By David Strulowitz
“The first thing we do is kill all the lawyers”
Shakespeare
Why would we kill all the lawyers? Perhaps among the many reasons is that they make all those detailed rules. Rules that are hard for the rest of us to follow. Rules that complicate life, beyond the point of manageability for many other non-lawyers. In their defense, their actions may even have what they perceive to be our best interests in mind. But ultimately the rules keep lawyers employed because you can’t manage without their assistance. And they are a necessary part of a balanced society.
Our Jewish movements have lawyers. We call them Rabbis, Chancellors, Presidents, Roshei Yeshiva and so on. I’m not suggesting we get rid of them. They serve an important if not essential role. I’m just suggesting we take the marketing element away from them. They are not good at it.
Labels actually are killable. There’s nothing sacrosanct about them. Rebranding takes place all the time. Ours are long overdue. The labels of Orthodox, Ultra Orthodox, Modern Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Reconstructionist don’t do these movements justice. Worse than that, they are divisive. I would suggest that as a result of our institutional complacency, the labels by default have contributed to what has become a more fractious and divided Jewish culture and society.
The old labels have no meaning in a descriptive sense. So by default they are open to carry negative connotations. They do not advance the overall movement in any way and are open to misrepresentation by those who might be unfairly judgmental. So I say let’s rid ourselves of them.
In the interest of creating a more user-friendly, cohesive Jewish society, I have come up with a rebranding, if you will, of these movements. Feel free to help me brain storm in the comment section below. It would appear to me that this task is way past due but better late than never. For the life of me I can’t understand how nobody has thought to punch up these organizational images before now.
First a couple of guidelines. The new labels need to be positive, relevant, descriptive and easy for the followers to identify with. You know, like I perceive my group to be comfortable for me.
Orthodox – I mean what does that even mean? How can you identify with a movement that has what appears to be an out dated at best, or nonsensical at worst, label for the brand. So I propose Orthodox will now be called Originals, in that those who follow this movement try to retain the original approach.
Ultra Orthodox might now be Insular Originals. Insular, as in separated from other peoples and cultures. This is not something that they dispute. This is a badge of honor for them. It’s not good, it’s not bad, it just is. They have chosen this. Let’s just respect our insular brothers and sisters for it. Kol Hakavod.
Modern Orthodox could be Modern Originals. In contrast with the Insular Originals, they choose not to be separate from other peoples and cultures. I really doubt the movement has any legs because I suspect they are just Originals who enjoy modern culture, but they are deserving of a descriptive brand nonetheless. Also technically, this is where I live so I don’t want my buddies at Kiddush club to accuse me of marginalizing them – or worse, hide the scotch (“l’chaim, bros!”).
The term Conservative conjures up images of neo-cons and other sorts which couldn’t be further from the truth. So I propose Colorful. We accept those of all sizes and shapes. Yes, rules are important but not to the exclusion of living a colorful life. I mean Originals are cool but those limitations are a little too much for us right now. They stymie our desire for artful self-expression and reinterpretation.
Reform sounds like another political movement but means to connote that we need change, that whatever we are calling the other movements, they need reform and reinvention. So I propose Re-Discovery, as in, we choose to explore the broad spectrum of life through a Jewish lens.
Reconstructionist – is it just me or does it sound like we need to rebuild because the building is falling apart? How about ReThinking? Let’s look at what we do and why we do it and create a more meaningful practice by continuing to ask ourselves whether we need to rethink this in light of what is going on in the world right now. And Renewal? Well, that’s pretty good, but what about Neo-chasidic or neon-chasidic, or perhaps you can offer up something?
What I find most appealing about this rebranding is that the movements are not exclusive but become more inclusive. They are open to let me fashion my own practice by taking the best from all the above. And I am free to evolve. Which is what life is all about.
Now that we have moved past the old labels, let’s look at what we can share so that we can create more unity. Spirituality, Art, Israel, Technology-based educational initiatives, Cuisine… the list really is endless. And once we have made progress on the achdut/unity front, perhaps we can then be a model for a more cohesive, accepting and respectful world at large.
David Strulowitz, a Wexner Heritage Alum from Chicago 06 and Delegate to the WHA Council, is co-chairman of the building campaign for the Ida Crown Jewish Academy, a co-educational modern Orthodox Jewish High School. He also leads a bi-weekly Jewish spirituality study group and a weekly teleconference on spiritual insights into T’fillah. David has lectured extensively on Jewish spirituality topics at synagogues of various denominations and through the Chicago-based Dawn Schuman Institute, and created a blog at www.jewishstimes.blogspot.com where Wexner alumni and others can share what they have found to be purposeful and meaningful in their Jewish Spiritual lives. David also served as Board President of Hillel Torah, a prominent Orthodox co-educational North Shore day school, following a long and active role on the school’s board and finance committees. He is a Trustee of the Ark, an organization committed to providing free social and medical services to help distressed members of our Chicagoland community. In his day job, David is a partner in a wealth management and planning firm and tax attorney, and is co-author of the book “The Intelligent Guide to Your Financial Future” (2005). David can be reached at david@strulow.com.
cross-posted on the Wexner Foundation Blog
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Shalom David,
“A rose by any other name…” Shakespeare
Rebranding is a waste of time and an exercise in futility. A name change doesn’t change the irrelevancy (for most Jews in North America) of the product, non Orthodox Judaism. Why doesn’t the word Judaism find its way into your post?
First rediscover a meaningful relevant non Orthodox Judaism with the power to reach the minds and enter the hearts of the majority of Jews who have voted with their feet that the status quo has failed miserably to do so. The rest is commentary.
Biv’racha,
Jordan
Kol hakavod, David. Many of us have been thinking long and hard about this issue. Love your suggested terms! Ludwig Wittgenstein maintained that language creates our reality. (And “whereof we cannot speak, thereof we must be silent”.) So many thanks for your fine efforts in helping to shape a new pluralistic reality toward which many of us hope to aspire.
“I propose Orthodox will now be called Originals, in that those who follow this movement try to retain the original approach.” – To say this is to accept the founding myth of Orthodoxy, but that myth is a distortion of reality.
Contrary to the expressed tenets of Orthodoxy, Jewish law and practice have been subject to radical change over time. What Orthodoxy seeks to preserve is, in broad terms, Jewish life and practice as it appeared on the verge of the modern age.
Modern Orthodoxy says that halakhah is unchanging. Haredi circles want to preserve even more: dress, language…. But the basic impulse is the same — not to go with anything “original” but to preserve Judaism as it manifested itself in Eastern Europe at the dawn of modernity.
Funny post. But seriously, there is a real desire for young people to be “post-denominational” and younger people do eschew standard labels. This is partially the appeal of the independent Minyanim. Anyone aiming to promote their youth group or Jewish organization of any kind should keep this point in mind when marketing themselves.
David Strulowitz said:
“Orthodox – I mean what does that even mean?”
RESPONSE:
Orthodox Judaism may be defined as those Jewish communities and/or Jewish movements who believe in THE 13 PRINCIPLES OF FAITH as concisely stated by Rambam (Maimonides):
http://www.simpletoremember.com/media/a/13-principles-faith-1/
http://www.torahanytime.com/video/the-13-principles-of-faith/
http://www.jewfaq.org/beliefs.htm
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maimonides
The English word ORTHODOX comes from the Greek word ORTHODOXOS.
ORTHOS means correct and DOXA means belief.
Therefore, ORTHODOX means correct belief.
SOURCE: Collins English Dictionary (complete unabridged 10th edition) 2009 CE
Doing what G_d commanded us to do is NEVER outdated or nonsensical, regardless of statements to the contrary by Gentiles and Jews who do not understand Judaism.
Re-branding can take place only when there is an underlying agreement about what the brands mean. In the semiotic examples you show, the rebranding simply tried to portray a vision of the companies already widely held and already believable. The issue of denominations isn’t that they need rebranding or relabeling but that on the whole they exist based on 19th and 20th century understandings of what it means to be Jewish in the world. For an overwhelming number of 21st Century identified Jews, those labels are not descriptive or engaging. Rebranding or renaming [even with humor] doesn’t get at deeper transformative changes in how identity manifests itself.
We should always build on the past and there is no doubt that we owe a great debt to the innovative self understandings of the “streams” “denominations” “movements”. But institutional structures only have a claim on the future if they speak persuasively to it. And if they don’t, let’s not try to rebrand, but rather live lives which reflect our current identity. The brand names will follow
David,
As an Erev Rav at the Jewish Theological Seminary I can understand the desire to want to progress beyond the labels. That would certainly be helpful in creating a more inclusive and more tight-knit Jewish community. That being said, your attempts to create a different “Brand” name seem to be too simplistic. Your definitions of each movement do not seem to hit the core of what these varying ideologies and practices believe. For example, “rebranding” Conservative Judaism as “Colorful” doesn’t truly speak to the core mission and values of the movement (according to my humble opinion). Moreover, a simple brand change will not encourage more youth and young families to re-connect with their Jewish heritage. I believe that what would be truly helpful is if pluralistic organizations, such as J.C.C.’s, Moishe House, and 20’s and 30’s events to bring in panel discussions in order to show people the wide spectrum of Jewish beliefs and practices. Yasher Koach on thinking outside of the box, but try to keep in mind that these movements were created in order to speak to their underlining ideology.
To re-brand twenty-first century Judaism one has to first correctly locate twenty-first century Jews and Jewish families (many of whom include members of other religious backgrounds). And the truth is there really are only two meaningful distinctions to keep in mind. A) Whether or not Jewish individuals and families participate in institutional Jewish life (most, roughly two thirds of American Jews, do not); and B) whether Jewish individuals and families participate in modern society (most, with the exclusion of Ultra-Orthodoxy and Jews without Facebook pages, do). Replacing old, and yes, mostly irrelevant denominational labels with new ones evades these more basic distinctions of Jewish life.
Thank you all for taking the time to share your thoughtful comments. There’s a lot to say on this topic and I hope there will be more constructive dialogue on this.
As anyone who has participated in rebranding knows, it’s a process that requires thoughtfulness about who you are and what you are trying to accomplish. To be successful, it requires an alignment of your label with what you do. The process creates integrity. And integrity matters.
I’d like to underscore what I see as most critical. There is a significant lack of unity among our people. And regretfully our imprecise labels add to the divisiveness and perceived irrelevancy.
Let me illustrate our lack of unity with the following metaphor. (Lehavdeel,) I am a football fan with a favorite team. While I root for my team during the regular season I often root for other teams and regular season rivals in the playoffs. Ultimately, I am a football fan. We need to share in each other’s successes and respect each other’s journeys. We don’t need one universal path. We have several paths from which to choose. Let’s do a better job playing in the same sandbox.
Lastly, if we need to resort to the Greek language to explain what Orthodox means I think we’ve made my case. It’s an even stronger case if we look at the Greek translation.