Back to the Rabbi's Desk

As I sat up that night thinking about the paparazzi, I became convinced that they represent a greater paradigm. They are symptomatic of so many of us and our attitudes toward Judaism. On this, the holiest night of the year, I will share with you that I worry about our Jewish future, but more importantly I worry about our Jewish present. We, Jewish people, have become the paparazzi. Our Judaism is like the camera - able to be used to capture great meaning or merely popularly desired but ultimately meaningless photos.

During the past six months several books have been published that strike fear in our hearts. Alan Dershowitz's The Vanishing American Jew and Elliot Abram's Faith or Fear examines modern American Jewish demographics as well as the social standing of Jews in American society. These authors correctly point out that American Judaism is not threatened by organized, systemic anti-Semitism. As a religion, Judaism has never fared better than in the United States since the mid-1960s. Not only has the government of the United States protected the right of Judaism to exist and flourish, most main-line Protestant groups have followed in the footsteps of the Second Vatican Council and declared in writing, a respect for and understanding of Judaism as a religion and heritage distinct from Christianity.

This past week I received a postcard from a devout Lutheran, who, following the dictates of her church, was seeking forgiveness for the anti-Semitism of Martin Luther. The card wished our congregation a happy and healthy New Year. Furthermore, this woman stated her own respect for and love of Judaism. Almost a form of philo-semitism, this card would have been unimaginable fifty years ago.

Both Judaism and Jews have gained great acceptance in America. Jews have served in high government offices, on the courts and are disproportionately represented in all professions. In America, Jews have been given the freedom to thrive with acceptance. We have done great things for the United States of America. What, however, have we done for Judaism? What kind of Jews have we produced in this Golden Medina? What kind of price have we paid?

This is the central question for Dershowitz and Abrams. For as well educated as American Jews are in the secular world, America has produced at least two generations of Jews with a pediatric knowledge of Judaism, little spiritual depth and an appalling lack of commitment.

It is estimated that 50% of American Jews are completely unaffiliated. Some statisticians believe that 53%-58% of American Jews are marrying non-Jews and only 28% of them are raising their children as Jews. The Jewish birthrate is about 1.75 children per household; thus, with each passing generation our numbers naturally decrease. With the constantly rising age of brides in the Jewish world, it is believed that the Jewish birthrate will fall well below the current 1.75.

Even among those Jews who choose to affiliate with synagogues, it is estimated that only 25% of them attend the synagogue once a month or more for any purpose. Surely these statistics sound grim. And certainly now is the time that we must ask the all-important question - WHY? Why does it appear that Judaism is on a spiral decline toward an uncertain future after 5,000 years of vibrancy? How can it be that in the wealthiest, freest country in the world, Judaism cannot rise as a strong guiding influence that remains vital to the lives and hearts of Jews? Have we failed?

Yes, we have failed! We have spent so much energy in the previous decades trying to break in to society that we have no game plan for our success. Anti-Semitism was a driving force to shape Jewish communal participation and funding in previous generations. Since Jews were not socially included in Gentile circles, they socialized with each other. Jews found a natural unspoken comfort with each other. Jews naturally chose Jewish doctors, attorneys and Jewish neighborhoods. Affiliation was a natural part of life. This world no longer exists. Jewish identity is no longer formed as the result of overt or covert anti-Semitism. For too long we have found the strength of our identity only in the midst of crisis.

Even in America, crisis has driven Jews to connect with each other. The Six-Day War in Israel was one of the best things that happened to American Jewish affiliation and philanthropy. With a tremendous outpouring of spirit and generosity, Jews returned to their roots when their people were threatened. Operation Exodus, the repatriation of Soviet Jews, was met with wonderful openness.

Must we have a crisis in order to respond to our Judaism? Is Judaism not a heritage that can thrive in a peaceful open society? Am I raising my three young children to be a part of a community that they will only find in the midst of a crisis? If this is true and statistics seem to point towards this, we are fatally flawed. There is no doubt that we will survive every external threat hurled upon us. We have become experts at survival instincts. No, despite our apparently shrinking numbers, our survival is not really in jeopardy - but our soul is.

For decades Jewish leaders have sounded the sirens declaring that we stand on the precipice of death. I've heard it often at fundraising appeals -"Our very survival depends on this." Surely the word survival tugs at our heart. How can we be the generation to let Judaism down? Who wants to bear that burden? So we respond - what ever you want, just don't make me responsible for the death of a five thousand-year-old tradition. Well, my friends, I submit to you that this very emphasis on survival has badly damaged us. We worry so much about it that we create no real reason to survive.

What can we say to our children? You should be Jewish because you were born that way? No, that doesn't work in America. This is a society of freedom - birth determines little. Do we tell our children that they should be Jewish so that Jews survive? Chances are that they will see no real reason to carry that burden on their children. So, I ask each of you, those of you that I see weekly, those of you that I see monthly, and those of you that I see annually, to answer this question, why should Judaism survive? If Judaism is not intrinsically meaningful enough to bring you to desire daily Jewish connections, what right do we have to insist upon Jewish survival?

As you might imagine, I care deeply about Judaism and have found great personal comfort and strength in Jewish teachings. I have read as much as I can about this question of survival and I have thought about it at great depth. As your rabbi and as a leader in the Jewish community, I want to tell you that I believe we have heard another crisis call all too often that is simply irrelevant. How many times have we been told and in how many different places have we read that intermarriage leads to the demise of the Jewish people? The rabbinical unions have focused all too much negative energy on this issue. I personally believe that interfaith couples have become the scapegoats for our own inability to deal with the problem of meaning in our lives. Jews marrying non-Jews is a natural outcome of complete and total acceptance into society. Jews who marry non-Jews have not sold out on their people. They have found that all people - Jews and non-Jews are created in the image of God. We are not losing Jews to intermarriage - we are losing Jews to lack of commitment. We are losing Jews because we are not setting examples that show that Judaism is an intrinsically meaningful part of daily life. We are losing Jews because we have forgotten that Jewish education, like all education, is a life long pursuit.

We have many interfaith couples in this congregation and they have enriched us tremendously. Many of our non-Jewish spouses have been instrumental in helping their Jewish partners to find new meaning in Judaism. Single Jewish adults who have a true and meaningful connection to their Judaism will only fall in love with people that respect the Jewish heritage. If that person is not Jewish, he/she may or may not consider converting to Judaism, but in any case that non-Jew will certainly want to understand and be comfortable with something which is so important to his/her spouse. A true example - we have a college age congregant who is very committed to his Judaism. He has been dating a non-Jew for some time who attends a different school. She has decided as a non-Jew to join the local Hillel because she wants to know more about Judaism and be around Jewish people more often. If these two are to marry in the future, I personally believe that she will ultimately be an asset to Judaism. Interfaith marriage is neither a positive nor a negative factor on Judaism. It is simply a new reality for us.

Like the paparazzi, we have used our camera of Judaism to photograph only the meaningless sensational. We use up our precious film on worrying about our numbers and our survival. We have missed the true and important photographs. The photographs which reflect the deep meaning of Jewish life lie in a little touched pile. On the surface, they lack the glitz and the glamour.

Survival is not the issue - it is not even the right question. We need to be concerned about today - if we do a good job - the Jews of tomorrow will be able to find their own uniquely Jewish solutions. We must find ways to create meaningful Jewish lives now - not for children, for us.

Last year, I visited a local Episcopalian church to speak to an adult class. Thirty-two people attended my class. There were several other classes happening simultaneously. The downstairs of the church was overflowing with adults engaged in religious studies. Among the crowd - physicians, attorneys, businessmen and women, mothers and fathers. Somehow these busy adults found time - I know their lives were enriched for the connection that they have to their church. I left, at first invigorated, then saddened. Less than twenty percent of the adults in this congregation attended one adult educational program at the Temple last year.

On Rosh Hashanah, I spoke to you about the creation of a Torah Fund. I want you to know that that Fund is only the beginning of my dream for us. Through that Fund we will be able to embark upon new paths but ultimately my dream extends even further.

Let us look forward to the day when this congregation is so vibrant that we serve as an example for local religious communities. Each of us needs to enter this path in our own way, but I plead with you - for your own sense of meaning in life, take the first step. Become a part of our adult Jewish education programs and attend services more often, with the goal of coming weekly. As we grow, I hope to create a family religious school, where adults and children come together each studying on their own level, but sharing the joys of Judaism together. As part of our growing together, I look forward to us having some weekend retreats of study, relaxation and celebration. Perhaps some day we will be able to create a powerful Jewish nursery school and kindergarten with the availability of day care that will be an example of the best school around for young children. Together we can create outstanding Jewish memories for both adults and children that give the form of our Judaism substance. It is my hope that after this initial year of the Torah, that the Torah committee will be a standing committee of this congregation that is responsible engaging our congregation in meaningful Jewish experiences.

Our congregation continues to grow in numbers and we must also continue to grow in substance. Lets start aiming the lens of our cameras in the right direction - the direction of our own hearts and souls. Amen.