sought
In calm the Christmas stockings were dear
And I will forever feel lonely.
No one rare light with a Hanukkah song ever bought
A note of Judaism to my ear
And I will forever feel lonely.
4
religious fundamentalism is religious fundamentalism. it will always capture the extremists and lose everyone else
4
So. A young Methodist, raised in the bible belt, right at the buckle in Indiana, goes to college. Picks up existentialism and throws out that mishmash of ideas called Protestantism. Later, he decides to recheck his heart and in a move more out of desperation than conviction, attends seminary, and ends up a Presbyterian minister for about 15 years, never in a parish, always working on social justice issues. Finally his thinking takes him out of the Christian ministry to part time work in the Unitarian-Univeralist Association. Thin gruel, this even more mish-mashy approach to the religious journey. So, out.
Now moved to Colorado, no religious identity, he and his wife, who converted to Judaism in her 30's, find a small synagogue, Beth Evergreen.
It's a Reconstructionist congregation, an odd term, unfamiliar. Apparently to the writer of this article, too.
It has two hundred or so families, not small, not large. Beth Evergreen encourages learning Hebrew, practicing the sabbath, studying the Torah, and teaching its children what it means to be part of Jewish civilization as well as the Jewish religious tradition.
But. It also teaches kabbalah, mussar (an approach to character building), astrology.
More important, it believes and practices this dictum by its founder Mordecai Kaplan, "The past gets a vote, but not a veto."
I'm not a member of the tribe, don't intend to become one. But I am a member of this vibrant, thoughtful community. Give Reconstruction a chance.
1
You think you got problems!
I mean that in a togetherness sort of way, as in me too. I remember asking my mother what religion we were. You see, we went to church rarely but I always did well in Bible study in church with the other kids my age because I guess I was the only one to have watched two key Charlton Heston movies: The Ten Commandments and Ben Hur. When I received a 12 inch ruler with "The Golden Rule" embossed on it as a present from our teacher/pastor's assistant, I teared up. I was so proud because I actually believed those words and wanted to live my life by them. It has been so disheartening to discover that so many people on this planet are not, especially in today's political train wreck.
Anyway, my mother from the drivers seat said we were "Epi-Protestant". Actually she just said protestant, but I heard an 'E" at the beginning. When I joined the U.S. Army they gave me a list of options to put on my dog tags. I knew I wasn't agnostic or atheist. My family had a Jewish component. I went to my cousin's wedding and had the most fun ever! Maybe I was a Jew? My other cousin is Mormon. I didn't get to go to her wedding, but I was at the reception. Was I Mormon? My grandmother on my mother's side was a Christian Scientist. She was a great woman. Very feisty! I looked at the list of possibilities and saw one with and E in front of it: Episcopal. That's what got printed on my dog tags, only problem was I'd never been in an Episcopal church in my life! Go Army!
2
Mr. Beckerman attends services with the attitude of a spectator who expects entertainment and then offers his ironic critiques and commentary. It seems he does nothing personally to support or build a religious community. Apparently these synagogues are just givens to him. (Perhaps he made a small contribution? Perhaps he just came in as a free rider?) But these religious services are not there for his entertainment, they arise from communities of Jews who did the work of coming together, hiring rabbi and cantor, maintaining a building, and quite often living out in concrete ways the ideals of Jewish religion, such as tikkun olam. Although he apparently attended a Jewish renewal service, which he describes as "experimental, post-denominational" Mr. Beckerman seems to be utterly ignorant of the background of such a service or the currents in contemporary American Jewish thought, including Jewish renewal, which has been around for nearly fifty years now. Perhaps he ought to educate himself before he attempts to educate others about American Judaism.
1
Don't we have to admit that the days of dogmatic religion based in texts thousands of years old is over. Nothing we can do nor how many contortions we twist ourselves into and innumerous permutations we adjust ourselves to will make a difference. It's not just Jews, but Christians of all denominations that are experiencing empty places of worship.
As a Jew who was brought up traditionally I find whenever I've attempted to embrace the religion of my birth, I feel like an imposter. So I accept being untethered to any one community and think of myself as just a citizen of the planet earth. But yes, I still get hankerings for gefilte fish, brisket and matzoh ball soup. That's grand, but it just is not enough to make me want to go to a synagogue.
3
@LorneB
Get thee to an Orthodox Jewish seminary.
Jewish law is not dogma.
But all Orthodox Jews keep all the laws; the Sabbath, eating kosher, help the poor, visit the sick, etc.
All of Orthodoxy agree there are variations within the law—but not violations of The Law.
All man-made manifestations of change not following the guidelines of almost 4,000 years of authentic Judaism is not Judaism.
Would that these people were truly Jews by tracing their origins in Kingdom of UR/North Africa rather than converts to the religion.
This is just like white men from Europe killing off the native Americans and now call themselves Americans. The Truth shall make you free.
1
Affiliate, Mr. Beckerman. Rather than being a once-a-year Jew or attending an odd amalgam of ritual, find a synagogue (I would recommend a Conservative one) and join it. Try attending its Shabbat family services with your family. Go to a Chanukah event there, and feel part of a community as it celebrates that holiday. Send your daughters to its Hebrew school - or, if they are very young, to its preschool. Get dressed up and go to the Purim megilllah reading. If there is a communal Seder, go to it. Attend and enjoy the services on Shavuot - especially the night-time study of the Torah. Try changing your family's weekly schedule by setting aside time for experiencing Shabbat - whether by attending services, joining other families for a Friday night dinner or observing rest on Saturday afternoon. All of these richly satisfying aspects of synagogue could enhance your enjoyment of Judaism. And, by all means, tell others about them.
Who knows where that could lead?
5
Emotionally I desperately want the historical Jewish civilization to survive. Rationally I cannot see a reason why it should. Neither Torah nor Tanach is credible although in some parts are great literature and other parts a source of history not found elsewhere. The best that I can come up with is that it makes part of a subgroup of a much larger group, the human race, in which I am more welcome.
1
As someone not born or raised as a Jew, this was an interesting and insightful read. I'm drawn to the reform rabbis social gospel of justice and righteousness, but I also greatly admire the cultural, symbolic and spiritual aspects of all Judaism and find a certain comfort and companionship in them, so I adapt, and at times, allow myself to "be" Jewish.
I’ve often pondered the question myself – is being a Jew purely a religious thing or a racial/ethnic thing? I’ve come to believe it is more (but not exclusively) racial. Originally, antipathy against Jews was a reaction to Jews rejecting Jesus as the Messiah (Savior) –religious hatred. Fast forward to early 19th century Lutheran Germany where missions to the Jews to convert to Christianity was the path to salvation and throwing off the curse of being Jewish. However, by late 19th century Germany, the issue had become a question of race. Hitler’s hatred of the Jews was not religious - it was racial. To be accepted into the SS required a “clean” Jew-free family tree going back to the 18th century. The Pittsburgh killer’s attack was not because of their faith but because of their “race”. He ascribed all evils to the Jew like millions before him – the cause of the Black Plague, the cause of Germany’s defeat in WW1 (after, of course, starting it), controlling world finances (although only a tiny percentage of Jews are in decision making positions in banks world-wide) and so on. Even according to Jews, a person of mixed parentage and who identifies as a Jew isn’t “pure” Jewish until they undergo a conversion to eliminate any doubt.
Your problem, like mine, is that Judaism is the only religion that does not require one to believe in the One God, just to worship no others, but.
And Jewish agnostics have not opened ‘shules’ lit. schools, for discussion, debate and social connection, the function served by the typical Synagogue these days.
Where can I, a Secular Jew who cannot easily accept even the concept of a Deity, go, when the schools and social societies are closed to me, and the synagogues are open for the performance of rituals most non-Orthodox attendees don’t understand, and the Orthodoxy is no longer even Orthodox, but accepting of the Chassidim, more mad mystics.
Just as an example, the wearing of black by so many Orthodox men, because it was stylish when their great-to-the-nth grandparents were forced out of Europe?
Or the adoption of Christian attitudes about sex - I don’t know how many Orthodox women I know who won’t let me shake their hands, let alone give them a non-sexual hug, because of Medieval rejection of Scripture containing The Song of Songs, a passionate call to make love to (ok your hetro) lover for the pleasure of it!
The Orthodox, like Christians, teach it’s a parable about loving a Deity, “whose breasts move like twin (female antelopes, an image lost in a place without them- think leaping deer).
How about “Beit (house )The Legends of the Parents, and the Just World They Envision”?
As an Orthodox rabbi I must take extreme umbrage at the review by Gal Beckerman in the Book Review 11/18/2018 "American Jews Face a Choice: Create Meaning or Fade Away". By ignoring it as a viable option, he utterly disrespects Orthodoxy. He further then manages to take a few cheap swipes at us like this comment describing an, "Orthodox establishment that narrowly defines Judaism (its leaders regularly denigrate Reform Jews, with one recently calling them “a group of clowns who stab the Holy Torah”) "
Now it may be true that from Beckerman's point of view, Orthodoxy requires too much of a commitment in ritual and practice for the average American Jew. And it may be the case the strict tribalism of the rabbis seems to many to be racist. It may also be the case that many of today's Jews are turned off by how Orthodoxy treats women by segregating them in synagogues and yeshivas and by denying them equal participation in synagogue rituals and by restricting their divorce rights.
But none of this gives Beckerman the right to ignore that Orthodoxy is a vibrant form of Judaism in our culture and that it authentically represents millennia of Jewish practice and belief, and that it is the best source for the "meaning" that Beckerman seeks.
3
The Orthodox are Orthodox Medieval/Renaissance Christianified Jews. Take off your black hats, allow your wives equality, and to show their hair. Reject myths of Hansen’s Disease?
Today’s Orthodox don’t know the difference between Messiah (the people’s chosen religious/political/military leader) and He who Announces the End of the World as We Know It!
1
@Tzvee
"Orthodoxy treats women by segregating them in synagogues and yeshivas…"
We know only too well the dangers of mixing men and women in many aspects of life—they have their own sphere of influence; "The hands that rock the cradle rules the world."
It has been said that God gave women the travail of raising children—because he does not trust the men to do the job right!
The #MeToo women know only too well the hazards of intermingling of the sexes in business as well as other areas of life.
Orthodox Jews are forbidden to touch a woman even when he is seeking a wife!
God's Laws have preserved those who follow His Laws are still here after almost 4,000 years. Arnold Toynbee, the anti-Semitic historian finally admitted that Jews are not an "antiquated relic."
More, the Orthodox Jews are to be "a light unto the world" by their moral example so that all humanity may keep their real moral humanity.
The word "Jew" stems from the Hebrew Yehuda or Judah, adapted to Judea by the Greeks and Roman in their conquest of Israel. Perhaps Jews feel an affinity for an ancient homeland and its Torah, still the ethical basis of modern Western liberal democracies.
2
The Torah is only a part of Holy Scripture and commentary on same, which the Orthodox refuse to allow NEW thoughts upon.
And the combination of the writings of Sources J and E, the Deutoronomists and the late inclusion of that cursed Sadducidic polemic rewrite, Source P, as anti- freedom as one can get destroyed any trace of a Deific guide to life, nor does it have anything to do with Western thought or government.
@Eatoin Shrdlu
"…Orthodox refuse to allow NEW thoughts upon."?
Based on the Torah the Jews discovered and debated that electricity has the same laws as fire that can not be kindled on the Sabbath.
Did you know that religious Jews won a number of Nobel Prizes for their new ideas?
Just this week a religious Israeli Orthodox Jew is opening a factory (WaterGen) in South Carolina hiring 400 Americans to build his new invention—the size of a water cooler and one the size of a double refrigerator—that extracts pure water from the air? (See the TV interview on Fox's "Countdown to the Closing Bell with Liz Claman)
How's that for helping humanity obtain pure water anywhere in the world?
How's that for an Orthodox Jew's "NEW thoughts"?
Towards the end of the article, the author visits a Reform Temple for High Holiday services, and later participates in a "drum-circle" Neo-hassidic service. The first, I suppose, provide a sense of tradition and authenticity as symbolised by the institution: the second, as sense of sincerity and intimacy. Therein lies the challenge of American Judaism: to provide an intimate and meaningful spiritual and social experience which embodies a connect to deep tradition. This is why Carlebach minyans are often so successful, as are havurot. Large, cold, formalised institutional Judaism run by professional Jews and administrators doesn't demand the kind of spiritual and social ownership that is the lifeblood of a Jewish community. I am an observant Jew living in Israel, a Zionist, but I believe Birthright money would be better spent facilitating the growth of intimate, meaningful, and authentic (however defined) Jewish life in America.
3
I find it curious that observance of traditional Jewish religious practices and beliefs that have sustained us as a unique people for thousands of years is hardly given a thought in this article. Looking at the robust growth and development of the community of Jews who follow these practices it seems like the answer is not hard to find.
3
I am glad Gal Beckerman wrote this carefully provocative summary of the current state of Jewishness in America, raising a more global concern about Jewish life among societies free to choose religious systems and practices. As a liberal, ritually-connected Jew, I am concerned about the matters Ms. Beckerman wrote about and hope that we are applying our best selves to understanding them more deeply. New ways of experiencing Judaism are perhaps more authentic than stale or overly-precious orthodox conventions that limit our ability to stretch, renew and vitalize our unique Jewish wisdom in God’s always-growing world.
2
@Dale Schatz
Obviously many commentators here have not have any connection at all with Orthodox Jews.
Dorothy Rabinowitz WSJ TV Review on National Geographics documentary "Only for God: Inside Hasidism:"
"A documentary that addresses this subject without condescension, … is a rarity. To have grasped the fundamentals of the Jewish lives under scrutiny here without any hint of that estranged tone now common in reporting on the profoundly religious is rarer still.
"For a people who have chosen to live apart from the secular world as much as possible, they have a lot to say to that world, and they say it with zest.
"The creators of that documentary had no grudge, or anti-Semitic ax to grind and—more important—let the Jews convey the truth and happiness that comes with a commitment to keep God's Laws."
One of the reasons Judaism in America is in danger of losing its meaning and significance for those who count among the tribe is that women are being taken for granted and Jewish women's voices are being silenced or ignored. Every year The Forward publishes its list of how Jewish philanthropies grossly underpay Jewish women. (Discrimination we find reprehensible in the public sphere is actively practiced in the private sphere!) And look at this book review on Judaism! Gal Beckman, don't you dare tell us you couldn't find any books on the current state of Judaism written by Jewish women. In the Harvey Weinstein era Jewish women note that men who should have noticed, cared and defended have done nothing but averted their eyes and pretended not to notice. Judaism will lose its women and everything else if Jewish men don't wake up. Wake up, Gal!
9
Jews should keep voting Republican because that’s working out so well, for Israel.
4
In the weeks after the Pittsburgh shooting, many American Jews, myself included, started thinking more about our identities in a world into which we are both assimilated and not, and asking some of the same questions these authors (and this book review) ask. But half of those American Jews have been excluded from the conversation in this review: WOMEN. I appreciate the varied perspectives these authors offer, but was it really so difficult to find a text, or an essay, even, by a Jewish American woman on this particular issue?
12
I attended the nearest temple last week for services and to remember the 11, my first temple experience in almost 20 years. To my great and very pleased surprise, the entire service was officiated by women. The service was a relaxed Conservative (with piano...), the Chazin balanced her toddler on her hip the whole time, the children participated fully, including one recent Bar Mitzvah reading a part of the Torah and a wonderful play about Ruth that had been well-rehearsed (8 of the kids) and a Kaddish observed for the recently-murdered 11.
Just to let you know that in at least one place (Northern Indiana) women are cherished.
BUT..... How you could fail to note the effect of Israel's shameful and barbaric treatment of the Palestinians on Jews around the world is beyond me. I can't talk to anyone, including fellow Jews, without disavowing and apologizing - even condemning - the behavior of the Israelis. Yes, I know they are beleaguered and must fight for their existence. I can read a map as well as anyone and can see what they are surrounded with, but - since 1948 - I've had pride in the intelligence, inventiveness, and humanity of the Jewish people in being able to find a way to behave with efficiency and thoughtfulness in the face of adversity. As a people, we have prided ourselves with our intelligence and cleverness.
Of all people on the face of the earth, we should know what happens when a community is brutalized. "We Shall Never Forget" works 2 ways!
5
So basically only men write books? (I mean Leora Batnitzky wrote "How Judaism Became a Religion" in 2013 but whatever.)
5
As an orthodox Roman Catholic, and therefore a Noahide and Gentile, it is permissible for me to study Moshiach with Jews. I totally believe in Moshiach and am a big fan of the Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachim Schneerson, whom I consider to be a patron saint, and of Chabad. Guys, you gotta stop worrying and think about Who chose you and why. Don't give up and get all hand-wringy. If you give up expecting Moshiach, you've given up, G-d forbid. Yes, supporting the ACLU and justice IS an aspect of Moshiach, but it's pretty small potatoes compared to the resurrection of the dead!!!!!
1
I am a Reform Jew. My wife is of Swedish decent and converted before the birth of our first child. My Jewishness and knowledge of Jewish thought is at best elementary. I grew up identifying Never Again and Isreal as the only two defining markers of my commitment to the practice of Judaism. I have witnessed first hand the insanity of stubborn and wrongheaded arrogance that enables hypocrisy of the most insidious kind. The Kind that embraces Saudi terror that supports Trump that supports the Sheldon Addleson brand of settler led anti Iranian fervor while others have engineered financial schemes so cliche they come out of the worst traditions of evil depictions behind much of the past several thousand years. It’s betrayal on a level unimaginable by me and yet we as justice minded, sacred law abiding light onto the world progressive Jews are oriented recognize actions have terrible consequences. Who will restore sanity? This is not a passive question.
7
I am an agnostic raised in the Christian faith, so take that as a caveat.
Maybe Jewish people in America should consider recruiting- reaching out to the non-Jewish people about adopting and joining an ancient faith, culture and tradition. By encouraging converts, you will grow your numbers and people commonly willing to convert faith will by nature be energetic & motivated to take a deep dive into the traditions, teachings and service of the faith.
Are there many in our nation and world who would be willing to convert to the Jewish faith? Maybe, there are well over 300 million of us. Will the existing community of Jews accept them- that is an interesting question only Jewish people can answer. Is there an attractiveness to what Jewish people believe and stand for? I would say yes that it has the potential for many people.
Maybe the Jewish way to save the world is by making the Gentile one of the family.
5
As I understand conversion, apparently for a couple of millennia, the RCC and presumptively
Martin Luther's work generally didn't accept
a two way missionary principle.
Originally though, according to what little I've
read(!), competition did take place, and the
consequence is anti-Semitism in part.
The Chabad group does apparently encourage
conversion, and it's got guts to do such.
For the same reasoning as you, I suggest Reconstructive Judaism, Ethical Culture, and the Unitarians too.
3
...and the Quakers, if I may add.
2
@David Gregory
Although Orthodox Jews—by Jewish Law—never proselytize, gentiles are more than welcome to the fold and keep 613 laws, they don't have to do so to earn their place in world to come all they need to do is simply keep The Seven Noahide Laws.
As far as pluralism; How do you explain Orthodox Jews who range from those with knitted yarmulkas and jeans to the long-bearded men in frockcoats?
It includes the greatest converts like Ruth the Moabite, the mother of king David from whom the Messiah would come from.
The Rabbi Simhi, the grandson of Haman, who almost wiped out all the Jews in the world (during the Persian Empire),
Onkelos who was a Roman (nephew of the Roman Titus who destroyed the Temple of Solomon), etc.
What counts is that all agree that the goal for all mankind is to serve God. Otherwise they or they're children will be disappointed when they are not accepted by all denominations of Judaism. Only Orthodox conversion is accepted by all branches of Judaism.
The authors views of "opening up Judaism" is ludicrous and against all the values jews stand for. If one is really seeking an answer to the questions posed in this article, such as "what should Judaism do to sustain it's future?" Should look into the "19 letters" by Rabbi Samson R. Hirsch. Rabbi Hirsch lived during the original reform movement in Germany during the nineteenth century. His book the "19 letters" directly address all the issius with "reforming" Judaism and how to move forward in the future. His work has been translated from German to English and is written in a very clear and interesting format of letters between himself and a fellow jew who is struggling with his faith.
3
@Eliyahu Weiser
The brilliant Rabbi Samson Raphael Hirsch, who ideologically fought aginst the early Reform German Jews throughout the 1800s, stated that "the chasm separating Reform from Orthodoxy is wider, in theological terms, than that existing between Protestantism and Catholicism."
"Orthodoxy indeed regards both Scripture and the Oral Law that explicates it as Divinely-ordained and, hence, immutable and eternally binding, while the Reform ideal of religious autonomy gives license to every Jew, in the words of Union of American Hebrew Congregations (UAHC) president Rabbi Eric Yoffie, to "pick and choose which mitzvoth (commandments) to observe and which not to observe."
They have assimilated into the non-Jewish world and the 85% of unlearned American Jews who know little, if anything about their own people.
British Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks observes, "precisely the liberal forms of Judaism that come closest . . . to the Protestant fundamentalist model…Having rejected the Orthodox view that the Written Law and its accompanying exegetical tradition have formed a seamless whole since their contemporaneous inception at Sinai, the Reform movement has no choice but to read the Jewish Bible in the same unmediated manner that a Deep South Christian preacher might."
Judaism brings beauty into our world.
12
How do Jews "create meaning?"
The essence and meaning of Jewish life is rooted in a simple concept called Tikkun Olam, repair the world.
Where we as individuals contribute to other people's life by making progress.
Repair the world through social justice and activism is one way to get involved to make meaningful difference.
The diversity in different type of Jewish organizations is essential to our existence so we each can continue practicing freely the right to participate in repairing the world around us.
It is essential to remain affiliated with any Jewish organization to preserve our rights to contribute to society and our communities.
In short, Jews create meaning by continuously contributing to society by repairing the world around them. And it does not matter of ones stream of Judaism, as long as we affiliated with one to preserve our rights to practices our life freely.
11
At some point in the far distant future, people will find meaning in who they are as individual human beings, rather than as genders, races, religions or ethnic groups. More importantly, they will accept and value others as individuals, or as Martin Luther King Jr. said it, the content of their character.
John Lennon asked us to imagine a world without countries, possessions, or religions. I won't see this in my lifetime, but I believe this is the only hope for the survival of humans, and for the planet as a whole.
6
Great article however, the thoughts of the author and the books that are cited are totally irrelevant due to current demographic trends. While Orthodoxy is currently about 10% of US Jews, Orthodoxy has about 40% of US Jewish Children (according to Pew). Orthodoxy has 4+ children on average per family with a very low intermarriage rate. Non-Orthodox has less than 2 children per family with 70% intermarriage rate. The other denominations and secular , Agnostic etc are finished. Many of us are involved in outreach especially with Chabad. We are saving some of the Jews. Unfortunately there are no future generatoins for those that don't get involved in Torah and Mitzvos.
3
It's always depressing to read Jews trying to write about Jewishness in the Times ... a bit like asking the grandchild of physics professors to attend a physics convention. "There were all these symbols, but I couldn't decipher them! I remember seeing similar things on my grandfather's desk..."
If you want to be a physicist, you need to study physics. Being descended from physicists won't help you. If you want to be a Jew and have access to the wealth of spirituality and unique culture Judaism offers, you have to study Judaism. Yes, it's a high bar to entry. Yes, it takes time, it takes commitment. It doesn't come naturally. But COME ON. You've learned a profession. You commit to the other things that matter to you. You've simply chosen not to commit to this.
In what other area of your life do you expect that you can drift along, put in zero effort, and still have a quality experience? None of the things in this article will save American Judaism because none of them make any real demands. A culture is carried forward by the people who give it their passionate and sustained attention. You put nothing in, you get nothing out.
We miss you, Jews of the Times. We're waiting for you. We need you. We don't want your money or your attendance at services once a year. We just want you.
31
... country that has never seen even a hint of a pogrom. well there was Leo Franks...
5
"By way of getting American Jews to return to this “active struggle between Particularism and Universalism,” Keinan offers a few ideas, like giving every Jew in the world a vote for the Israeli presidency, which would turn a largely symbolic post into one with the authority to settle all matters of Jewish identity (like who is eligible for citizenship in Israel — a power now in the hands of the prohibitive Orthodox rabbinate). "
This is hilariously question-begging. Every Jew in the world gets to vote? So pray tell, who gets to vote?
And that is in order to have a say in how the Israeli Law of Return answers the question, "Who is a Jew?" So then it's turtles all the way down?
4
Judaism is not a religion, but a family with built-in religious practices where deeds count more than faith. These religious practices kept the spread out Jewish family together for millenia. Reform movement is barely 200 years old and it is the product of intellectual German Jewish rabbis; it was lucky not to be erased by Holocaust and instead kept flourishing in the fertile soil of America.
Believe it or not (a slight pun intended), only the Orthodox Judaism can keep the family together with its 3000 year old rules and Talmudic wisdom while Reform and other non-Orthodox denominations can serve best as "Light Unto Nations".
Ironically, Orthodox Judaism includes secular, agnostic, atheist, Buddhist and other non-believing Jews but not any movement which has alternative practices for prayers of Shabbat, Holidays and weekdays. We see this very clearly in the case of the state of Israel where so many Jewish backgrounds of Jews are brought (but not necessarily melted) together.
4
The problem is the lack of respect for Judaism and the history of the Jewish people by non-Jewish spouses and partners, who inevitably pull their families away from Judaism by not converting. It is an ongoing shame, and too many Jews do not insist that they convert. We play into our own destruction. The half-Jews I have met are conflicted, and harmed in their soul by belonging yet not belonging. To be raised as both Catholic and Jewish is to instill insanity. The Jewish people have no choice but to accept the children of Jewish fathers as fully Jewish. The absurd claim by the Orthodox that it has to be the mother because the mother is the spiritual center of every family is a false dream. The Orthodox cannot make decisions for the entire tribe, nor the Rabbis. We should have democratic voting.
4
@Grittenhouse
The rabbis in the Talmud always had a vote—and the majority ruled.
But they had to be one of their peers who had mastered the breadth and depth of learning.
Imagine a brain surgeon discussing what type of surgery on a diseased brain with laymen.
If you haven't studiously learned the Bible, Prophets, and the Talmud—with the myriad of commentaries on each—you can't be included in the vote.
Thoughtful. The conclusions apply to almost any religion. The world is melding together...the exclusivity, insularism, nepotism, etc. of religion is becoming a hard sell.
3
Here is my small comment from my adopted homeland. I grew up in a completely secular Jewish family in New Jersey with a Jewish Atheist and a Jewish agnostic for parents. My siblings (living in the US) and I are variously agnostic, atheistic or secular today. But I alone love my identity as a Jew living amongst a majority of Jews in Israel, which is a wonderful place to be a Jew no matter one's level of observance (where I live it is highly heterogeneous).
"Thornbush" may be a great one word description of how Israel is viewed by Western Jews who choose not to live here or even visit and get educated. But as an American-Israeli taxpayer and voter, I want you to know that Israel is very diverse, open and accepting and much more complex than New York Times articles and editorials can portray.
Thanks to everyone for the thought provoking essay and comments.
25
My grandfather was Orthodox - because that was how he was brought up. But he did not believe the Orthodox cool aid. In Europe, he worked as a (Hebrew/talmud) tutor for rich men's children, but regularly lost his job when they learned that he was (perish the thought) a Zionist.
He came to the US and pulled my father out of a cheder when the rabbi beat him for some infraction or another. Instead, he enrolled my father in the Downtown Talmud Torah, a nominally Orthodox after school program that was actually a liberal, American, academic school of Judaism.
My father, together with some friends including David Ben Gurion and Golda Meir, went on to establish a Jewish state in Palestine. He enrolled me in a Conservative after school Hebrew school where we were taught that it was important to learn the prayers and ceremonies because our people had kept them for thousands of years -- not to perform empty ceremonies, but to remember who we were. But we were also taught that Jews were to be a "light unto the nations."
I don't think that it matters one whit if there is or is not a God. Either way, the teachings of Judaism are right and sound. We provide a moral compass for the world and as such it is important that Judaism survives. It has survived, and I believe it will survive.
Come the messiah, our worries will go away, but until then, "God's work must truly be our own."
23
"At this rate, American Jews are two or three generations away from being as Jewish as Irish people whose Irishness consists of drinking green beer on St. Patrick’s Day."
Isn't this also a good thing? We aren't either Israel or Ireland. We are America.
13
@Roget T Community is important. Individuals prosper more when they belong to a community. America is a happier place when its citizens organize themselves into communities small enough to be tight-knit. Of course, too much diversity is a bad think and "cultural mosaic" experiments have, I believe, failed - but communities strengthen societies, and it's difficult to build communities predicated on nothing.
1
I'm in the process of converting to Judaism and my family are members of a Reform shul.
I love the Reform movement in part because of its openness.
Our synagogue is thriving. Some believe in God, some don't. Some attend weekly, some don't. Their religious school is full and there are many opportunities for everyone to learn, grow and serve others.
I think a lot of Reform Jews (as well as other streams) want very much to be Jewish, are proud of their heritage, and just want to find a way to practice Judaism that is rational, relevant and meaningful.
It's very hard for me to believe that American Jews will "fade away" when I see my synagogue on a Friday night or Sunday morning. In fact, I'm positive it won't happen.
27
Welcome to the tribe! I finalized my conversion seven years ago this month. I’m an extremely active member and have served on the board for five years. Our shul is Reform, warm, and inviting.
I’ve attended orthodox and conservative shuls, but absolutely adore my Reform temple.
12
@T SB Encouraging and insightful comment! However, I'm Jewish from birth, and I cannot fathom how someone can claim to be Jewish of any stripe, and not believe in G-d!
5
Oy, it’s not a requirement. Judaism is but one branch on the tree of the Jewish people.
Born to Jewish parents You are Jewish as long as you don’t take on the beliefs of another religion.
4
I was surprised to read that Charleston, South Carolina was the home of the largest Jewish diaspora in the United States early 19th century. Also, the rabbi quote from a generation later, "this city is our Jerusalem, this happy land our Palestine, and as our fathers defended with their lives that temple, that city and that land, so will their sons defend this temple, this city and this land.” Turns out, the next generation of South Carolina Jews made good on the rabbis' hope as the confederate secretary of state was Jewish. He worked throughout the Civil War to defend that city and that land: The heart of American slavery and the leader of secession.
Obviously, reform within American Jewish communities during the ensuing century, and beyond, was successful and critical to building a liberal American jewelry (pun unintended). I have always considered America's Jewish community to be one of the leaders of our nation's civil rights movement. Thank you for that.
7
The data from Pew surveys and elsewhere are clear: in the Judeo-Christian world, the center is shrinking and the extremes are barely holding their own. on one side, atheists, agnostics, etc. are flourishing; on the other are the evangelical, born-again Christians. The former see religion for what it is: myths with some moral teachings thrown in and usually ignored. The latter believe that if they "accept Jesus" their souls (?) will live in paradise forever. The center, consisting of Judaism and mainstream Protestantism, offer less; they are an inferior brand, a Sears competing with an Amazon, and are, similarly, downsizing faster and faster.
(Catholicism has become a bit special: advertising a product similar to that of the Evangelicals but badly tainted by the scandals of the people in management. In the US its share of the population remains steady, the result of positive immigration and negative dropping out.)
Focusing on Judaism through this lens of quality of product and quality of marketing shows, clearly and immediately, that it's an inferior product that doesn't get marketed. So much for its future. It remains, more than ever in these days of weakening religion, a tribe. Those born into it are essentially the only new Jews, and more and more are living outside the tribal villages, customs, and neighborhoods. Chasidim and other ultra-orthodox are reproducing at a furious rate, and those sects may well survive for a long time, but the rest are gone.
3
First there's a question: Should a person's religion be a tangential part of him or her (Rotary Club member vs Lions) or one of the most important characteristics of who a person is, and identity marker? Let's suppose it's the latter. In that case it is a serious violation of the basic rights of any human being to force them to practice a religion, to indoctrinate, to require the practice of ritual early in a child's life. Offspring's actions that lead their parents (Jews, Catholics, whatever) to wonder where they have gone wrong, are simply young men and women creating the persons they will become and being responsible for who they are. Humans being fully human.
5
I am descended from German Jews who brought reform to America.My non practicing Jewish mother married an atheist ex-protestant. I'm married to a black woman. Our very mixed family has always had a deep practicing commitment to social justice which I know came from reform Judaism. This is an unmeasurable gift that Judaism has given to the world. We should celebrate as Jewish humanism is more and more widely disseminated through increasingly mixed families. Religious people for some reason cannot seem to understand that spirituality is found in many places, starting with a deep connection to a wider community. What matters is not that one or another organized religion continues, but that values endure. The alternative is the narrow, racist, tribal fundamentalism that is taking over and threatens to destroy Israel.
18
As a white Gentile concerned with his own identity in a changing world, I am stuck by the the success of Jews in converting their prospective non-Jewish spouses to Judaism.
Unlike Christians and Muslims, Jews don’t proselytize. This important detail ensures Jews remain, by choice, a minority. Quality over quantity. Conversion is a time-consuming and requires the converted to subsume his/her identity.
Jews, in my Gentile opinion, are successfully carrying their heritage forward despite the deracinating influences of modernity. Judging by the interesting comments, many Jews heartily agree.
11
I live in Manhattan and see no evidence whatsoever that Judaism of any form or denomination is in any danger of extinction - whether as religious or cultural practice.
Every Friday evening, Saturday, and Jewish holiday, the many synagogues of various denominations in my neighborhood draw large crowds, most in a celebratory mood; those synagogues also attract sizeable groups for mid-week prayer, study, lectures, celebrations, and charitable activities. The calendars of all the other Jewish institutions - museums, JCC, 92nd St. Y, etc. - are packed full of events for all age groups and interests.
The Jewish day schools are expensive - but there are waiting lists to get in. Kosher food markets, deli's and restaurants are thriving.
As for intermarriage: DNA analyses show that many Jewish people living today have mixed ancestry. Obviously, Judaism survived mixed ancestry of centuries ago and no doubt will again. But Judaism itself may need to evolve to embrace those families and their children rather than reject them - as the ultra-orthodox rabbis in Israel are doing - a huge source of the alienation many American Jews feel toward Israel.
20
@doy1
Your sample and/or your observations are badly skewed. Look at the Pew Surveys: the percent of the US population that identifies as Jewish is tiny and diminishing. Facts vs. wishful thinking.
5
@joel bergsman, the percent of the US population that identifies as Jewish has always been tiny. Of course, I'm well aware that NYC and a few other cities are exceptions, with relatively large percentages of Jewish residents.
My point was not about numbers - it's that the Jewish population I observe in my own city is highly engaged and active in their synagogues and other religious, educational, and cultural institutions, and in various forms of Jewish religious observance.
I.e., Jewish identity and communal life is strong and vibrant here - and I understand that's true in other cities and regions around the U.S., including places where Jews are a tiny minority and far less prominent than they are in NY.
One other thing: here in a city in which many people remain single and/or childless or have only one child - a growing trend throughout the developed world - Jewish New Yorkers still prioritize marriage and having children.
6
Try attending a Union for Reform Judaism Biennial where more that 6,000 Jews from across the United States and Canada join together for a true learning experience, Shabbat is observed, there are Rabbi led study sessions, a song fest and sharing of ideas. The music is uplifting, the melodies are new, young students and teenagers attend and share their experiences. No doubt we are communities of Tikkun Olam, but that has not replaced the overall feeling you can get from what just “being Jewish” has to offer, what prayer and study of Torah has to offer! We can never become complacent, we may have to search for a community to find one that fits us like a glove, but don’t give up the search! Don’t deny our traditions! Judiasm is our religion, our history our way of life, even a part of our DNA. It cannot just be tossed aside. Being more spiritual won’t let you down!
3
As the lead character Teyve in the play and movie "Fiddler On The Roof" says,
"Jews keep their balance because they know who they are and what God expects from them."
It is very sad—and tragic—that if most American Jews don't understand the Bible and Talmud through tradition by learning (and practicing) religion through an Orthodox rabbi they understand nothing.
Both Orthodox men and women know.
And it has given the Jews 3,700 years of life.
L'Chaim!
6
I am an American Jew who has lived in Europe and Israel.I see modern American Judaism in two phases,BJ and AJ ( Before And After Jackie Mason).Mason was so successful in describing and mocking Jewish stereotypes that those of his era thought him embarrassing ( but also ' too Jewish) and successive generations went overboard to defy those images.Assimilation,religious tokenism and refuge in alternative paths( like following the teachings of the Dali Lama) are a few of the manifestations of American Jews trying to make sure they were of the AJ variety.When it comes to Israel,a similar dynamic exists,amplified by the more belligerent stance that Country is taking as a result of demographic changes,the power of the Rabbinate in what is a largely secular society and frustration with the "peace process".
The resurfacing of antisemitism should certainly make us pose and reflect.It is unlikely that a more prominent role for the Faith will do much to change current reality.
1
I am the son of a very mildly observant Jewish father and a Catholic father. I became a bar mitzvah at 13 years of age in a Reform congregation. I was taught to sing my haftorah, but not taught what it meant. As I became an adult I rapidly lost connection to Judaism, as religion in my home, in my mind, and in our society seemed almost an afterthought. I retain some sense of being Jewish, a thread of connection to a people and practice that spans time and geography. And yet, that connection is but a thread, a name and reason to attach to my neurotic ways, sense of humor, and philosophical bent. But this isn't Judaism, so I do not call myself a Jew. Out of deference to my own limitations, I identify as an Agnostic, perhaps with Jewish cultural leanings.
I am a product of American society, of a fissile nuclear family, of multiple cross-country moves in pursuit of education, career, and stability. I have no real sense of extended family, no real community in which to take root. I often feel unmoored. Having myself married a non-religious non-Jew, and having just brought our first child into the world, a boy, I wonder how and to what extent I should present to him his connection to Judaism, to a religion and culture to which I feel both a fundamental and yet only tangential connection.
42
@Alex Fox are you asking strangers for advice? Do what feels right for you. When your kid grows up, he'll figure it out on his own.
8
I was raised Catholic as was my wife. As adults we now are agnostic My wife and i brought our only daughter up agnostic. We encouraged her to attend religious ceremonies with her friends and c if anything stuck.....nothing stuck. So we b all agnostics.
5
@Alex Fox Something you consider fundamental deserves your time and attention to figure out exactly what it means to you. As you became an adult, you chose not to use your time and your intelligence to revisit and nurture that connection. You chose to let it go. You can choose to pick it up again. The life you live, the commitments you make, the communities you join -- those are your choices. Vibrant and supportive communities exist because people commit to them. Religions and traditions carry on because people practice them. The freedom to do anything you please, at any time, without reference to any larger group -- it's very freeing -- but it comes with a price. Rootlessness, alienation, confusion, loneliness. Other choices are available.
14
I'm in my early 40's with one child and married to a non-Jew.
I stopped with Judaism in late adolescence. It was a Friday night service, and the English responsive readings that I'd said from memory all those years hit my ears differently, ringing off alarm bells. "Great are the things that God hath done; His wonders are without number. It is he who redeemed us from the might of the tyrants and executed judgment upon all our oppressors."
From that night forward--metaphor or not, name-for-the-unnameable or not-- I couldn't tolerate those and many other attributions to "God." It simply wouldn't fit with my intuitive and empirical experience of life.
I could envision embracing a version of Judaism stripped of all attributions to a higher power (basically explicitly atheistic). Rewrite all of the great "wrestling with God" stories to make them reflect wrestling with aspects of self and other and the mystery of life and certainty of death; and keep all of the beautifully evocative and transcendent tunes.
Heck, I might even like to rabbi that congregation:)
8
@Josh
What you're envisioning sounds a lot like Unitarian Universalism.
@Josh You have just described Humanistic Judaism and I believe there is a Humanistic congregation in Chicago. Mrs. David
1
Up until my generation, for thousands of years, we never had a goy in my family. Even my DNA test confirmed it. However, both my kids married goyim. I am perfectly OK with that. My grandkids are super cute.
5
The best way to dull the impact of intermarriage is to accept intermarried families graciously into shuls and the Jewish community. The Jewish community tried shunning as a way to combat intermarriage and it clearly hasn't worked. Why not try compassion instead? With current methods, even children who are halachically Jewish -- a Jewish mother, but not father -- grow up estranged from their people. Is this the price we are willing to pay?
19
We Jews share large chunks of our DNA, which makes us more of a nation than, say, the English. We are today less a religion than one big sprawling, often contentious family. As for the ritualistic aspect of Judaism, everyone today is more a less a cafeteria Jew. The last three books of Moses, with their elaborate purification rituals (especially affecting women) and fierce sanctions for assorted offenses (severing of limbs, stoning to death), can be hard to reconcile with post-Enlightenment science and ethics. The ultra-Orthodox may frown on adultery, but even they no longer stone offenders to death, though they have been known to heave stones at violators of the Sabbath. All that remains to bind us together are the shared heritage, the ethical core of the religion, and the sense of relatedness despite separation in space and time. That, plus the bagels and lox and pickled herring on Sunday, may suffice for another millennium.
7
@Fidelio
Your comment about the last three books of the Torah suggest grave unfamiliarity with the Talmud. Judaism has always been more concerned with self-control arising from understanding the gravity of our actions than about control by a religious establishment that punishes people who break the laws.
Gal....what you don't realize is that YOU are the Synagogue. When you choose to attend only as an observer, much like someone who has purchased a ticket to a play, you experience a minute portion of the life of a Synagogue, in general, and as a Jew in particular. Being part of a COMMUNITY with such a rich and yes, relevant history is exhilarating and at times RESTORATIVE.
1
There is one thing I forgot to mention in my first post that I think we can all agree on, no matter how we come at this debate.
A Bagel is only a Bagel if it's boiled first, and that's the end of that discussion.
These synthetic bread things that I see on shelves that are labeled as bagels fill me with dread and disgust.
6
Judaism has lasted for 5,779 years. Since the 18th century belief in a transcendent God has plummeted. Many fewer people, especially Jews, hold that belief. What causes people to self-identify as Jews and to associate with other Jews has been anti-Semitism. So long as that sentiment exists and flourished, there will be people who identity as Jews.
4
To use professional sports vernacular, the historic Jews traded their star player, Jesus. I attended an orthodox yeshiva, grade k thru five. I was a total believer of everything taught. And certainly the fear of God, and God's persistent need for adulation (via an uncountable collection of prayers) was ingrained in me. I was also proud to be one of God's Chosen People, this at a time when the Holocaust was in its full fury.
But in the end, a good knowledge of, and belief in, the rules and dogma did not provide a guiding light useful in the secular world. I think Jesus, or constructs of Jesus, was close to that guiding light. I am not drawn to Christianity or Judaism but to the simple message of care and respect for all human beings. As a practitioner I am as frail as many others.
46
@sherm I come at this from a different angle: that of a Christian completely disenchanted with those Evangelicals following Trump. My father, an agnostic, taught me the words and actions of Jesus and the "What Would Jesus Do" mantra has helped me evaluate to some extent where I stand: Trump's behaviour is beyond the pale and 80% of Evangelicals are wrong.
25
@sherm
"Care and respect for all human beings"?
Of course Orthodox Judaism has respect for human beings and even for animals.
Thousands of years before civilization had any comparable laws the Jewish Bible hasd these commandments:
A Jew must feed his animal before he eats.
A Jew cannot beat his animal—ever.
A Jew must let his animal as well rest on the Sabbath.
A Jew cannot cause an animal pain.
A Jew who follows non-Jewish practices has broken the 4,000 year-old-chain connecting him to Abraham and his soul's source.
The end result is that his progeny will become entirely assimilated into the non-Jewish world and become lost forever.
History of those who have left the fold repeats itself again and again.
Most eventually come back to their source.
2
I think the message you are drawn to is enough to guide leading a good life, and more if what is needed now.
3
“It no longer makes sense, Mnookin thinks, to use matrilineal descent, or any descent really, to determine who is a Jew. If you feel yourself to be a Jew, you get to be one.” I couldn’t agree more with the sentiment of this passage. I am a late 20-something year old who comes from multiple generations of Los Angeles Jews, identifies as a Jew, has only ever practiced Judaism, but would NOT in fact be considered a Jew to many because my mother in not a Jew. This is silly, I would absolutely consider going to temple more often and participating more actively in the religion if only I felt like o would be welcome instead of looked at as an outsider were I to be “found out” for my half Jewishness. At the end of the day it doesn’t really matter, I’ll still consider myself a Jew...
138
@Jean-Michel Hoffman: that's nice, and I sympathize, but to be a Jew in reality, you will have to convert.
6
@Jean-Michel Hoffman The Reform movement recognizes you as a Jew. The fact that other denominations use other definitions doesn't need to be your concern unless you want to join them.
14
@Jean-Michel Hoffman
While Judaism does not proselytize, a simple act of sincere study of Jewish Law and a traditional Orthodox Jewish conversion (of 4,000 years) would make you a Jew acceptable by all divisions of Judaism.
Reform or Conservative conversion will not.
2
The writer has overlooked one BIG demographic and that is the rise of orthodoxy. From a disparaged group that was written off to oblivion 40-50 years ago it is the demographic that is growing by virtue to its religious commitment, commitment to Jewish education, and fecundity- large families. Given the pending extinction of reform/conservative Judaism (non replenishing birthrate coupled with intermarriage) or its redefinition into a new religion, America will be home to a proud and vibrant and growing orthodox community.
41
@Raynan
Worshipping at the altar of fecundity is a recipie for failure. Just look at most of the Arab world. Also, who is to assume that those kids borne by orthodox parents obsessed with multiplying will follow the same path. Shalom.
17
@Raynan great point! I add the teshuva revolution has been thoroughly ignored in most articles and commentaries about modern Judaism. Reform and Conservatism is defunct but Orthodox is vivrant not only for the demographic trend but because it offers a real and authentic Jewish perspective
5
@Ned Kelly
God has helped religious Jews in supernatural ways since the foundation of Judaism.
Any nation could have taken the yoke and mantel of setting an example for humanity to follow God's Law but didn't.
The Jews were never a large nation which is what exactly what God wanted.
He wanted a people who would keep all His Law.
Religious Jewish people do.
4
I wonder if Reform Judaism is part of the problem and the solution here. It’s religious services are very streamlined, generally much shorter, and exclude some of the traditions and symbols of the other branches of Judaism. Sadly a 150-year movement to modernize and make Judaism more relevant is only temporary stop for many before they exit organized religion.
36
Adults may choose their level of observance but I always felt that if I didn’t educate my children in our faith then I was choosing for them. They went to Hebrew school, sometimes quite reluctantly. But now as adults, having both married Jews, they send their kids to Hebrew school and go to shul occasionally. Perhaps teenage trip to Israel solidified their identity. Perhaps having grandparents that were survivors ( though they never met them) clicked. Who knows. As adults they have free will and they chose to retain their Jewish identities. I can’t foretell what my grandkids will decide, but at least they are being educated and will make decisions later in life based on knowledge not ignorance.
52
@LSA You did choose for them- you inculcated a Hebrew identity through segregated schooling and trips to the Jewish ethno-state. It isn't wrong in and of itself, but it was hardly the neutral option.
6
What you get from Judaism is directly proportional to what you give--in time, in participation, in engagement and most importantly, in willingness to learn. Most American Jews have only a Sunday school, i.e., child's level of knowledge, about their own religion. In what other arena of adult life would that be considered adequate? The deep intellectual and spiritual well that is a source of sustenance and meaning is there, waiting to quench the thirst of those willing to do more than skim the surface. Showing up once a year for services and expecting more than a superficial experience is unrealistic. Recognizing what you don't know is a good place to start. Now go and study!
73
@Shelley Hebert
I was raised in a Modern Orthodox Jewish family. I attended religious nursery and kindergarten, and Yeshiva from grade school thought high school graduation.
I don't need to :"go and study." I went and studied, attending school from 8:30-4 as a first grader, and studying longer hours in Junior High School and High School by which point my classmates and I were taking over 12 classes a day.
I observed Shabbat every week with my family, and all the Jewish Holidays, following the strict letter of the law. My friends and I walked to each others' homes on Shabbat and Yom Tov.
I did far more than skim the surface. I not find a source of sustenance and meaning as a result.
There is no sustenance for women whose husbands hold them hostage, refusing to grand them a Jewish divorce in order to "Getmail " them,-demanding money, custody or whatever it is that they want to extort in exchange.
Get back to me when the "Agunah " (Chained Woman)
issue is resolved. I know that there are many MODERN Orthodox Jewish Rabbis who have done their darnedest to try to resolve it. Rabbi Emanuel Rackmann was tarred and feathered for trying to help Agunot. (Chained women.)
Get back to me when I am not expected to sit in the back of Shul, while the men read from the Torah, get Aliyot, conduct services, and so forth.
26
@DJS Your situation is different from the writer, who doesn't know what he or she doesn't know. To know and reject is not the same as knowing little and doing little because America encourages everyone to take the path of least resistance. I'm getting back to you because there are many Jewish communities in America with no agunot and no mechitzah. My guess is that you don't see them as "real" Judaism because you were taught that only Orthodoxy is real. So even while rejecting it, you still confirm their control of it. If you want to take Jewish tradition and Jewish history back for yourself, you have to find a Judaism that feels both authentic and progressive. This is America -- there are options.
10
@DJS there are congregations in american judiasm where you would feel included and equal. If you look for them you will find thme
4
Here’s the irony: Protestant-baptized Ivanka Trump, of Scots, German, Austrian & Moravian ancestry is officially certified as a “Jew” by Israel’s Rabbinic authorities, while hundreds of thousands of American Jews are routinely rejected as “authentically Jewish” because they are non-Orthodox, and/or they had a non-Jewish “goyim” parent, or the Rabbi overseeing their Jewish conversion was not approved by the Israeli religious authorities.
If God taught the Jews anything it was that Jews are the instruments of God, not ends unto themselves, and that what’s good for the world is good for the Jews, not what is good for the Jews is good for the world.
7
Let’s see now, before we fade completely away:
Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Stan Lee, Norman Mailer, J.D. Salinger, Ayn Rand, Woody Allen, Barbra Streisand, Sandy Koufax, Albert Einstein, Mel Brooks, Sigmund Freud, Issac Asimov, Marcel Proust, Franz Kafka, Steven Spielberg, Red Auerbach, Jonas Salk, Rabbi Menachem Schneerson, Sammy Davis Jr., Ariel Sharon, Franz Kafka, Sergey Brin, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, Cardinal O'Connor, more than 20% of all the Nobel Prize winners in history, plus the guys who invented most of the atom bomb and cobbled together the Old Testament.
Not all of them Americans and still alive, but certainly still influential here and now.
I’ll grant you that we somehow missed out on Willie Mays and Tuesday Weld, but still.
https://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/11/nyregion/cardinal-john-joseph-oconnor-jewish-mother-genealogy.html
3
@A. Stanton Interesting list! You did omit someone who was born Jewish, lived Jewish, said things that could only have come from a Jewish person! He died Jewish. Jesus, who some people called Christ, and the interpretation of his death by some people changed a lot of people's thoughts!
2
The opportunity to create purpose and to give meaning to one’s life transcends all religions.
When the NYT made the tragic loss of lives at the hands of a evil man into a critical commentary on our President who clearly loves his Jewish family and the Jewish people then I fear that opportunity was debased.
If we can’t lighten a heavy load for others then no purpose truly matters on this journey.
5
Lemmie get this straight. As an American Jew I should be more like my Israeli brothers and sisters who uphold a Jewish state but overwhelmingly support Trump, regardless of his support of American white supremacists, foreign dictators and nationalist approach to government. If these are the new official Jewish ethics and values I'll gladly stay the course and find my own way in a reformed environment, thank you very much.
8
Israelis support Trump because of his unquestioned support for Israel, and I have no problem with that at all. Hasn’t every US govt , democratic or republican, since Harry Truman, supported foreign dictators and demagogues, overthrown foreign regimes they find inconvenient at the moment, maintained a nuclear arsenal capable of destroying the world several times over, and now recently made extrajudicial killings , even of its own citizens (awlaki), a routine event. ( Obama started this, btw). Israelis can’t keep track of which president is doing what evil thing when.
1
I'm an American Jew! I find the article about these books troubling and I find many of the comments troubling! Yet, I have no answer to either.
3
The history and much of the sociological reflection in this review are fascinating. Its argument is, however, so hard to follow as to see either dreamy or incoherent.
2
I'll try once more -- the last time my comment was ignored.
This article excludes any mention of the part Christianity plays in defining Judaism. It is massive, and it's always ignored in these discussions of Jews and Judaism, as if it plays no part at all.
The author asserts that assimilation, not anti-Semitism, is what defines Jews today. There's truth in that statement, of course. But anti-Semitism is the true definer, even today.
America has a long history of anti-Semitism that did not include pogroms, ghettos, identifying clothing, or restrictions on citizenship, all the "disabilities" applied in Europe. American anti-Semitism expressed itself in free speech, in newspapers, magazines, books, political rallies, organizations like the KKK, and from the pulpit every Sunday. It seems to me that too many American Jews don't understand this at all.
I had a Protestant mother and a secular Jewish father. Maybe an interfaith background attunes one to anti-Semitism in a special way? Hitler didn't define a Jew by matrilineal descent. A Jew was a Jew. Christians pay little attention, if any, to the different forms of Judaism that preoccupy Jews.
The point is Jews are historically Other, as defined by Others.
Anti-Semitic incidents rise steadily, culminating in the Pittsburgh slaughter.
Wonderful book on this: "Faith and Fratricide: The Theological Roots of Anti-Semitism" by Rosemary Reuther.
It's a good idea, when defining identity, whether religious or secular based, to read it.
14
I believe there is a spiritual core to Judaism that exists through all trends, and all reiterations of the religion.
The "food banking" done by many congregations mentioned by Mr. Beckerman has a direct line to Jewish scripture, for example.
Stephen Dubner, of Freakonomics fame, wrote an excellent memoir a few years back called "Turbulent Souls." He was the son of two American Jews who both converted to Catholicism before they met each other. For a large part of his growing up, Dubner did not know this. His parents were religious Catholics, he belonged to and religiously attended a Catholic church, was even an altar boy. As he grew up, however, he became friends with some Jews, and he found that Judaism and the basic tenets of the religion registered with him in a way that Catholicism did not. His reporter's instincts made him research is own family history, and that is when he found out that both of his parents were raised as Jews. He converted to Judaism, and does not appear to be a particularly observant Jew, but he is a committed Jew and he found his moorings despite being raised in the Catholic faith.
7
Ir John The Dubner story was met with a lot of skepticism, some in the community Still question wether His Parents Were actual Jewish. Or he could just simply say he converted because he wanted to be Jewish not because of some made up stories
The original Christians were Jewish. They wrote nearly every book in the New Testament. In that regard, the article also fails to address the resurgence of Messianic Judaism amongst Jews, a renaissance of the originally Jewish belief that Jesus is the Messiah. It is a healing, beautiful faith for those Jews who are rooted in it.
5
@Curiouser: You can call yourself anything you want. I can call myself the Queen of Sheba, but that doesn't make me so. If you believe in Jesus as the Messiah, you are *not* Jewish or, at best, you are a heretic. The central prayer of Judaism is the Sh'ma, whose meaning is: "The Lord is ONE."
Please call yourself what you are: a Christian. (This is not to denigrate Christians; I'm only referring to so-called "Messianic" Jews, who claim to be Jewish when they're not. Nor is it to denigrate Jesus himself, who seems to have been a fine religious leader.)
9
@Curiouser Messianic Jews are Christians. Full stop.
11
@Curiouser "Messianic Jews" are not Jews. They are Christians. Stop spreading false information.
8
I grew up like this writer. I was Reform. I had hundreds of Jewish classmates in my public school. But after 13 my Jewish education stopped because it wasn't appealing to me. After College I saw how destructive secular culture is - drugs, drinking, pornography, celebrity obsession, living for the weekend, promiscuity. I did it all and it was fun, fleeting fun though. I went on Birthright in 2008 and became intrigued to learn more. I studied Hebrew, read Aryeh Kaplan books, went to The Elevation Seminar, watched Lazer Brody videos. I realized that Judaism and the Torah, if practiced correctly, is a Guidebook for life. The Torah is there to be a guidebook for living the best life possible. It's not easy at times, but happiness comes from work. The Shomer Shabbos lifestyle doesn't suffer from "Meaning" because one's life is infused with purpose. A Torah-observant Jewish community consists of wholesome family time, people using this guidebook to grow as people, challenge their weaknesses, honor their wives, raise modest children. Half my secular friends intermarried, half my parent's friends are divorced/a few suicides. Birthright is great but it doesnt make a big impact. To remain Jews we need Torah. My mother started going to the local Chabad for meaning and inspiration. She has never been more happy. In 100 years there will be no more secular Jewish culture, Reform/Conservative was a 250 year experiment that failed. But real Judaism will remain for thousands of years to come.
18
Judaism as a faith of ‘Bani Israel’ is not to be confused with Zionism of present state of Israel. Bani Israel are the chosen people of God according to all holy scriptures and if they had followed Torah truly ,and had not denied other prophets who came among Bani Israel including of course Jesus and even Ahmad (from the linage of Abraham ),this world would have been a better place without so much religious strife and misery.
Jews ,Christians and Muslims all had basically the same religion of Abraham if not corrupted by priests , rabbis and imams ! Those in denial should research this in depth if you really believe in religion to start with !
My sister moved to Israel, became orthodox, and married. After weathering years of abuse at the hands of an ice-cold, my-way-or-the-highway husband, she finally liberated herself and filed for divorce (gett). There is nothing more soul-destroying than a loveless marriage.
2
Writing as a 70 yr old JuBu (Jewish Buddhist - there are many), Comparative Religions major at university: I always have and always will identify as being Jewish culturally. Religious? Not so much. Why? Judaism today lacks Transcendence, the sense of the ineffable, the numinous, the Mysterious. It’s the main reason there are so many JuBus and HinJus - modern day Judaism lacks connectivity with a transcendent reality.
6
@Ron There are many mystical and spiritual Jewish traditions -- try Kabbalah or a Carlebach service. Not all of Judaism is like stodgy American synagogues.
5
This article needs a wider context. We live in an era when it’s hard to associate religious orthodoxy with anything positive. In this country that isn’t very much about Judaism, but Netanyahu and the Israeli religious parties seem bent on proving that Judaism is not immune.
The world seems in far greater need of inter-religious understanding than the survival of any particular set of rituals. I ‘d even go farther. The ritual side of Judaism is a kind of parasite on the undeniable accomplishments of Jewish people. The priest class always got fed first.
I’m not going to offer a solution to the very complicated question about how what is good about Jewishness should be maintained in The US, but I’m not losing sleep over who keeps Kosher.
7
I red the article, and it is undeniably substantively not distorted.
Reality is much bitter truth for me, and I'm not totally exaggerating.
The orthodox are deliberately non secularized, and it is their choice, except when it is ... brain-washing, I hasten my cynicism.
I struggle, and confess it's like self handicapping.
So my state of being is ambiguous as I infer the theme of the book review discusses
fairly and forthright.
I shall enjoy reading the comments of other
kibbitzers which is what I "enjoy" too much for my own good.
Thanks, G-D
1
The choice, according to Tal Keinan, the author of a new book to which I’ll return, is stark and, to my mind, true: “Create meaning in Judaism or accept extinction.”
How is this different from far-right concerns about "white genocide." There, too, the putative disappearance of a supposedly unitary ethnicity is elevated to the literal destruction of the human beings who supposedly embody that unitary ethnicity.
Just as silly here. Listen, you don't see many Hittites running around nowadays, do you? They weren't killed to a person; history happened, ethnicities shifted. Such is the way of things. Had Jews not been so hated for so long, maybe there wouldn't be any now.
If people want to maintain any ethnicity, I'm good with that. The disappearance of many languages is a real loss. I don't want some bland uniformity, but the concern I'd say is far more with our species quaint Us vs Other trait that leads to actual extinction of, like, human beings.
So, let the chips fall where they may, but the hysterical rhetoric is so close to that of the alt-right, and the dangers of siege mentality so obvious, that I really think people ought to calm down. I'm of the Jonathan Miller school: I'm Jewish insofar as I will happily say so to antisemites. Other than that, it doesn't play much of a role. Others differ. Life goes on.
Given that we have carbon shooting into the air and nukes on hair-trigger, I think perhaps the question of "extinction" should be reoriented a tad.
5
When I was growing up, my secular mother was once ridiculed by a neighbor for not fasting on Yom Kippur and she replied, "Don't worry. When they round us up again, they'll take me." Antisemitism makes us more Jewish, it gets us in the gut, the hard center of our blood memory. During the Inquisition Jews lit Sabbath candles secretly and at great personal risk for generations. Could we contemporary, assimilated, ritual-cherry-picking Jews conceive of risking our lives to light candles or shun pork? I have a mezuzah necklace I never wear; it belonged to a friend who died young. The day after the bombings I wanted to wear it. So complicated.
19
The distinction between identifying as a religious Jew and a Yiddish-based, secular, cultural, progressive is missing. More so, mention of the many secular, left Jews, proletarianized and radicalized in czarist Russia who came to the US in the early 20th century. As Arthur Liebman, in Jews and the Left, notes, the Jewish establishment was eager to assimilate and please the dominant powers, and override and redefine the identity of scruffy radicals and internationalists by having Jews become presentable as middle class, synagogue attending Americans. But the secular, leftist Jewish subculture was active later in the 1930s in labor, civil rights, and the anti-fascist Spanish Civil War; the next generation surfaced in the '60s within the SDS and the student movement, as leaders and members, and within the anti-war, civil rights, and feminist movements, and still takes various forms today, e.g. Bernie and his millennial supporters, and others. The other trend that needs mention is the JuBu's, those spiritually dissatisfied by conventional strains of American Judaism and who turned to Buddhism--which they have also contributed to transforming and Americanizing. The big tent idea is appealing--if conscious of its own historic struggles against oppression, is progressive, and appreciative and celebratory of unique differences while also being international, universalist, and inter-spiritual. It can and should evolve and flourish in ways we can't predict. L'chaim/pa'lante, yo.
22
American Jews should vote with their feet. I did in '95 and it worked for me. There are more varieties of religion (not just mine) here than Howard Johnson's ice cream. Plus, an army, navy and air force between here and guys like Bowers.
6
You write that Israel does not
have an attraction for young
American Jews. I would ask
you to look at the success of Birthright
Israel. Since 1999, 650,000 American
and Canadian young adults have
participated in trips to Israel. There
are 1000s more applicants than spaces
available. The percentage of American
Jews who visit Israel has increased to 40%
according to a recent Pew survey (up from
15-20%). Israel is a thriving democracy.
I, for one, look to Israel with pride.
American support for Israel is 74% favorable.
As for the practice of Judaism in the USA,
the practice of religion is in trouble in
the western world. Your microscope is
on Judaism, yet you are not looking
at a full range of diverse manifestations
of religious celebrations.
Since Jews emerged in ancient times
we have defied expectations....
Evil forces have attempted to annihilate us yet
here we stand, reading about our problems
in the New York Times. The world is a mess,
antisemitism is a hatred that will not die,
assimilation is a problem but somehow we
prevail. Hallelujah.
27
The children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the victims of the Nakba, many now living in the slums of Gaza and Lebanon, have far more of a "birthright" to residence in the lands between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean than college students from California suburbs.
7
@Karen I totally agree with "Perspective" in that Palestinians born in occupied Israel and that part of Palestine known as the West Bank and Gaza have infinitely more "right to return" than does some Jewish kid born in Brooklyn or California who has his "birthright" trip paid for by Sheldon Adelson. The theocracy that is Israel, and even the name "Birthright Israel" is insulting and basically full of contempt for the Other.Jews who consider themselves to be of the Enlightenment must strongly reject both"Birthright" and the Occupation.
As an earlier comment noted, we do not lament the absence of the Hittites in our annual census. This is because they assimilated with other groups and tribes. Rather than fear assimilation as many Jews do, they should happily embrace it. To have a happy, loving relationship with another, if this means a relationship between Gentile and Jew, is also a rejection of that unhappy history where the "other" was despised and persecuted.
2
Many of the so called ‘Palestinians’ who were living in the area in the early 1900s, were recent arrivals that arrived only after economic opportunities became apparent. The ‘naqba’ was a self inflicted catastrophe created by surrounding Arab armies who refused to share any part of the land with Jews, and, instead, invaded the newly declared country with the expressed goal of ‘pushing the Jews into the sea’. Fortunately for the Jews there, the invasion failed. The result was the Palestinian refugee problem that still remains after over seven decades.
10
It is at the level of ideas, not style, rhetoric or methods of pedagogy, nor trendy New Age spiritualisms, that American Judaism will or will not undergo any renewal that would stem its decline.
There are two ways to be assimilated: to the mainstream society and its professional and social roles and opportunities; or to a culture of criticism of that society that is engaged with and immanent to it. This culture would naturally center around politics, often radical left, and the arts, often avant-garde.
As it often did in Europe before the war.
None of this was taken up within Judaism proper, especially in America. It was seen as secular and so not religious.
This false division could be healed with creativity. For Judaism in America has flourished as mere religion. Where is the great Jewish intellectual culture?
Philosophy and criticism of society and the arts informed by its topics and methods is the modern equivalent of Talmud study. Rabbinical seminaries and synagogue classes for members should make it a focus.
For Judaism to remain vital in practical and demographic terms, more effort must be devoted to engaging with the modern world at the level of thought. Most “Jewish philosophy” is awful because of a poverty of scholarly rigor and a disconnect with the broader world of ideas.
The real demographic decline is due to boredom. Anything that can help will come from the broad world of ideas and thinking.
4
I really don't know what it means to be Jewish. I see the Orthodox Jews in my neighborhood and am repulsed by what they look like and often how they behave. I feel absolutely no connection.
I grew up in a family of Jews who immigrated from Egypt, but were not very religious. We were forced to go to holiday dinners which I didn't generally enjoy, as it was rote, no discussion of what anything meant while reading the Passover prayer book.
Like someone said earlier, I only feel Jewish in the face of anti semitism, and have not experienced it much, either in the US or here in Spain where I'm living. In fact I have become a citizen thru the law of repatriating the Sephardim.
Israel and the Orthodox Jews make me want to run away from my religion. The insularity of both repulse me. I"m far more inspired the congregants Tree of Life Synogogue which was helping refugees, non Jewish ones, and thus making a connection with their Jewish past and the struggles of current non Jews experiencing hope for a better life. This is what a great religion and people do. We realize we are all one. Human beings.
42
It is a source of great pride to belong to the people with one of the longest recorded histories on the planet. We have survived everything thrown at us for many reasons, a major one the continuing investment in education. It is difficult to understand what it means to be a Jew, or practice the rituals, without learning. There are many organizations in the States that connect with the unaffiliated, working to educate and teach. Without knowledge, we will be lost. Also, the reviewer's potshots at Israel reflect his own views, and not of the authors. It is deeply ironic, that today, when Israel is under attack by war criminal organizations from Gaza targeting civilians, that shows the reviewer's ignorance of reality in Israel.
9
@PAL
All humans currently alive are part of the people with one of the longest recorded histories on the planet. Whatever sects our ancestors divided themselves into, we are all human & share the same planet & history as a species.
Quite a few comments that to be secular (white) American is to be "rootless."
I'm secular, of German Catholic and Scots Irish Protestant extraction, and I don't feel "rootless."
I feel liberated.
8
@Len Arends
I agree. People love to be told what to do, what to think, what things mean. They need that to find 'meaning.'
1
I am a great granddaughter of an Eastern European Rebbe. I was brought up Reform, stayed in Hebrew school through confirmation at sixteen. I was active in my youth group, in fact I was president of my chapter and secretary for my region. I have been married for forty years to a Catholic who promised when he proposed that our children would be Jewish. He stuck with that promise and raised two children as Jews. My son who married a Catholic is not bringing up his children in any religion but they are respecting both faiths. My single daughter wants to be married one day and raise her children as Jews. Each must do what is right for them.
I am currently in Israel with my husband having a wonderful visit. Everywhere I go people say please tell your friends in America that we need them to visit us! Ironically I have noticed more non Jewish tourists than Jewish ones. I feel so welcome and at home here. Cousins of cousins have shown us around! I think that secular or devout Jews have a history, personality and strength in common. That is clear when you visit Israel. We must remind ourselves and our children of our connection. We cannot be complacent when anti semitism rears it’s ugly head. We cannot abandon our Israeli family. Never again is as true today as it was in 1947.
20
The current (2018/2019) Hebrew year is 5779. The answer to the questions are in all of these books. When the Jews had nothing they studied the Talmud. One of the foundations of Judaism is the support of knowledge and learning, questioning the questionable, finding a compromise. For as old as Judaism is it's highly adaptable to the modern age. While I didn't convert my wife and I have had a Jewish Home, and raised three daughters who all know their identity. Now they will get a chance to see where that fits in the lives they will lead. Given the history Judaism will evolve. It always has.
7
This is first of all a very great omission in this article. The article says nothing about Orthodox Judaism in America. It is Orthodox Judaism that is the vibrant and growing part of the Jewish community, and will be an increasing larger part of the community in the years and generations to come.
The article is also extremely unfair to the situation of Judaism in Israel and to Israel as a Jewish and democratic state. The description of Israel's relation to the Palestinian Arabs whose leaders have repeatedly refuse offers of Peace and openly declare their refusal to accept Israel as a Jewish state is not even mentioned. All the positive parts the people of Israel have played in the Jewish story, as land of refuge, as resistance to violence against the Jewish people are not even mentioned.
It is true that the Haredi communities in Israel have an undue and unfair hold on the Israel government, and this is certainly one of Israel's great present and future problems. But there is a great continuum of Jewish practice and spirituality in Israel, and richer opportunities there to be Jewish than in any other place in the world. The centrality of Israel to the Jewish people has for the greatest part of Jewish history been one of its major pillars.
It is to be hoped that the Jewish communities in America will find ways to deepen their knowledge of Jewish religious tradition and their connection with Israel.
14
"America, a country that has never seen even a hint of a pogrom" not sure Native Americans would agree.
18
@Chris Tucker Native Americans wouldn’t agree because it was outright genocide.
3
I have many Jewish friends who I deeply care about. But I can't stand Bibi! He is as bad a Trump. Both are evil.
I guess my Jewish friends will get their act together when they do something about Bibi just like my American friends (Christians? will get their act together when we do something about trump! Why do these two men continue to be allowed to pollute our humanity?
15
For all the secular/ searching Jews out there, I would strongly recommend looking at "Jewish Renewal". It's a relatively recent movement started by Rabbi Zalman in Colorado and "endeavors to reinvigorate modern Judaism with Kabbalistic, Hasidic, and musical practices". It's not religious so much as it is spiritual, though Jews from all branches of the faith are well represented. It's inclusive, progressive, and a lot of fun. There's a group called Wilderness Torah, based in CA, that has programs throughout the year, including celebrating Passover in Death Valley! I personally felt myself to be on the outskirts of Judaism, always looking in but never quite fitting in, until I discovered Renewal, and now my family and I have found a true spiritual home. Please take a look, there are Renewal communities and congregations all over the country.
9
I was raised in a Reform home and embraced Orthodox observance a few months after my bar mitzva, some 35 years ago, to my parents' then-chagrin (they later changed their minds...), and it was the best decision I've ever made. I, together with my wife and kids, find Jewish meaning in learning Torah and leading a Jewishly observant life, and not in bagels/Dylan/Roth/shamanic chachkes/show-offy Reform clergymen. I sadly do not see any future for U.S. Jews who shun Jewish literacy and observance.
12
My father and mother barely escaped the Nazis. Most of their close relatives didn’t.
They had been happy and successful in Germany. They loved the books, the music and the culture until they couldn’t.
The real question facing American Jews now is not what direction they will go in.
It is what direction America will go in.
18
"They were victims, in America, a country that has never seen even a hint of a pogrom."
How would the author characterize the murder of Yankel Rosenberg, and the terrorizing of Jews in Crown Heights,if
not as a Pogram ?
6
@DJS
Please note that a POGROM is violence organized by the state or one of its departments. And surely not when such crimes are condemned and prosecuted by the authorities.
2
The difficulty with saying you’re Jewish but you don’t believe in God is the Shemah. Is there Hudaism without the Shemah and if you don’t believe in God, can you be a Jew? That’s a thorny question. I like our customs and some of our holidays. I love the food ( which hasn’t been the same for 45 years since my grandmother died).
Where does that leave secular Jews? I had a professor who said that Jews were the only people who confuse religion with nationality. He was wrong. We are a people, and if you will, a nation. The word goy in its original sense means a people or a nation, not a gentile and that is what we are. I am a secular Jew and I want my grandchildren to be Jewish.
10
@EK
You asked, 'If you don't believe in God, can you be a Jew?' You are as much a Jew as a modern day Greek who does not believe in Zeus. Belief in a monotheistic 'God' will end up eventually as much in the land of myth as the Greek gods are currently seen. I believe that Western society is currently at the beginning of this transitional period. It's possible to retain the cultural trappings of our ancestors without retaining the belief in magic or superstition.
My Judaism was defined by my dad who left his orthodox rituals he was raised with to fit into a secular world with a demanding work schedule and prepare 5 kids to live in the "real world" as he called it. Raised reformed with nothing else to compare it to I found plenty of time to celebrate my Judaism and participate in the rest of the world. Even so, I always felt I was fro another planet. And that suited me just fine. I knew I had my family and other Jews who felt the exact same way. That community gave us purpose and sustained us no matter how dilute it became or many many non Jews married in. We will never "go the way of the Irish"...not in our DNA.
13
Brought up a non-religious Jew, what sustains my Jewishness? Anti-Semitism does.
22
I do fully agree with you. German Jews considered themselves German first and then Jews until WW2 taught them a fatal lesson. The Germans made sure to remind us that you are a Jew, if you we’re born one, now matter how you feel about. The moment that antisemitism becomes a non issue, judaism will vanish into integration. This statement may feel fatalistic, but I do not worry, the Jewish people will not disappear so quickly. Antisemistism has been a fact of life since the first Jew showed up, and it will not go away. Look at America, where I lived peacefully as a Jew for over 30 years. Overnight, antisemitism has shown up again. Judaism is here too stay.
6
@Erwin Rosen
you are right on some respects and wrong in others. Saying "The moment that antisemitism becomes a non-issue, Judaism will vanish into integration." is quite true. We were at least 10% in the Roman empire. Had we increased even half a percent since then, our numbers were many millions larger in spite of the many persecutions including the Shoah. Antisemitism is and was a major reason for the survival of Judaism; even bad things have good site effects sometimes. Without it, we would be a small sect of very orthodox Jews at best. Regarding your statement that "Anti-Semitism has been a fact of life since the first Jew showed up" is wrong. Antisemitism started when Alexander the Great, a Macedonian who liked Jews and disliked Greeks (though he became a great Greek after defeating the Persians) died and the Greeks conquered the Middle East culturally (and Rome later). We got into enmity with the Greeks, an enemy much stronger than we and much more experienced in social strive. Antisemitism developed between ca. 250 and 30 BCE primarily in Ptolemaic Egypt. The first gruesome pogrom occurred in Alexandria in 39 CE, then part of the Roman empire and under a Roman governor, bribed or blackmailed by the Greeks. Hellenism and its influence on early Christianity assured its perpetuation until today.
1
I'm struck by the kaleidoscope of views in this collection of responses. The responders, however, are unanimous about one thing: their relationship to Judaism,whatever it is, is significant to them. They all identify in one way or another as Jews, even when their Judaism consists of a belief in a set of ethical or philosophical ideas that in some tiny way traces back to some aspect of traditional Judaism. And I get the impression that virtually all the participants in this conversation acquired their Judaism through ancestry rather than through conversion.
For myself, I grew up as an observant Conservative Jew. My views shifted when I went to MIT and I concluded that I could not reconcile my understanding of science with the Jewish liturgy -- at all. A god who was a celestial clockmaker, simply creating the world and leaving it entirely to its own devices was hardly a god at all.
I am now totally unobservant -- since all Jewish rituals assume the existence of a God who at a minimum cares about the difference between good and evil. I see no such preference in the way that the world works.
I usually describe myself as a Jewish atheist, but that oversimplifies my belief -- which is that there is so little consensus on the nature of God among religious people that the existence of God is a question without a solid definition and therefore fundamentally uninteresting.
15
@Paul Abrahams I of course respect your beliefs. I will add that the Judaism you speak of is not the Judaism I am drawn to or believe in. There are other ways of seeing what Judaism is..... Your statement "A god who was a celestial clockmaker, simply creating the world and leaving it entirely to its own devices was hardly a god at all" is not the way I see being Jewish at all. Perhaps there are other liturgies from other Jewish perspectives that would (humbly) strike a cord? And aren't the questions that are hard to answer (or without solid definitions) the most interesting ones? And as Jews -- and I'd say as humans -- are not we are meant to discuss, and debate and be "in" that question. Peace.
11
@Barb I agree that the celestial clockmaker view of the world has nothing Jewish about it. But one can have that view and still accept one's Jewish identity. Once a Jew, always a Jew. Judaism is like left-handedness that way.
1
As a white male I have been thinking about Jewish identity at the same time that mine is being challenged and disparaged.
As this article acknowledges, Jews, liberal ones at least, face the same changes that nominally white Christians do - abandonment of faith, marrying outside the tribe, low birth rate, and a loss of identity.
But still, my impression is that Jewish identity is strong. The faith is at least 2500 years old and probably started with some ideas and maybe the visions described in the Torah(?). At first it was an insular faith with little intermarriage. This practice, I think, must have established the unique genetic traits that persist to this day, permitting Jews to still identify themselves as a people despite the losses described in this article.
Identity is crucial for one’s wellbeing and sense of belonging. As identity politics consume us and will likely worsen, Jews appear to manage to keep above the fray, always a minority, but thriving nonetheless, however imperfectly.
11
I grew up orthodox and nominally still am, even though it makes no sense to me. I don’t know if God exists, performed miracles, took the ancient Hebrews out of Egypt, gave us the Torah - and I will never know, so why should I care? Why should I spend $25,000 a year to send each of my kids to Yeshiva? Why pay $2,500 annual dues (and more) to our local synagogue? Why build a Succah, fast on Yom Kippur, eat no bread for eight days, and put teffilin on every day (ok maybe not that one)?
I don’t know. But my ancestors have been doing it for thousands of years and my family and friends expect me to continue. So it feels right. And what would I do if I stopped? Watch CNN or stream Netflix/Amazon 24/7? Oh, I do that as well.
So what’s the future of Judaism?
Don’t know. All I can say is:
Live your life as you see fit, and leave others alone to live theirs.
37
What you say of Judaism is true of all religions. It needs to find meaning or perish. And since people are becoming aware of the true meaning of religion, I can confidently guess what’s going to happen in a few decades.
4
What an informative, thoughtful review.
Thanks.
7
I find these reviews troubling and insightful and more troubling. My daughter, brought up as a conservative Jew, who went to Hebrew School, did well and enjoyed our Jewish family traditions and was a Bat-Mitzvah married a goy! He's a nice (but not so bright) nice Catholic and as far from Judaism and Jewish tradition and history as can be imagined. What did my wife and I do wrong? Why are we losing our daughter? And 2 of our grandchildren too? Worse than this, my son, who also went to Hebrew School, was a Bar-Mitzvah and married a nice Jewish girl. tells me his sons will not be Bar Mitzvah'd because its too expensive and meaningless. There is no such thing as god. He's a Penn graduate in organic chemistry and a lawyer practicing intellectual property for pharmaceutical companies. He makes a fortune.
So, again, what did we do wrong? Why are we losing our members of the Jewish faith? I don't know.
On the other hand I do. There is no time for faith and Judaism is no longer meaningful to young people. They're not part of the Jewish community and Jewish experience. Also, the news or rather the propaganda on the media constantly villainizes Jews, and Israel. Also, it's easier to be Christian in an ever more Christian America. After all, Xmas is fun. Judaism requires work and commitment.
I'll die Jewish. I'll be buried Jewish. My kids probably won't sit shiva for me. Nevertheless "God keeps faith with those who sleep in the dust". I can count on that. My kids, not so much.
45
@Jay Thank you for your thoughtful post. My best wishes to you and your family.
18
@Jay
I hope you find peace with your children's assimilation. They should never be ashamed of being born Jewish. Jews were meant to be in groups and being a Jew meant you stood out. I foresaw this assimilation threat while attending graduate school with international students many years ago. I am 2nd gen. I counteracted that fear by volunteering in Hillel on campus to be near a young rabbi. I adored all the old Jewish books in his library at CCNY, 10 feet tall shelves. He also had speakers come and talk. It gave me comfort especially since my family moved 2000 miles away. I was never given a formal Jewish education like my brother, due to poverty, and it wasn't offered to girls. Fortunately, my parents gave us a rich Jewish culture at home, singing Yiddish songs, listening to records by Theodore Bikel, Eartha Kitt, learning the hora, Jewish folk dancing, Jewish summer camps, Jewish dances at the Y and books on Ben Gurion, Golda Meir and Moishe Dayan on the book shelves. My parents let their 3 kids acquire a love of Jewish culture. My sister left Judaism. As an adult I have continued this immersion experience by attending many lectures, films, concerts and exhibitions. My children and grandchildren now want to know more too and are attending holiday services together. I also like Cajun music. The waling reminds me of rabbinical prayers I heard when a young kid.
9
@jay Your story is the story of life, of suffering, of doubts. Your children’s faith will deepen as they age and seek deeper meaning in their own lives
10
The gentlemen at the wedding, who you seem to imply are engaged with their phones at a wedding, are in all likelihood davening (praying) using prayerbook apps on their mobile phones, a common practice when it's time to pray while at such an event.
65
@Ron: good call, I did not get that either! technology marches on -- prayerbook apps on iPhones? awesome!
4
Not only at such an event - actually, anywhere. It's quite common here in this part of the world.
1
@Ron. Oy vey.
1
I once heard an orthodox rabbi say that someone told him, I don't believe in God.
He asked, Tell me about this God you don't believe in.
He did.
The rabbi said, Well, I wouldn't believe in that God either.
It took me many years to realize that my rejection of Judaism had nothing to do with God.
Very few Jews including orthodox, know God as The Living Reality, the absolute Center, which is beyond concept, expression and anything else that may be expressed.
We call Him HaShem ( The Name) because He has no name. A name is limiting and He has no definable aspects.
Whatever you can express, including all the stuff you find objectionable, has nothing to do with God.
The prayer book, the real one, not the travesty which most people know, is simply a collection of prayers to The Name.
Simply put, God, in any way we can know Him, has nothing to do with Torah. We are serving The Name.
Shocking but when you get this you can take the first step on returning Home.
Judaism is not a religion. It has nothing to do with anything we can relate to. It is transformative and it is Real, not some new age repackaging or some Reform/Conservative/Humanistic/Reconstructionist/Modern Orthodox or other approach that creates God in our image.
Even what passes for orthodoxy is often God in our image.
Talk with God. Ask Him to reveal and teach you. Ask him to let you know Who He Is.
Find out for yourself.
17
@simon sez the Jewish, Eastern and Christian faiths are often not God based for many of us. It’s about a longing, a search for meaning, a framework for navigating life. Thanks
3
@simon sez
Practicing Orthodox Jews have always found out for themselves by daily learning and practice—that's why religious Jews have always been known as "People of the Book."
The writer never read the wonderful 2016 article "The Orthodox Surge" by NY Times columnist David Brooks —which points out that non-religious Jews are returning to Orthodoxy by the tens of thousands throughout the world!
Mr. Brooks revealed the nonsense of the latest fashion of other false, cultish "Orthodox" that has almost nothing to do with authentic Orthodox Judaism.
Brooks wrote of the decline and bankruptcy of the Reform and Conservative movements.
A few years ago the NY Times Sunday magazine wrote about a Reform synagogue in the South that had only a non-Jewish congregation!
The proof is those who find Orthodox Judaism a "medieval-minded" anathema are invited as guest speakers to Jewish groups when they know nothing or do not practice traditional Orthodox Judaism which alone has helped the Jews survive for 4,000 years—since the time of Abraham.
Like the slogan for Coca-Cola when they taste real Judaism on their own they will want "the real thing."
So tragic for those who believe some of these these fake, copycat, cultish, “Orthodox” are no better than Reform or Conservative movements, is Orthodox Judaism.
No question, it is a paradox. The more freedom we have to be who we are the less we are who we are. And we certainly don't want to be defined by anti-Semitic acts, much less see people slaughtered for their identity as Jews. The reality is that, throughout history Jews and Judaism/Jewish culture has survived. Jews adapt, transform, maintain an "otherness" that is both distinct and engaged, and Jews exhibit hybridity in culture and create something new. Religiously, Judaism copies other forms and yet, as Adin Steinsaltz writes, we filter the parts that don't fit and make it part of what does fit into a monotheistic yet pluralistic belief system. But Jews and the emphasis within can't deny the cultural and lose the "jewishness" in that, even as we search for new forms of spirituality that both blend and maintain their distinctness. If we lose culture - the literature, the theatre, the arts, the music, the food, the Jewish mind and ethics - and only see ourselves as a religion that is when we will lose our identity. Being Jewish is like being a body. It is corporeal and sensuous. It has a mind and a heart. It is physical and it is spiritual. If we deny our "bodies" we deny our being.
13
@david - Very well said!
1
This is a well-written, somewhat mournful article, but the title is misleading. It should have been called: NON-ORTHODOX AMERICAN JEWS FACE A CHOICE: CREATE MEANING OR FADE AWAY. As its author must surely know from several recent New York Times news articles, the Orthodox Jewish community is New York City has been growing so rapidly--with increasingly large families and a confident outlook--that it's spilling into locales that previously had few Jews at all. What accounts for such growth and dynamism? In the early 1950s, most pundits expected Orthodox Judaism to disappear before long. History never stops. The factors that made Reform and Conservative Judaism vibrant and attractive are essentially gone now. Perhaps some temporary mourning is in order, but the more interesting issue is the booming of Orthodox Judaism today.
17
It's complicated. What I do know is that if the only basis for Judaism that American Jews can come up with is "tikkun olam" or social justice, why be Jewish? Why not just be Unitarian or Quaker or something else which doesn't come with pesky requirements such as fasting on Yom Kippur? As an added "benefit" you can eat all the treif food that you want as there are no treif foods in those religious groups.
Jews have survived as a people and done amazing things, far beyond their small numbers, by adhering to Jewish practices and principles. Most American Jews don't even have a solid grounding in Judaism as they never received one at home or at their limited Sunday School attendance. So why be Jewish if you don't even understand what it means and has meant to the many generations that preceded you?
It is quite true that American Jews are being decimated by assimilation. The combination of high intermarriage rates and a lack of both knowledge of and commitment to Jewish practices is resulting in an American Jewish community that will likely, in the near future, be almost exclusively Orthodox and a fraction of the size of the already small American Jewish community.
I think the Modern Orthodox community has worked the hardest to try to bridge the gap. They attempt to remain true to halacha(Jewish law) while still living in the modern world, attending college and working as professionals in a variety of fields. Maybe they will succeed and flourish.
22
A fascinating article, though I must say that if someone told me "Either create meaning for your tribe as an Irish Catholic or face extinction" I would be pretty put off by it. I don't anchor my entire identity in my ethnic/tribal/religious heritage. Power to those who have the strength to transcend in the name of peace, love, tolerance and inborn equality for all.
11
If one does not have an economic stake in some organized religion, as paid clergy, why would there be concern that someone else chooses to leave it to attend some other religious service or none at all? What is it with this tribal business?
5
As an adult Jew I have been a member of two Congregations, a Reform Congregation in Bethesda, Maryland, the Bethesda Jewish Congregation, that shared its home with a Presbyterian Church. The Rabbi there was outspoken about the bringing the message of the ancient Prophets into modern Judaism, decrying the treatment of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons, for example. Then I was a member of K.A.M. Isaiah israel here in Chicago where we had two rabbis fill a 1500 seat sanctuary on the High Holy Days, preaching about social issues and demanding that we Congregants live our lives as a holy people, treating our fellows with compassion and consideration; that we live righteous lives. Now that Congregation has one Rabbi and that sanctuary is 3/4 full on the High Holy Days. The new message is inclusiveness...trying to keep the Congregation alive and I, when the spirit moves me, go to the local Catholic Church where on Sunday afternoon the priest preaches a 12 minute homily that addresses such issues as intra-family disputes, courage in facing the challenges of everyday life, and various moral challenges. My old Reform Congregation now seems to go out of its way to avoid controversy in its quest for inclusiveness and the old Hebrew chants after 55 years have become repetitive to me.
3
I've been to KAM Isaiah Israel a few times when I lived in Hyde Park, though not for services. Before I became orthodox, living in Hyde Park, I attended High Holy Day services at Sinai on S. Hyde Park Blvd. (as opposed to E. Hyde Park Blvd., where you'll find KAM. Sinai was the more liberal institution, just as in Lawrence Temple Sinai was the more liberal reform place, Temple Israel the more stodgy old-school reform place; and both cities' synagogues architecturally reflected their identities: 19th century Italian (neo-baroque?) look for both "Israels" (amost identical buildings), 50s-futuristic for both Sinais. The one in Chicago was so modern/left wing it openly embraced intermarriage & "changed sabbath" to Sundays! Like the Sinai in Lawrence, it closed shop. The Chicago one was bulldozed to build condos, the Lawrence one was bought by the Orthodox & converted to an orthodox high school.
As mentioned, I'm orthodox now. Betcha I'm the only one in my Shul who once attended X-mas midnight mass at Hyde Park's St. Thomas Church (55th st./Kimbark? Just a few steps from Jimmy's Woodlwan Tap, which was also part of my X-mas experience that year). Speaking of churches, one of my thrills in HP was climbing the 57st. church scaffolding with a friend during renovation. We'd just watched "The Blue Angel" (Sternberg) at Doc Films, gotten inebriated, and climbed to the top, even spinning on the weather vane for a drunken-cathartic thrill. (Watch *German* Blue Angel, you'd do the same!)
5
Fundamentalist Christians are saying the same things:Create meaning or fade away. All religions face the same problem.
32
If orthodoxy suits you, good for you. But, it doesn’t suit me. Orthodoxy in the 21st century requires me to reject things I believe in. Which I refuse to do. I also refuse to accept that one must learn Hebrew to be able to find fulfillment. The Jewish faith has a great deal of wisdom to impart to those who would learn. But the entire faith, all branches, must redefine the faith for the future. Sticking to the orthodoxy did not suit Jews after the Romans destroyed the Temple, so they changed. They rejected animal sacrifice and such and rewrote the entire practice of Judaism. Similar change is required now. 21st Century Judaism cannot ask adherents to look backwards. It cannot ask adherents to reject science and education. It must look forward.
50
Learning about Judaism without learning Hebrew is like majoring in French history without knowing any actual French; you are cutting yourself off from 95% of the original and meaningful scholarship, and only a watered down version remain.
19
@Mo I understand that knowing Hebrew, truly knowing Hebrew, can enrich ones understanding of a great deal. However, truly knowing Hebrew is not possible or achievable for most Americans Jews. Cutting off those who could benefit from the wisdom of Judaism because of a language barrier is short sighted. And wrong.
7
@vjskls Jews did not reject animal sacrifices after the Second Temple was destroyed. The mitzvahs of animal sacrifice are not in effect when there is no Temple. We perform these mitzvahs now by learning them. No one rewrote the practice of Judaism. The laws are all in the Torah and the Talmud and the Gemara. We Jews. like all modern people, adapt to changing times, like the fellows davening at the wedding on their phones. We obviously do not reject science or education. Remember, Jews are 0.2 percent of the world's population but have received 20% of the Nobel Prizes.
2
The cost of synagogue is outrageous. For reform synagogues to survive, they must not make middle class Jews beg for charity so we can sit in their pews and still afford our mortgages, healthcare and retirement. most of us won’t ask.
22
@Rill: while some synagogues have sliding scales or rates for those who are financially struggling...the "going rates" are insane, like thousands of dollars a year.
It is one fact of Jewish life -- at least, in the US -- that I strongly object to and which is a direct impediment to the active practice of Judaism BY JEWS.
1
@Concerned Citizen
I know of no synagogue of any denomination that will turn away those who truly are struggling
But it’s also a matter of priorities. If it’s the least important item on one’s list, one isn’t unlikely to have the money On the other hand, if it’s seen as an obligation, one usually finds a way
For a vibrant, albeit small, Reform synagogue, pay a visit to Sinai Free Synagogue in Mount Vernon, NY. The sense of warmth, welcome, and community — JEWISH community — is palpable.
4
In this day and age, why are there only books by men being reviewed, and by a male reviewer no less? There are so many female scholars in this area but they seem to be invisible. I guess the NYT missed the article in the Forward about sexism in the field of Jewish Studies. An excellent example of it, however. I am really disgusted.
71
@dlwolf
Why does it even matter? Why imagine slights where none are likely intended? Do we need to have a checklist; x number of male authors, x number of females, x number of LBGTQ, x number of color etc?
16
@Greenie, women ARE half of the human race. While no offense may be "intended," it's still offensive to omit women scholars and authors from this article altogether, as though they did not even exist. Apparently, for this article's author, they DON'T exist.
Seriously, he or she could not think of even ONE?
That's what's offensive.
And if the author is not sufficiently knowledgeable about this subject to be aware of the important female scholars and authors in this field, then she or he should not be writing this article.
This is not about checking off "quotas" - it's about acknowledging the contributions of over HALF the human race.
Is that really so hard to understand?
It seems some people are so offended and threatened when women or people of color or any marginalized groups demand to be heard and recognized. Well, too bad, because we're not backing down.
5
There are two kinds of walled cities. The first is a walled city with a wall to keep others out. The people in that city can survive without the wall for it is an external deterrent to others. There is another sort of walled city that exists as well; it is a city that requires the wall to survive. Judaism is the second type of walled city. That wall surrounds the Jews and is called Torah. Without Torah and the endless rules and regulations, Halacha, and Minchags those Jews cannot survive. The Jews do not keep the torah, it is the torah that keeps the Jews.
If a Jew doesn't partake of prayer, repentance, and good works that Jew will not survive. And, true to this, a majority of American Jews are disappearing through intermarriage or disinterest.
No amount of outreach or changing the marriage rules will keep people Jewish. No sense of Tikun Olem, or saving the World will keep the Jews. Without prayer they will religiously sicken and die.
Maybe the lady with the problem could try this for a month. Judaism consists of a Torah of 5 Books, and Tihillem, (Psalms) consisting of 5 different books.
Do this, go to a religious Jewish Bookstore and buy a book of Tihillem that is written in Hebrew/English/and transliterated. Think of it as the Rosetta Stone that Napolean Bonapartes troops found which enabled them to translate hydroglyphics into French. Maybe if you study Psalms that way you will find your faith. Life without it isn't worth much for a Jew.
30
And furthermore: practice reading Hebrew like one would practice playing an instrument, daily, until you can read and understand. Where there is the will to do something, there is a way to do it!
@Joel Friedlanderf
"If a Jew doesn't partake of prayer, repentance, and good works that Jew will not survive."
Given your belief, how do you account for all those who have partaken of all the above who have been slaughtered for being Jews ?
I was raised in an Orthodox Jewish family. My late father received his Rabbinic ordination at Yeshiva University, as was my brother, who also spent two years studying at Sha'alvim, and went on to study in Kollel at Lakewood.
Of course,I am a Yeshiva graduate, as are my four siblings.
I do not share your beliefs regarding secular Jews.
I am a Hurricane Sandy victim who was rescued by a bacon eating,completely secular Jew who was raised in a secular family. This individual left his just-destroyed home ,and set out to rescue me, from my post Sandy entrapment in Long Beach , the moment he learned that I was trapped.
Neither you nor anyone else can tell me that any Orthodox Jew is a better Jew than this selfless young secular Jewish man who left his own destroyed home, traumatized and exhausted, to set out to rescue and evacuate me, and far more.
Prayer did not save all the Jews who have been slaughtered throughout the history of the Jews, and those who claim that praying will save Israel, as they cower in Yeshiva, while allowing the secular and Modern Orthodox Jews to serve in the IDF ,sacrificing life and limb.
It seems that you have forgotten that :"Derech Eretz Kadmah L'Torah."
5
@Joel Friedlander
Your judgemental attitude regarding what Jews "should" do is exactly the problem that plagues this world--Jew and Gentile alike.
If more people would just live and let live while embracing the Golden Rule, the world would be a better place.
4
"A recent Pew poll found that Americans felt “warmer” about Jews than any other religious group." - says the author. But "Americans" are not "any other religious group". Melting pot - you know? Other than that, a very interesting article.
8
The statement doesn’t mean that “Americans” are a religious group. It means that the average American does not have negative feelings towards Jews any more than said American has negative views about Catholics, Baptists, Muslims, Buddhists, etc. Yes, we are a melting pot, and that’s probably why we are more tolerant in general, as a population, than other nations who have had homogeneous populations forever (until recently).
2
Renew our days as of old? As above, so below.
“True, I talk of dreams,
Which are the children of an idle brain,
Begot of nothing but vain fantasy,
Which is as thin of substance as the air
And more inconstant than the wind, who wooes
Even now the frozen bosom of the north,
And, being anger'd, puffs away from thence,
Turning his face to the dew-dropping south.” -Mercutio
2
"It’s love, not hate, that poses the bigger existential challenge."
What is wrong with love ?
"A vast majority of Jews — 72 percent among the non-Orthodox — now marry outside the tribe. "
Good. The days of "she can be old she can be ugly but she has got be Jewish" are over
Marry the person you love .
14
@Gerhard
Marriage is a physical state of a husband and wife.
Love is that which grows through the years and becomes deeper day by day—ask those who have stayed married for 40 or 50 years.
Everything else erroneous learned about love is from the movies—where in real life the actors are always getting divorced.
1
Humans need meaning in their lives. Judaism has provided that meaning for thousands of years-more than any other monotheistic religion. But in our “G-d is dead” age as mentioned above it’s not just the author of this well written but mistaken article “ you can substitute the name of any religion, or nation, or institution, or movement, including reform Judaism and encounter large numbers of people equally yearning for something not there, something felt most keenly in the ache of its absence”. That absence from their version of reformed religion is God.
That’s why so many young have left their formal “church” community and out of faith dating and marriage are the new norm.
I agree that you and your daughters would do well to seek out a Chabad shul, meet the Rabbi and Rebbetzin, share Shabbos dinner and Kiddush lunch, socialize and learn with the Rabbi and Rebbetzin.eel the spirit of the Sabbath services. It will open your eyes to a world that does not seek to change the definition of a Jew but to add to all Jews knowledge and to open up to them a familiar world of spirituality and acceptance. It will fill your need for a steady and constant indivisible unaltered God of history first announced to the world by the Jewish nation.
11
in case its not obvious, the slaughter in detroit makes it clear: the world (or some of it) defines us as jews when they choose to hate us. i doubt my grandmother was terribly religious, probably just keeping the rituals alive. but she was murdered in auschwitz all the same. my father's family fleds from The Pale and came over in the 1880s, likely for much the same reasons -- reaction and escape from hatred. no need to start on what radical muslims considers to be "the final solution."
like it or not, part of our identity is the one placed upon us by others. this doesn't tell us how to practice our religion. or even what it means to be jewish. but it sure helps to define what makes us jewish in a non-jewish world.
to paraphrase mr. franklin said, we better hang together, otherwise we all hang separately.
24
@nank
It wasn't in Detroit; it was in Pittsburgh.
1
The author is trying to justify her lack of interest in Judaism with her (rightly) perceived fear of losing her connection to her past. And, this is what all assimilated Jews (i.e. non Orthodox) Jews struggle with daily.
The commenters who note that Orthodox Judaism is where true Judaism still resides and where it will survive are mostly correct. Many find it meaningful, rewarding and worthwhile which is great for them. But what they fail to understand is the tremendous cost (financial and otherwise) and burden of leading such a life in modern day America. For the vast majority of Jews, even in its modern iteration, Orthodoxy is still too archaic and unnecessarily unyielding. It takes nearly every opportunity to avoid allowing rabbis to update a narrow interpretation of previously rabbinical (i.e. not Torah) laws from the Middle Ages.
However, the other extreme of many unaffiliated Jews who don’t belong to any synagogue like the author demonstrates a failure of their connection to a Jewish “peoplehood.” Without this, non-Orthodox Judaism will not survive more than a few additional generations. Though Judaism does allow for variations in practices and viewpoints, it can’t allow for “no-obligation” Jews who are not really a part of our people. They can claim to be Jewish, but without any ritualistic practice or even “tepid” support for Israel it is just another meaningless self-identification.
13
@Dan Mortgage Man when society sees the "price and commitment" made by successful athletes, artists or business people, the rigors these people place on their schedules and lives, the rules they live by to reach those accomplishments, then they are admired and are respected for it. So too, to reach Judaism at it's full potential requires discipline, following historically proven restrictions and investments of time, energy and money. BTW - the costs of school education have gone up, in part, because Jews used to be blocked from participating in non-Jewish charity causes and therefore the Jews invested in their own community. Now that Jews wish to do Tikkun Olam for Syrians and Africans, their own community's individuals suffer.
@Dan Mortgage Man Wrong. The Lubavitch Rebbe decried the labeling of Jews as Reform, Conservative or Orthodox. He said all Jews are the same; some are more or less observant that others. There are no good or bad Jews, just Jews.
3
@Dan Mortgage Man: non-Orthodox Jewry will not survive a few more generations, due to intermarriage.
Judaism is in for a pretty major contraction over the next century. Only the Orthodox are reproducing their numbers, meaning in the next century...most Jews will be Orthodox Jews.
That is the price of lefty liberalism having infiltrated secular Jewry.
1
For serious people, Irish is not green beer. It is the famine and the Corn Laws (seven generations ago), the struggle for home rule and eventually for the Republic, and a religious tradition that extends back to St. Patrick. We who are not Irish must respect that heritage.
Each of these has a Jewish analogue, and vice versa. Serious people, of every heritage, take their heritage seriously. It provides a purpose and meaning to life. It tells them "This is where you came from, and it will accompany your descendants." People of mixed heritage enjoy each contributing strand.
56
@Jonathan Katz
Thank you, Jonathan. Coming from me, it would have been self-serving, or at least have appeared to be so. Hope I get to return the favor.
6
@Jonathan Katz, thanks for that. I come from a long line of Irish Catholics. There is so much County Mayo in me that it was highlighted in my 23 and me dna profile. On my first and only (thus far) trip to Ireland, though, I discovered a terrible truth. Catholics were not really free in Ireland. They weren’t allowed to own land or to vote. Catholic children weren’t allowed to go to school and be educated. Irish Catholics were poor and uneducated as a result of the brute force of the government. Protestants ruled the land, and that included Dublin and the militants for home rule, who were almost all of them Protestant. The movie “Michael Collins” was an eye-opener for me. I spent a week in Dublin and only saw one Catholic church, and it was Polish (everything in that church was written in Polish; it was a congregation of Polish immigrants).
Even after emmigrating to the US during the famine, the Irish Catholics were often treated no better here. For a long time they were not allowed to attend NYC public schools. Hence the huge existing network of Catholic schools attached to church parishes. In addition to the obvious vehicle for religious indoctrination, the church school was often the only education available to Irish Catholic children. It took me 60 years to discover all this.
4
Brilliant comment. Profoundly American.
It’s great that Beckerman brings the five new books to our attention and has pointed out the major problem in American Jewish life, that so many of the non-Orthodox are drifting away.
But, three points: First, some context is needed. The U.S. is not only a place where Jews are abandoning Judaism, it’s a place where Christians are abandoning Christianity. The number of Americans who declare themselves religiously unaffiliated has skyrocketed in recent years, seemingly driven by the increasing identification of Christianity with evangelical Christianity, and evangelical Christianity with right-wing politics. And if much of Jewish religious practice is “thin,” we need to note that Christian religious practice is often pretty thin as well. The problem facing Jews is facing the wider culture--which doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be especially concerned about Jews.
Second, others have pointed out how narrow Beckerman’s search for Jewish meaning is–a decaying Reform congregation, and a “New Age-y, slightly neo-Hasidic” congregation. They say he should look to the Orthodox. But there are plenty of efforts outside of Orthodoxy to bring new life to Judaism, from IKAR in Los Angeles to Mechon Hadar in New York. How about looking at them as well?
Third, so Israel is a “thornbush”? Is it really necessary for Beckerman to go along with whatever way of slamming Israel is popular this week? I mean, really?
50
@Paul Burstein
I did not take “thornbush” as a pop metaphor, but as an allusion to the foundational moment in Genesis when Abraham discovers the ram caught in the thorns.
2
The Judaism which is worth perpetuating has nothing to do with dogma, ritual or hierarchies. It goes back to Abraham the "Hebrew," his moniker derived from the word for "from the other side."
In other words, true Judaism is always in a state of critical and constructive opposition to the dominant idols of a society.
27
As somebody who does not believe in "faith", but likes to hang on to my cultural heritage as a Jew, I do understand the very real concern that the religious cohort feels that the abandonment of "faith" will eventually doom us to complete assimilation, or less politely expressed, the very extinction of our identity.
For me, being a Jew is more of an "idea" than it is about "faith" and the ancient rituals that surround and protect it.
I'm sure more religious Jews than me, and that would basically include all of them, disagree vehemently with that.
However subversive that idea might sound, I believe it's held more widely than not and will eventually lead to the disappearance of "faith based Jewry".
I believe that JCC's can and will need to play a much more important role in keeping "Judaism" and cultural Jewry alive going forward. I just can't envision apostates like myself ever being coaxed back into the traditional fold of what we were indoctrinated into believing within the traditional synagogue model.
I concluded when I was 10 years old sitting in high holy day services that the "faith" part of Judaism (or any religion) was nonsensical, and nothing I've seen in the subsequent 50 years has shaken that belief.
I suspect I have a lot of company, and that does not bode well for us as a going concern unless a big rethink is undertaken.
20
@JayK
Get thee to an Orthodox Jewish Seminary and study there for a few years to find out what real Judaism is.
A short cut would be to live with the Orthodox community and find out the amazing plethora of good deeds they do every day.
You will be shocked about all you don't know about authentic Judaism.
President Truman voted for the State of Israel despite all the advice of his cabinet not to because when he was a child he had Orthodox Jewish neighbors and saw their exemplary behavior because they practiced their"ancient religion."
1
While insightful in many ways the articles suggests American Jews can live shut off from the rest of the world. Anti- semitism is on the rise in Europe and in the United States and American Jews can not ignore this nor the authoritarian leaders and movements on the rise. For me, the shooting in Pittsburgh brought to mind that despite the often cozy experience of Jews in the US that we despite our efforts to assimilate will always be see as different and indeed are. German Jews were extremely well assimilated into German culture before World War II. This did not protect them.
28
As a non-Jew, genetically, but very indebted to the Hebrew scriptures such as the Psalms and Isaiah, I feel more Jewish than the individuals mentioned by the author. I resonate to Martin Buber's writings including his Tales of the Hasidim. I recently read a wonderful book by a Kabalistic Rabbi in New Jersey and felt that he was expressing the heart of spiritual Judaism. I wish you would invite him to write an op ed. The religion can be very deep, but this piece makes it seem shallow.
21
@Vivid Hugh, I fear you will be insulted by this, for which I apologize in advance, but you cannot possibly feel Jewish by reading our holy books. We are the people of the Book, but also the people of History. It is our story that makes our destiny that makes us who we are. Kabbalism is very far outside the mainstream of modern Judaism (whether or not it should be is a different topic). Judaism has beliefs in the Unseen, the One, the Creator, the Place, and all that describes the ineffability of the One God, unseen but somehow known, but spirituality is not really our thing: DOING God's work is our thing, whether it be fulfilling the mitzvoth, the Commandments, between God and us or between ourselves and our fellow human beings. At our best, we are a muscular people of doers. Belief, feeling, those are nice, I guess, but they aren't really the thing. As Hillel said, when asked to teach someone the Torah while he stood on one foot, "what is hateful to you do not do to others. The rest is commentary. Now, go and study." The Torah is Action. Do. Don't do. Go. Learn. The rest is commentary. (And you bet I'm half German, half Litvak, all Mitnaged. Look it up.)
7
@Ellen Tabor,
What Hillel said and meant is behavior not action or activism. And that is what the Ten Commandments prescribe.
1
@Ano. Nymus yes, of course. Action is not necessarily activism. But it is also not a focus on belief over behavior.
2
I am a believer in God and a secular Jew who loves a lot of Jewish customs and outlooks. This essay is interesting, in part because it offers no simple answers. Not so with many of the comments, with their advice to embrace some form of Orthodox Judaism or the Chabad. I will never take this path. These communities, to one degree or another, are authoritarian and patriarchal. They deny equal partcipation to women, for instance in reading the Torah in the synagogue, or in being ordained as rabbis. The emphasis is generally on obedience to rules rather than critical thinking, rules often made up relatively recently but justified by theological contortions. As with many religious denominations, the pattern seems to reflect a desire to exclude rather than a spirit of inclusion or understanding. Some of these traits may have made sense in past environments. Now, they appear to foster being comfortable with conformity and authoritarianism.
49
@arp, wow, you have just expressed most of what bothers me about the Catholic Church. The reasons I haven’t gone to mass in almost 3 years is basically everything you say. I still identify as Catholic because I am a Cradle Catholic from an Irish Catholic family that traces itself back to County Mayo and the potato famine. So it’s hard to get away from such a strong cultural identity in any meaningful way. But the truth is that I have a gay son, a wonderful, honorable, generous and ethical young man who is prohibited by my church from leading a full and meaningful life. A life he deserves. We are told women cannot be priests because Jesus chose only men to be the apostles. My guess would be he chose men because in his day, time and place that was the best, if not only, way to “get the message across”. It’s not logical to think Jesus was laying down a law for all time.
The only basic laws that came directly from God are the 10 commandments (in Jewish/Christian tradition). All the rest was created by man and elaborated on over the centuries by men. Men are not infallible (the Pope is considered infallible only in very limited cases, so he can make mistakes too!). As a result we have rule-bound, highly organized religious bodies that seem unable to meet the demands of the 21st century. Some of us who question the faith stop going to church. My 3 children are all opposed to organized religion. They believe in God, but not in church. The ritual is still comforting, the ideas no.
2
@arp: perhaps you'd be happier in another religion altogether -- one that suits your angry lefty liberalism.
Fortunately our nation grants us complete Freedom of Worship, so you can practice any religion or no religion at all.
@arp
Judaism demands the same morals for men and women.
No "sowing of wild seeds" as many have it.
Young girls—and boys—have corrupted themselves by being taken in by the immoral propaganda of leaders, films, books, etc.
There is not even the idea of holiness every human being has being created in the "image" of God.
Here's what it leads to:
Debra Hauser, president of Advocates for Youth stated that "Ninety-five (95%) percent of all Americans have sex before marriage. About half of all young people begin having sex by age 17."
Instead of a public airing of sex a young person needs the privacy of the home one-on-one with a mother or father talking practically about "the birds and the bees." And including God as a moral guideline for how to behave instead of giving in to selfish, hedonistic, sexual behavior.
Loose morals have produced burnt out deadness in millions who use each other for their sexual lusts and then throw them away after they have been satiated.
If anyone told even a used-car salesperson they wanted to try out a car for a few months (or a few years) before they committed to it the salesperson would rightly toss them out of the showroom, and into the gutter where they belong.
Parents who allow their sons or daughters to "try out" another person before marriage should be absolutely condemned by even the lowest echelons of our society.
This form of hedonistic blasphemy is what you will never see in Orthodox Jewish communities.
I never thought I'd feel at home in any synagogue until I stumbled across our present shul. It's a Conservative congregation that pays more than lip service to "warm and welcoming." It has something for all seekers and the vital community that gathers there nourishes the soul intellectually and spiritually. Perhaps most importantly, the rabbi and congregants genuinely accept people with all levels of commitment to traditional Jewish ritual and practice.
Our shul is a non-judgmental sanctuary of peace that has only grown in membership and activity in the 15 years that my wife and I have enjoyed the companionship and friendship of our treasured Jewish community.
13
@nero: I second your comment. From your description of your synagogue, I recognize that I and my husband are also members of this same warm, welcoming, egalitarian synagogue. Before we joined this synagogue we were members of another, more formal synagogue for 25 years. Seeking to become more observant, we searched for a synagogue whose members inspired us to greater observance and learning. This we found here. For the last 12 years we have been members and our experience as practicing Jews has been enriched by this wonderful community and its diversity.
9
Oh ! thank-you so much for this article. It is more important than I humbly think most people realize ! It is this phenomena that I have fought all my life, or, at least since I was fourteen when I finally realized more fully what my parents had been telling me. They were Holocaust survivors and I was born in Canada. Their hearts were committed to Canada and America but their souls remained in Poland. They said, I now repeat,if I may, " It was good in Poland. There were sometimes troubles, but we had our religion their for over a thousand years. There were many good people there. We do not regret staying but only wish we had done more, always as Jews, helping and working with all the good people especially the non-Jews with all the bad people (some were Jews as well). Go back and help them. " I got my PhD in Constitutional Law specializing in human rights. I then went to Eastern Europe for some over 25 years started and ran largest private human rights NGO. Thank-you, Mom and Dad for I found my soul through the spirit of what was there and the few remaining. I worked at the mid term elections in USA (pro bono) for the heart demanded and the soul gave me strength. Every country we are in needs us Jews as much as we need the non-Jews, BUT we always need a moral basis and organized religion is there to help. Religion is humanly organized, spiritually inspired if done right and ALWAYS needs much work and discussion. We need JOINT ACTION but based on a lot of discussion.
16
This is a very well written and thought provoking article. But - the author's perspective is incomplete and limited, given her background.
Yes - the Conservative, Reform, and Reconstructionist "branches" (really "re-interpretatations") of Judaism are facing crises for the reasons the author points out -- they have become "Americanized" Judaism (I am reminded of Mormonism as the first real "American" religion), and are losing their attraction to young Jews.
However -- I invite the author to attend an "Orthodox" (which I would prefer to call an "Observant") Shabbat service, and see the fervor and deep meaning these services provide. The author would come to much different conclusion if she did: the future of Judaism is within the "Observant" branch.
Why? Precisely because it makes demands and requires study and learning to fully appreciate the nuances. Want to follow the services (100% Hebrew except the D'Var) - learn Hebrew -- tons of courses available. You don't need to be fluent or a Ph.D. to follow along - just show up. Want to get meaning out of the Torah reading - learn to lein (read and sing) the Torah.
Like anything else, you get out what you put in. The "Americanized" branches don't make demands, so there is no commitment. By no stretch of the imagination am I anywhere close to being a Torah Jew - Shomar Shabbat and Shomar Torah Mitzvahs; but I can appreciate the beauty and logic of those who are.
It's dangerous to make judgements on incomplete data.
47
@Joel Shertok. As a Conservative Jew who davens at an egalitarian synagogue, I would not "get meaning out of the Torah reading - [or] learn to lein (read and sing) the Torah" because I would be relegated to the women's section, and women don't participate in the service. What I would tell Gal Beckerman and Joel Shertok is to come to Netivot Shalom in Berkeley, CA and you will find full participation of committed and educated men and women every Shabbat and holidays.
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@Joel Shertok
“Orthodox” and “observant” are not synonymous. One need not be Orthodox to be observant. I know a bunch of Conservative (and a couple Reform) Jews who are shomer Shabbat, shomer kashrut, etc.
5
You criticize the author for having "incomplete information", but you displayed the same, in your comment. I was raised Orthodox, but left when I turned 18. As a female, I was virtually invisible. It was prohibited that I have a Bat Mitzvah; nor could I ever be allowed on the Bima, the pulpit, because it was also forbidden that I ever become a Rabbi, a Cantor, or even be allowed to have an Aliyah, which is the reading of blessings before and after a Torah portion is read. All I was told is that when I became an adult I would make some man a good wife, and I could join the Sisterhood. Not good enough! Since I left, I have frequented Conservative and Reform Synagogues, and am thrilled by what I find there. Jews there don't restrict me simply because I am a woman. All Jews should be treated with equality.
The lifeblood American Judaism has never been in religion and ritual. It is secular, freethinking Jewish culture -- what the writer disparages as bagels and lox -- that sustains the Judaism of the Marx Brothers and Philip Roth, of Leonard Bernstein, Harvey Kurtzman, Bob Dylan, Woody Allen, Seinfeld, Sarah Silverman, and many, many others.
Jewish culture isn't gone -- it's just gone mainstream!
Do not disparage the triumphs of American Jewish culture! It is alive and well. We don't need the sexism and superstition of the synagogues. We've done quite well without them.
138
You left out Albert Einstein. Not that one but the American comedian/actor/director/writer. He is know under the name of Albert Brooks.
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@Dr. J.Philip Roth disavowed his Judaism and then went mainstream. Not a good role model.
Virtually no mention of Orthodox Judaism. The Orthodox community appears to be growing exponentially in the U.S., both the Haredi & "modern" variants (& many shades in between), each with its own characteristic orientation to the secular social, political, and cultural context. As to the author's concern about "meaning," it's safe to say orthodoxy is "meaning"-driven, focusing much of life on systematic reflection on one's most fundamental spiritual & ethical purposes and relationships, and refining practices and behavior to fulfill these purposes.
Because the "kiruv" (outreach, seeking to bring secular & unaffiliated Jews back into the fold) movement, & large numbers of offspring (Orthodox families typically have 5 or more children, not so infrequently 8, 10 & beyond), & these compared to rapid assimilation in other denominations, the Orthodox community is increasingly the most prominent & dominant group within contemporary American Judaism. It has thriving educational & community institutions beyond the flourishing, growing synagogues & Torah learning/instruction centers that are the backbone of Orthodox communities.
Yes, many Orthodox to wind up leaving the fold, but percentage-wise the number is quite small, so increasingly, any discussion of contemporary American Jewry to be accurate would need to focus on the Orthodox community. Within the NY area alone, look at Flatbush, Boro Park, Midwood, Kew Gardens, Far Rockaway, the 5 Towns, Monsey; in NJ Lakewood, Passaic...
15
@Andrew
This wide disparity in birth rates between the secular and orthodox communities also accounts to a large (and largely unacknowledged) extent for Israel's move to the political right. In the 1950s, the number of haredim was incredibly small, and politically inconsequential. That's no longer the case after several generations of very large families. Magnifying that further is that more than half of Israeli Jews have at least one parent with ancestral ties to higher birth rate (and more religious) countries like Morocco, Iraq, Syria, Tunisia, Iran, Egypt, Algeria etc. What that has translated into, all these decades later, is an Israeli demographic picture quite different from what it was even 20 years ago, let alone 70 years ago.
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@Middleman MD
Even secular Israeli Jews are interested in survival. The Israeli right is pretty focused on the survival of Israel; can't say that for the left.
3
The history of Jews is one of chosen separation. Jews ate differently, worshiped differently, married differently, initiated children differently. Separation, not health, was the basis for the laws concerning food. And the religious laws, the "mitzvot" kept the Jews separate from non-Jews in Spain, in Poland, in Iraq and in Morocco. The different others, those who historically surrounded the Jews, victimized them because Jews insisted on their differences. Almost all significant Jewish religious celebrations are based on overcoming oppression, religious oppression and the need to be separate and different. And what do Jews do now, when most individuals in the societies around them are not religious, nor pushing conversion or exile on them? Is it to become religious again themselves? Or is it to re-imagine the world, not as it once was but as it can be, where the forces of separation are no longer necessary and we can transcend the ignorance and biases of ancient religions which knew almost nothing of modern science, or how people who are different can live peacefully together without the need to be separate, apart and exclusive?
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@rsk1234
Wow!
You just crystallized what I've been thinking and feeling about this issue for decades. But I've never quite been able to articulate my thoughts on this subject, with the the cogency and conciseness of your words. Well done.
And thank you!!
6
Sigh. Orthodox Judaism is 3000 years old. If you are looking for Judaism that has a track record of success, it’s staring you in the face. To pretend that one can find yet a different brand that won’t disappear in a few generations, after all the failures of all the other brands, is pure willful self deception. Sorry for the inconvenience of these facts. I’m just the messenger. A religion needs staying power, and staying power requires a lot of rituals and self imposed restrictions. Newer brands of Judaism have a great vibe... but that’s it. It can’t be passed on to your kids. It’s a shame, as I like some of these new brands, too.
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@Ari Weitzner Agree that struggling with survival and meaning is not an Orthodox problem. It is a problem for the rest of us. The rest of us benefit from the ongoing vitality of Orthodox Judaism. So thanks for that. You may say "good riddance" to the majority that does not find meaning in the idea of messianic redemption and that looks for new and relevant meanings. Seems a bit narrow and insecure to me.
2
@Ari Weitzner That would be Judaism that is 3000+ years old. "Orthodox" is only that when there is some other practice against which it is seen as Orthodox. For example, the emergence of Chasidism in the 18th C led to a bifurcation into two kinds of Orthodoxy, although I suspect the Chasidim and the MItnagdim didn't see it that way. I am the product of an observant Reform home (yes, that's a thing) who moved into more ritually-aware Jewish practice for a number of years. My perspective is a little more generous, a little more American. It's not just brands, but it's what modernity means. Jews participated in the creation of Modernity, and I think we will find ways to weather this storm as well.
9
Sorry, but Orthodox Judaism is NOT thousands of years old. It is a relatively modern construct. Before Reform, there was only Judaism, a religion whose practice varied enormously across space and time.
Those who call themselves Orthodox, objecting to the ever-changing dynamism of Judaism, froze everything as it was in the 18th century and declared it to be normative. They don’t sacrifice animals, hold slaves, stone disobedient children to death – all things that a true Torah Jew would do, if God forbid there was such a thing. They are legitimately Jewish, but so are those of us who call ourselves Reform or Conservative or Reconstructionist or unaffiliated.
17
Ah, a double whammy: 30% of young millennials are atheist, and 70% of those who "love" marry outside the religion.
And Israel sets the rules on who is Jewish.
All I know is that nothing proves evolution more than a religion.
Now, if you could only dump the patriarchal nonsense then you still might survive.....
Have you considered asking the Pope how he plans to deal with all this...? It's not like any of this isn't new.....
7
@rosa: I wouldn't take those numbers too seriously, since relatively few millennials could possibly be married! Some millennials are only 17 years old!
And what on earth does THE POPE have to do with who is or who is not Jewish?
@rosa
"Now, if you could only dump the patriarchal nonsense then you still might survive...."
Read Jewish history—that never works!
1
I am exactly the kind of American Jew this article characterizes.
I come from an atheist-Jewish Israeli mother and an agnostic Catholic Irish American father. They decided to raise me "culturally Jewish," which included sending me to a reform Jewish private elementary school for three years, celebrating some holidays, and surrounding me with a vibrant intellectual and creative community. I celebrated Christmas with my Catholic grandparents every other year or so, but I also celebrated "cafeteria style" Hannukah, Passover, and Rosh Hashanah.
Today, my baby is 8 weeks old, a boy. I am married to an agnostic Protestant German man and we live in a third country. I did not want to circumcise my son and have yet to decide what religious community we raise him into, if any at all.
I was surprised at how upset my mother became when I told her we did not know if our son would be raised Jewish. I had assumed that her contempt for organized religion and liberal attitudes would mean she wouldn't much care what religion we bring our son into. Instead, when I mentioned celebrating (very secular) Christmas with the in-laws, she told me it will be a great shame of hers to have a Christian grandchild.
By depriving my son of a Jewish education, am I saving him from nonsense or depriving him of important community? Am I to be faulted for contributing to the disappearance of my people through assimilation? Perhaps I should pick up one of these books and try to figure it out.
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@Sara You have given this much thought. I suggest you search the web to find others who have gone through this situation and "solved" it some way. I myself spent 45 years as a free-wheeling agnostic, but, when I went back to active Judaism, I felt like I was "coming home". I won't tell you what to do for your child, but I will tell you that you should explore all the Jewish groups you can find and then decide to which you feel comfortable exposing your son. I don't think you should ignore one side of his heritage.
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Transmit the culture, the food, and the attitudes. Unrelenting persecution as made the Jews what they are. Forget the books, just teach him everything you know and feel about Judaism.@Sara
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@Sara
My mom was an an atheist Jew. We never celebrated a single Jewish holiday. She even put a pathetic fake little Christmas tree (about two feet high). It was like Charlie Brown's sad little tree. She married a WASP (my dad) for her second marriage and didn't care at all whom I dated. All that being true, she would not ride in a German car. My dad owned an old Porsche, when they met. She made him sell it.
My guess is that to your mom (whom I don't know, of course), Irish and German are different. The Irish have been treated almost as badly as the Jews (Oliver Cromwell did a number on the Irish). If you marry a German man and raise your child German protestant (Christmas with a German in-law family), it might be upsetting to your mother.
5
Yes I agree with one commenter that the author is searching for a place for her and her family in Judaism. Maybe Chabad would be for her. It embraces people returning or just coming to Judaism and accepts all levels of commitment and worship.
I believe that being a practicing Jew and following Halacha (Jewish law) takes daily commitment. It's not a pick and choose religion. Commitment to observing Shabbat and kashrut (being kosher) is not easy. But in observance and in being part of a modern Orthodox or observant Conservative community, you may find the meaning in your life that you are seeking.
When all the other religions and peoples of biblical times have disappeared, 3,000 years later Judaism is still a vibrant religion. Why is that? The sages say it is because the Jews have kept the faith. It isn't easy but it is rewarding and meaningful. And in the US, Jews can keep the faith and also participate fully in professions and American culture. I say we are very lucky.
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@Barbara Very well said. I was going to "plug" Chabad, but you have done it better than I could. They make suggestions and offer guidance. They do NOT make demands on you. They will not "bend the ""rules"", but they don't demand that YOU follow all the rules all the time.
"Each Mitzvah is separate, and stands on its own."
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@FRONTINE LeFEVRE
Chabad? When I heard a Chabad rabbi demean LGBT people at a Bar Mitzvah service, when the uncle of the Bar Mitzvah boy, a very observant conservative Jew who was gay, who read the Torah parsha at the Bar Mitzvah service, I was ready to scream at the rabbi and nearly did so after the service. The rabbi probably would suggest the horrible idea of "reparative" therapy to a gay Jew. At least reform and conservative Judaism do not try to dehumanize gay people.
6
@Barry Read about Chaim Levin who grew up gay in the Hasidic world here: www.chaimlevin.com/blog/on-growing-up-gay-in-the-chabad-community
I am proud to be a Humanistic Jew…which means that I am an atheist and Jewish at the same time. This means that I believe in the scientific method and the rational thought process while having enough Jewish identity to please me. The richness of my ideas are due in part to the fact that I have access to 100,000,000+ published books and journal articles that have appeared since 1500 (The beginning of Modernity). The next time you write an article, don’t forget to include this important part of the Jewish community.
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@Dan
You can be atheist and Orthodox at the same time. Judaism doesn't demand belief; it asks for observance.
11
But what do you mean by your “Jewish identity”. It doesn’t sound like the religion, I.e., the belief in God who gave us the Torah or the observance of the commandments.
Any Eastern European can eat herring or potato kugel, and any mid-easterner can eat hummus. Any human can be charitable and honest. So what is it about yourself or your life that make you Jewish.
10
@Barry Rabinowitz
So that is the bright line test for Judaism - belief in a God that gave Torah and commandments? In realities, there is no definitive test or critical mass of "Jewishness". It's a man-made construct that continues to evolve, like with all religions.
Only those with certain powers have the self-pro-claimed ability to deny "Jewishness" in certain contexts. But for most of us, we simply approximate it based upon a combination of lineage and/or belief systems. Right now, nearly all Jews would not consider "Messianic Jews" as truly Jewish. But who knows how we may feel in 100 years?
Better not to categorize people at all, but rather simply declare ourselves as human, with beliefs/interests/passions consistent with [insert construct(s)].
3
My great grandfather was a rabbi in Russia before coming to America. My grandfather was an observant Jew and went to schul every morning. My parents belonged to a reform temple, sent us to religious school once a week and were part of the Jewish community but were agnostics. I love everything cultural about Judaism, and and consider myself jewish but am an atheist and am not part of the jewish community. My grown son has been to temple twice in his life and considers himself Jewish but as I tell friends "by Jews he's no Jew."
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@EH --->"by Jews he's no Jew."<-------
I must respectfully disagree. He has within him the Pintele Yid - the spark. Might show up at an unexpected point in his life.
11
@EH: is your son's MOTHER a Jew?
Then your son is a Jew.
He may be a lousy, non-practicing Jew and an atheist/agnostic who never attends synagogue and does not know one word of Hebrew....but he's still a Jew.
If his mom was a Shiksa...then no, he's not a Jew.
Yes, it really is that simple.
"I want a ____ that also offers positive sources of meaning, for the boundaries between sacred and profane that it creates to enhance and elevate my day-to-day existence in the modern world."
The nature of our age is that one can substitute the name of any religion, or nation, or institution, or movement, and encounter large numbers of people equally yearning for something not there, something felt most keenly in the ache of its absence.
16
Hello NYT. A Proenza Shouler ad featuring a prone woman laying on the ground, who could be a corpse, is a very bad fit with this article.
Fix it please!
4
So far Jewish Tradition has done better than American Meaning
10
@Mike Livingston: well, we've hung in there for 4000 years and survived the Holocaust -- so though I am a loyal and patriotic American -- don't bet against Judaism.
We're proven survivors.
1
Actually nothing surprising in this well written piece. One could substitute episcopal for many references. Liberal, food banks, social justice, rush to the border, inclusion etc etc all very good causes and certainly needed in these difficult times. And indeed maybe many would argue these are in fact the real meaning of religion but it’s not the old foundation and maybe that’s the reason so many young other than evangelicals have left the formal “church”. community outreach social issues and out of faith dating and marriage are the new norm and provide a real rather than a spiritual outcome
15
@Stephen Martin Alan Dershowitz wrote the book "The Vanishing American Jew" over 20 years ago. So far, I think he has been right on the money. Traditional Judaism has not handled intermarriage well and treats gay Jews even worse. More recently, Israel has lost its underdog status and whatever sympathy it may have received from the wider world decades ago because of the Holocaust.
You seem to be searching for spirituality and inclusiveness. those qualities are the backbone of Chabad Chasisus, also known as Lubavitch. You mention Reform, Conservative and Orthodox congregations. The Chabad Rebbe, Menachem Mendel Schneerson said that those are man made constructions, designed to isolate Jews into different groups. Chabad recognizes we Jews are all the same. Some are more or less observant. Reform implies change; Judaism doesn't need to change. Conservative implies unchanging; that is bad as well. There are always new interpretations of Jewish Law that change with the changing world. Judaism teaches that all knowledge is in the Torah, but learned people come up with new understandings of HaShem's wisdom. You and your daughters woyuld do well to seek out a Chabad shul, meet the Rabbi and Rebbetzin, share Shabbos dinner and Kiddush lunch, learn with the Rabbi and Rebbetzin It will open your eyes to a world that does not seek to change the definition of a Jew but to add to all Jews knowledge and to open up to them a world of spirituality and acceptance.
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@Robert Topper
Well put and totally correct. Show up at a Chabad schul and see how warmly you are greeted and how you are instantly included in everything with which you feel comfortable.
7
@Robert Topper
Yes, Chabad is fervent but unless the author is comfortable in a highly gendered environment in which women and girls sit behind a virtual curtain and oare prohibited from full religious participation, it may not be the right fit for her.
19
@Robert Topper Chabad is a new form of Judaism from the 18th century. Do you think that women wore wigs when the Talmud was written? Or that men wore black coats and fur hats on Shabbat back then? Or that Yiddish was spoken? Come on - Judaism changes. Rabbis change. The Rebbe Menachem Mendel's wife didn't wear a wig when she came to the US. Restrictions imposed by rabbis both in the US and now in Israel create more separation and more mitzvot to segregate Orthodox Jews from others. Although our Conservative synagogue is completely O-U kosher, would Haredim eat with us? Probably not...
18
Participatory Judaism is important but when synagogues charge thousands per year for membership, and services last for 3 or 4 hours, many find other uses for their money and time. Shuls need to adapt to today's great number of outlets for income and attention.
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@bmfc1
Dues are definitely high at many synagogues, but I’ve never heard of one that wasn’t flexible, reducing fees for those who can’t afford the published dues. Someone who can’t afford the fees at a shul that they would otherwise like to join should talk to the rabbi, executive director, or membership chair.
As for 3-hour Saturday morning services, yes, they can seem interminable if you’re not really into them. But it’s acceptable — actually it’s pretty routine — to come late and/or leave early. And Friday night services aren’t much over an hour.
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@Ziyal
I have been active in a Chabad schul for over 20 years. Never saw a membership fee. Don't think they have them.
7
@bmfc1
Come to Israel. Shabbat services are super-fast; they don't mess around! You can also attend without being a member.
2
As a patrilineal Jew, I hate and resent the fact that the Orthodox and Conservative branches of Judaism only accept matrilineal descent in determining Jewishness. I was bar mitzvahed in a Reform synagogue, grew up in a heavily Jewish neighborhood in Queens, had a father who was a firmly ethnic and cultural Jew, and have become a teacher and scholar of the Holocaust. I know I am a Jew. At a time when American Jewry is dwindling due to intermarriage, it's insane to be so exclusive, to work so hard to keep people out. This is especially true in the case of Conservative Judaism. This branch of Judaism accepts women as rabbis and cantors, accepts openly gay parishioners. So why does it cling to this archaic insistence on excluding patrilineal Jews. Reform is needed!
177
@uncanny. Good for you for standing up for your identity as a Jew! As a mother of a patrilineal Jew, I agree your characterization of the insanity of those who reject patrilineal descent. I tried very hard to raise my son Jewish at a reform temple (after his dad died.) Just before bar mitzvah age, there was a new rabbi who did not really accept patrilineal descent and she (how ironic is that?!) essentially talked me out of it. I still regret backing down.
Celebrating one's identity and using free will and an educated conscience is important for other religious people (non-Jews) also. With so very many people, Jews, Christians and others leaving religious practice. It is insane for every type of "orthodox" to not be accepting of all who want to be part of their religious group.
15
@uncanny I don't think anyone is working to keep people out. Judaism has held the belief of exclusively matrilineal descent for millennia. Anyone who is sincere and willing to commit to the practices and beliefs we hold is welcome to convert and join the tribe. We stand ready to welcome you!
3
@uncannyOur Temple is in the Conservative tradition but is independent not affiliated with Unite Synagogue. About ten years ago we voted to accept bilateral descent and I am sure there are other similar independent temples along with those associated with the Reconstructionist movement that have followed this course.
1