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You are here: Home / The American Jewish Scene / Supply-Side Judaism

Supply-Side Judaism

March 9, 2010 By eJP

by Elie Kaunfer

The Jewish community is expert at anticipating failure, even disaster. Declining affiliation rates, rampant intermarriage, collapsing schools and synagogues – these are the problems that top the communal agenda. Judaism, it is said, is a product that no one wants to buy anymore. The question is then posed: How can we convince people that Judaism is still relevant?

But amid all the hand-wringing about failure, we forgot to plan for success. For in truth, our problem now is not one of a shortage of demand, but of supply. Desire to engage with Jewish life is at an all-time high. But we have not begun to produce the leaders, programs or institutions that can satisfy this demand.

Taking a look at two hallmark achievements of the last decade – Birthright Israel and the independent minyanim – serves to illustrate this point.

Birthright Israel was a smashing success in the creation of demand. More than 200,000 young Jews have gone on Birthright’s 10-day trips to Israel. Many are now hungry for a heightened engagement with Jewish life. Research on Birthright alumni shows that most participants say they want to become more involved with Jewish heritage and community.

But the research also shows that upon returning home, Birthright alumni all too often cannot find clear avenues for satisfying their desire to step up their engagement. They want to learn Hebrew, but there are not enough high-quality Hebrew classes. They are interested in basic Jewish knowledge, but are often unable to find educational opportunities that are engaging and substantive. The Jewish community created demand, but it did not plan for success.

The independent minyan phenomenon of the last decade also illustrates our need to focus on supply. More than 20,000 young people across the country have connected to these grassroots, independent Jewish communities, what historian Jonathan Sarna has called “the most exciting development in American Judaism in the last 30 years.” The minyanim did not create demand, they responded to it. They stepped into a vacuum created by the emergence of a whole new demographic of post-college, pre-“married with children” young Jews that didn’t exist in nearly the same numbers a generation ago.

The minyanim, however, are really only the first step in a world of possibility for this age demographic. First, the independent minyanim reach only a small segment of this age group. There are vast populations of young Jews who are not yet prepared to be Jewish self-starters and who, perhaps for lack of Hebrew literacy, have not found their place in an independent minyan. They seek an engaging introduction to the substance of Jewish texts and tradition.

But even those involved with independent minyanim are often only at the beginning of their journey toward a deeper engagement with Jewish substance. In truth, all Jews, regardless of background, need ongoing guidance to help them acquire the tools that can enable a more meaningful and substantive engagement with Jewish life.

Yet the supply of leaders that serve this demographic is thin. Traditionally trained rabbis don’t necessarily fit the bill, and peer leaders with the necessary knowledge, background and training are in short supply.

It is time for us to start meeting the demand for meaning and substance. What would that look like? The strategy is straightforward:

Invest in empowerment education. Jews of all ages, but especially those in the time-abundant years following college, must become self-directed translators of the Jewish tradition – for themselves and their peers. This means less focus on “experiences” and more focus on the building blocks of educational discovery. This is not about religious indoctrination. This is about unlocking the power of Jewish heritage – through Hebrew, Jewish text study and communities of shared practice and engagement.

Create the pathways to support empowerment. So many Jews have been turned on to Jewish tradition but have no path to become empowered. Yet the physical infrastructure is in place: We have synagogues in cities and towns across the country that stand virtually empty during the week. Imagine a world in which those synagogues were hothouses of learning for people who had time to invest in their Jewish heritage. Imagine if every college student had the opportunity to spend an alternative break engaged in Jewish study. Imagine if all interested post-college students could spend six months or a year immersing themselves in Jewish texts and traditions.

Train better rabbis, but don’t rely on them to do everything. We need rabbis who are prepared to lead the supply-side response to the demand for high-level Jewish engagement. We need rabbis who are immersed in the wisdom of Jewish texts, who can teach it well and who can teach at a high level (even – and especially – for beginners). But even as we train the rabbis who can teach people beyond Judaism 101, the ultimate theory of change must extend beyond the professionals. There will never be enough professional Jewish educators to reach the numbers of Jews who demand serious engagement with a tradition that can speak to them. The answer has to lie in peer engagement – through hosted meals, through study classes and pairings, through grassroots communities and learning circles. Rabbis can train some, but those some must fan out and connect to others through a peer-reinforced community. In this world of social networks and mobility, our only chance for real engagement involves an empowered, educated corps of peers who have not devoted their lives to becoming Jewish professionals, but who can live out a rich Jewish culture and heritage and connect others to that experience.

We face a supply problem, not a demand problem. Demand for the core aspects of Judaism is strong. Responding to this demand is the real challenge of our time.

Rabbi Elie Kaunfer is the co-founder and executive director of Mechon Hadar. He is the author of “Empowered Judaism: What Independent Minyanim Can Teach Us about Building Vibrant Jewish Communities” (Jewish Lights).

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Filed Under: The American Jewish Scene, The Blog Tagged With: Taglit-Birthright Israel / Birthright Israel Foundation, worship

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Rachel Cowan says

    March 9, 2010 at 2:12 pm

    I agree completely with what Elie is saying, and I also believe there is a tremendous and important demand from the over-50 Jews ( those of us in our “third chapter: of life – who have time, resources, energy and wisdom that they long to connect with forms of Judaism and communities of Jewish practice that help them live fully into the rest of their lives, learning and giving back. These people are overlooked in the singular focus on next gen – who are of course very important but not the whole story!

  2. Bob Hyfler says

    March 9, 2010 at 3:59 pm

    Both the author and Rachael make important points. A rennaisance in Jewish life cannot take place without sustainable structures of connectedness and unless our efforts are multi-generational we will leave at the margins not only wisdom and continuity but talent and resources. The third piece in our renewal efforts is the “why” of engagement and outreach: we raise Jewish consciousness to enlist others in the care and concern of others. Being Jewish is not simply a lifestyle choice it is a moral calling.

  3. Naava Frank says

    March 10, 2010 at 1:44 am

    Elie,

    I could not agree with you more and thank you for your wonderful articulation. I like the term you use ’empowerment education.’ Its about switching the control and power to the learner away from the educator. The challenges may include letting go of control and fearing the student will ‘not need you any more.’ The student does need support and resources and expertise but needs them in a different way — more personalized and at the right time. The educator’s role is to build a network of both human and content resources that are available for the taking. Building a combination of human and technology systems allows you to get farther faster.

  4. JTW says

    March 10, 2010 at 5:47 pm

    Hi Eli,
    Thanks for this thoughtful post. I like to think that the project that I have been working on for the past 3 years touches upon many of the points you raised. Check out http://www.TaggedTankh.org. However, I find it strange how you discount “experiences” even as you commend BirthRight and the Indy minyan movement which are both ALL ABOUT EXPERIENCES and creating personal connections.

    Perhaps it’s the semantics of how you interpret the word “experience” but having Jewish building blocks means nothing without a community to converse with, and people to craft great experiences with.

    I agree that there is no silver bullet to convince non-engaged Jews of what they are missing. The pathways that you speak of are forged by individual passions and are killed by committees. Once I have shared with the Web that I am into comix and the Bible, after-the-fact, others can align with that common interest. It needs to be easy and accessible to share ideas about being Jewish. The Tagged Tanakh takes miscellaneous facets of Judaism (like theology, environmentalism and relationships to the ‘Other’) and connects them to words and verses found in the Jewish Bible. But everyone always asks me…”Just ’cause you build it, doesn’t mean people will use it.”

    Do people want to be empowered or just blissfully ignorant? That I don’t know:)

    “Empowerment Education” is an intriguing concept that deserves more investigation…what other successful examples have you found?

  5. Naava Frank says

    March 10, 2010 at 10:29 pm

    JTW,

    What you said about “just cause you build it does not mean people will use it, is important’ we can create technology systems, and I really like your Tagged Tannach project, but as you know we ‘human systems’ communities, networks, commmittees, who know where the technology resources are and when and how to use them. My work is helping technologists build the human infrastructures to support their work.

    A project that I think illustrates ’empowerment education’ is one I was involved in coaching at Congregation Beth Israel (Charlottesville, VA) to build the grassroots-lead community learning program called Shabbat Connections.

    The Shabbat Connections program invited congregants who were interested in exploring their connection to Shabbat to enroll. The program then created small groups of congregants with similar life cycle phases (empty nesters, families with young children, singles). Each group was asked to commit to meeting once a month for Shabbat dinner for one year at the home of one of its members. The group would decide together how they wanted to explore Shabbat in the context of those monthly dinner meetings.

    Many of those groups continue to this day! To learn more see the white paper on our website.

    http://www.knowledgecommunities.org/cbiwhitepaper.doc

    Thanks for the conversation.

    Naava

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