• Home
  • About
    • About
    • Policies
  • Submissions
    • Op-eds
    • News / Announcements
  • Contact
  • Donate
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

eJewish Philanthropy

Your Jewish Philanthropy Resource

  • News Bits
  • Jewish Education
  • Readers Forum
  • Research
  • Show Search
Hide Search
You are here: Home / Readers Forum / The Multiplicity of Jewish Expression

The Multiplicity of Jewish Expression

October 25, 2013 By eJP

by Abby Knopp

We are living in a time when American Jewry is more openly and deliberately diverse than it has been since a small group of Jews first arrived here in 1654. Yet, when looked at collectively, and with very few exceptions, our formal research rarely takes note of this new reality. Now is the time to make a serious attempt to understand how this changing reality plays out in the religious or cultural sphere.

I have read with interest the diverse opinions and reactions to Pew’s recently released study, “A Portrait of Jewish Americans” and I agree unreservedly with Ari Kelman’s commentary that we, as a community, must become far more adept at describing the variety of ways that North American Jews are beginning to articulate their versions and visions of Jewish culture. There was something else connected to Kelman’s response that needs to be touched upon to move us forward: the need for an exploration of ethnic or racial background and the multiplicity of Jewish cultural and religious expressions that are their consequence.

From my seat at the Foundation for Jewish Camp, I have learned that Jewish camps offer multiple microcosms of what exists – or could exist – in the larger Jewish community. Therefore, it is not at all surprising that the Jewish camping world includes camps that cater to the cultural needs of different ethnic or racial groups and that there are audiences for these camps – children and families who have not found what they are looking for in more mainstream experiences and who seek different Jewish worlds in which to immerse themselves. These families have had wonderful Jewish experiences at camps such as Camp Be’chol Lashon, Camp B’Yachad, Havurah, and J. Academy Camp.

And there are camps, of course, not necessarily serving the unique audiences mentioned above which, nonetheless, have created vibrant Jewish cultures of their own. These camp worlds are steeped in Jewish values and operate within Jewish time and space whether or not they are religiously oriented. They offer deeply rooted modes of Jewish daily “living” that must be examined if we are to understand if and how certain elements may be transferrable outside of camp. (One example among others is Camp Alonim, which is building a vibrant Jewish community based on Jewish and Israeli dance).

To a large degree, Jewish communities at camp are built from within – without fanfare and without the attention of sociologists measuring levels and different definitions of Jewish identity. Amy Sales et al in Limmud by the Lake Revisited (2008), wrote, “…camps are organic systems in which culture, community, personnel, and program fit together into a coherent whole. The result is that every camp must create Jewish life and learning that authentically suits itself.” Here the Brandeis researchers focused on camps as educational organizations. Perhaps it is time to look at Jewish camps in a new way and with the goal of finding the nuanced articulations of Jewish culture and visions that will help us understand the changing landscape of Jewish identity. In looking at camp culture in this new way, we may also be able to find new and precise language for measuring Jewish identity outside of the denominational and religious framework.

Abby Knopp is Vice President, Program and Strategy at the Foundation for Jewish Camp.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Share this:

  • Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)
  • Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)

Filed Under: Readers Forum Tagged With: Pew Survey: Portrait of Jewish Americans, summer camp

Click here to Email This Post Email This Post to friends or colleagues!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ron Wegsman says

    October 25, 2013 at 11:44 pm

    If I can be forgiven a plug, I would include Habonim Dror camps and specifically Camp Na’aleh in upstate NY as additional examples of camps that offer outstanding secular Jewish experiences.

Primary Sidebar

Join The Conversation

What's the best way to follow important issues affecting the Jewish philanthropic world? Our Daily Update keeps you on top of the latest news, trends and opinions shaping the landscape, providing an invaluable source for inspiration and learning.
Sign Up Now
For Email Marketing you can trust.

Continue The Conversation

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Recent Comments

  • Bruce Powell on An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Sara Rigler on Announcement: Catherine Reed named CEO of American Friends of Magen David Adom
  • Donna Burkat on The Blessings in 2020’s Losses
  • swindmueller on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times
  • Alan Henkin on Where Do We Go From Here?
    Reflections On 2021
    A Jewish Response to These Uncertain Times

Most Read Recent Posts

  • Jewish Agency Accuses Evangelical Contractors of “Numerous Violations” but Denies They Evangelized New Immigrants
  • Breaking: Birthright Israel & Onward Israel Seek to Join Forces to Strengthen Jewish Diaspora Ties with Israel
  • An Invitation To Transparency: Reflections on an Open Salary Spreadsheet
  • Why One Zoom Class Has Generated a Following
  • The Blessings in 2020’s Losses

Categories

The Way Back Machine

Footer

What We Do

eJewish Philanthropy highlights news, resources and thought pieces on issues facing our Jewish philanthropic world in order to create dialogue and advance the conversation. Learn more.

Top 40 Philanthropy Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2020

Copyright © 2021 · eJewish Philanthropy · All Rights Reserved