By Rabbi Beryl Frankel
A recent survey conducted by the Jewish Federation of Miami, found that in 2014 about one in four Jewish households in the Miami area participated in Chabad-Lubavitch programming. But truly groundbreaking was the breakdown by age group: 36 percent of families ages 35-47 and nearly half (47 percent) of families age 35 and younger engaged with Chabad programs.
Over the past ten years, 71 Chabad shluchim (emissary couples or families) have established communities around the world catering exclusively to young adults (ages 25-39); of those, 55 have been established just in the past two years. Data collected from just 25 of these locations, over the past 12 months, has so far revealed impressive statistics: 108 Jewish weddings, 408 Jewish holiday and Shabbat experiences with more than 24,000 attendees, over 5000 Torah classes and discussions.
What is driving this?
As a leader who has traveled the globe assisting in the establishment of hundreds of Chabad houses and who has helped bring to life many of Chabad’s educational initiatives over the last 46 years, I asked Rabbi Moshe Kotlarsky that question. The insight he shared with me – surprisingly simple, yet fascinatingly insightful – underscored that Chabad’s success in general, and particularly with young adults, isn’t the result of a trick, technique, or program model.
What he said can be distilled into two Hebrew words: ahavat yisrael (love of a fellow Jew). Ahavat yisrael means that just as one loves members of their family – in fact, just as one feels a powerful “self-love” for every part of one’s own body – in the same way, one should love every Jew. The Rebbe, Rabbi Menachem M. Schneerson, of blessed memory, taught us that we are one family, and we are one body. At the core of every Jew is a neshama, a soul, which is connected at its source with every other Jewish soul, no matter who, no matter where. So, in essence, we are all one.
In addition, the fact that every Jew possesses a soul means that they are special by virtue of their very existence, since the soul’s worth is beyond measure. They aren’t a means to an end; they are the end itself.
This love for every Jew is the reason we strive to be there for another Jew in any way we can – materially or spiritually.
Chabad is known for its Jewish outreach efforts. Some say that what motivates these efforts is a desire to ensure Jewish continuity, to strengthen commitment to Jewish tradition and values, or to grow the Jewish community as a whole.
But the motivation is deeper than that. We share the beauty of Judaism with other Jews because that is a natural expression of love. A person shares what is important to them with whom they love. We know that Judaism is a gift, helps us connect to the Almighty through growing and striving, exhilarates our mind and electrifies our soul – how can we not share it?
This approach may sound simplistic, but its simplicity is what makes it so inspiring – and successful. It isn’t data-driven or fiscally beholden. We aren’t looking for watersheds, benchmarks, or tipping points. It’s not about the “next generation” or the “Jewish future.” It is about reaching one Jew and igniting one soul, even for one moment.
And, along the way, watersheds and benchmarks are quietly surpassed. The imperatives of the Jewish nation are met, and Jewish continuity is ensured.
This happens because when we work with young adults, we don’t see them as future donors, Hebrew school parents or synagogue funders. We consider them intrinsically important members of the Jewish nation – not because of what they will become, but because of who they are now. Young adults feel this. They understand that they are recognized, special, significant. They realize how important they are, and how much of a real impact they can make. They feel the power of the here and now.
Rabbi Beryl Frankel is the Coordinator at Chabad Young Professionals International.
Top
I recently became connected to a Chabad Rebbetzin and all my prejudices about the movement disappeared. I have never felt LESS judged and MORE welcome! It is truly one people, one nation, one heart. But with many souls who are all valued. Thank you for expressing the Chabad philosophy so beautifully. Your last paragraph nailed it!
All that is true. PLUS:
It’s “pay as you go”, rather than dues or mandatory donation based
It recognizes that relationships, more than programs, matter (See Ron Wolfson’s Relational Judaism)
It meets the person where s/he is at and on his/her terms
Alcohol is often served (sorry, but let’s be honest)
Chabad operates outside of the “establishment organizations”,
All told, those of us who work within the establishment (synagogues, communal agencies, day schools, etc), have a lot to learn from Chabad. Perhaps it’s time for Chabad to help us lead professional development for our people to make them more successful as well.
Shalom All,
Ahhh, the power of a clear, crisp, concise and compelling two word mission statement: Ahavat Yisrael, love of a fellow Jew. And let’s not forget that this is coupled with the kishke level convictions of Habad sh’luchim re the Truth of their brand of Judaism.
There is no analog to these two facts on the ground within non Orthodox Judaism or its institutions. Heck we can’t even get a non orthodox definition of the adjective “Jewish” in this forum?!?!?
Rabbi Arnie wrote: “Chabad operates outside of the ‘establishment organizations.'”
Of course they do. Working with those that do not share their convictions would only dilute their very focused mission.
Rabbi Arnie continued: “All told, those of us who work within the establishment (synagogues, communal agencies, day schools, etc), have a lot to learn from Chabad.”
Learn the value of a convictions based mission. Without it all else is futile.
Rabbi Arnie continued: “Perhaps it’s time for Chabad to help us lead professional development for our people to make them more successful as well.”
Habad has shown the way for many years. Non Orthodox Judaism and its institutions have thus far been unable to inspire kishke level convictions.
Until it/they do/does, nothing will change. Sadly in this case it can be said re non Orthodox Judaism and its institutions that “they have eyes but the see not,
they have ears but they hear not.” T’hillim 115:5-6.
Who/What will finally open our eyes to the blindness we have re the tohu vavohu of the non Orthodox status quo, to paraphrase Birkhot Hashahar and B’reishit?
Biv’racha,
Jordan
All nice. But a cult is still a cult. No matter how attractive it may seem.
A messianic cult like Chabad is close to Judaism. But it’s no more authentic than Reform or Conservative Judaism (and dates from about the same time-period).
Chabad’s ethics and morals stand in firm opposition to the separation of Church and State, to any possible peace negotiation on land in Israel. Their leaders are focused on fundraising and the wealthy more than any other Jewish organization. And their theology is hierarchic and unrepresentative. It requires nothing more than a lazy acceptance of rabbinic leadership. Is that what you think Jewish success looks like? Shame.
Shalom Avud,
What is your definition of Jewish, as you use it above in the phrase “Jewish success?” And then, what would be your definition of “Jewish success” be?
Having an opinion on what it’s not is insufficient.
Biv’racha,
Jordan
Jordan: my definition of Jewish is “relating to, associated with, or denoting Jews or Judaism.”
And my definition of “Jewish success” is, in this case, “not a lazy acceptance of rabbinic leadership.” Thanks for asking.
But in all seriousness … you don’t need to try to attack where I’m coming from to tackle what I’m saying. My beliefs are irrelevant to this conversation.
What’s relevant is what Chabad believes and represents … and what its various supporters say and think it represents.
Shalom Avud,
No attack intended. Just a quest for clarity. You defined Jewish by using the words Jews and Judaism. That’s like saying that The adjective Christian is about Christians and/or Christianity. And we’re still no closer to clarity. Once again as you did in your original response you defined Jewish success by writing what it’s not. And once again no closer to clarity.
You wrote, ” My beliefs are irrelevant to this conversation.”
To the contrary, this conversation is about your beliefs and those of everyone else who has chosen to respond. You continued,
“What’s relevant is what Chabad believes and represents …”
Your belief. You continued,
“and what its various supporters say and think it represents.”
The beliefs of others.
My suggestion would be for us to take this offline if you’d like to continue. My email is: eashtov@aol.com
One more question, is Avud spelled with an aleph or an ‘ayin?
Biv’racha,
Jordan
So basically, you’re nitpicking apart my response, rather than addressing the actual issues I raised.
Really, who am I is insignificant.
Not everything is black and white. Including lame and uninspiring demands to “define” Judaism.
1. Chabad is a messianic cult.
2. It’s no more authentic than Reform or Conservative Judaism (and dates from about the same time-period).
3. Chabad’s ethics and morals stand in firm opposition to the separation of Church and State.
4. Chabad opposes any possible peace negotiation on land in Israel.
5. Chabad’s leaders are focused on fundraising and the wealthy more than any other Jewish organization.
6. Chabad’s theology is hierarchic, sexist, anti-Gay, and unrepresentative. It requires nothing more than a lazy acceptance of rabbinic leadership.
It’s the final comment that I find most interesting. How can an organization that rejects so many in the community claim to love Jews?
Shalom Avud and Shlomo,,
Avud, not nitpicking but once again a search for clarity. As Dennis Prager has said, “clarity is mor eimportant than agreement. Shlomo, Avud’s response to which you refer are merely his/her beliefs, to which (s)he’s entitled. Because (s)he refuses to define the terms Jewish and Jewish success as (s)he used them above in her/his first response, her/his beliefs are as (s)he said above, “no more authentic” than anyone else’s beliefs. I’m still curious to know if Avud is spelled with an aleph or with an ‘ayin?
Biv’racha,
Jordan
Jordan,
Why don’t YOU clarify in answering the five points about Chabad? And no, his “beliefs” are pretty right, since Chabad won’t accept gays or women as equal members of Jewish leadership. Stop deflecting.
My saying that Jewish is “relating to, associated with, or denoting Jews or Judaism” is a reflection of real life.
Real life is like that – messy, unclear. Jewish life is like that too. We look different. We have gays, intermarried families, bi-families, trans-families in Jewish life. We have women rabbis, and girls reading from Torah. We have Sephardim and Yemenites and Ethiopians. And — most importantly — lots and lots of questions. That’s what Chabad (and presumably you) can’t handle. And that’s why well-meaning but weak-willed people will always fall for the charms of a cult like Chabad. Because its charms are simple, easy, black-and-white … and dangerous.
Quoting Dennis Prager on agreement is a bit like quoting Bill O’Reilly on liberal tolerance.
And why was Prager so big on clarity?
Because, like Chabad, he wanted to divide “them” from “us.”
Prager, like Chabad, thinks that some things are “authentic” and “true” and everything else is not. That’s why philosophically (for Prager) and theologically (for Chabad) agreement is meaningless. Because Chabad and Prager can’t think in terms of nuance, of grays, of shades. Only black and white.
People who don’t conform to Chabad’s “clarity” aren’t Jews, in Chabad’s eyes. Even if they think they are. So, sure, if you ‘count’ you’re valued. But there are all too many who don’t.
Shalom All,
Avud wrote:
1. Chabad is a messianic cult.
So what? Avud continued,
2. It’s no more authentic than Reform or Conservative Judaism (and dates from about the same time-period).
Agreed. My comments here and on other posts in this forum have had nothing to do with authenticity. They’re most always about the measurable efficacy/impact of non Orthodox Judaism in North America. Avud continued:
3. Chabad’s ethics and morals stand in firm opposition to the separation of Church and State.
Even if they do, this has nothing to do with the topic of the original post. I’m sure that if this was the case they’d have been sued by the ACLU long ago. Avud continued,
4. Chabad opposes any possible peace negotiation on land in Israel.
Once again irrelevant to the topic of the original post. Avud continued,
5. Chabad’s leaders are focused on fundraising and the wealthy more than any other Jewish organization.
Once again if so, so what? Would you please cite a source for this statement? Avud continued,
6. Chabad’s theology is hierarchic, sexist, anti-Gay, and unrepresentative. It requires nothing more than a lazy acceptance of rabbinic leadership.
Avud continued with this idea in a later response,
“And that’s why well-meaning but weak-willed people will always fall for the charms of a cult like Chabad. Because its charms are simple, easy, black-and-white … and dangerous.”
Once again so what? If a person like Julia in her comments above finds connection and meaning with Habad why is that necessarily “lazy acceptance” or “weak-willed?” This is a harsh judgement of her spiritual journey and that of others like her as you have no way of knowing her story nor that of others. After all, no one is coercing Julia and others like her to seek out Habad. No one is holding them against their will.
Discussions about Dennis Prager who Shlomo chooses to demonize, though off topic are instructive as they demonstrate that intolerance is alive and well on both sides of the political aisle.
Shavu’a Tov to all of us,
Biv’racha,
Jordan
So what if we’re a dangerous cult, focused on money and the wealthy, ignoring the difficult decisions that Judaism demands of us? Right, good point.
It’s lazy acceptance and weak-willed because all Chabad does is say “sit here,” “do that” and “the Rebbe is the sole authority” (and Messiah).
And coercion comes in many, many forms. Just because you don’t see it doesn’t mean it isn’t there.
Prager’s intolerance is well-documented. Just pointing it out doesn’t make others intolerant.
And your need for ‘clarity’ is an obvious Pragerism: codewords of division to define people out of the camp. Shame on you.
No one’s attacking previous commentators. The problem is that Chabad has a long record of intolerance to LGBTs, women, progressives, intermarried couples, non-Jews. Sure, it’s nice when there’s a nice Chabad couple welcoming you to a warm Shabbat dinner. But an intolerant cult is still a cult. No matter how welcoming it appears.
Chaverim,
Let’s stay on the article’s topic – Chabad’s outreach to millennials. Dennis Prager is irrelevant to this discussion. So is whether Chabad supports negotiating land for peace. And more.
eJP Team
Fair point.
Chabad’s outreach to millennials is dangerous. It uses nostalgia for a past that never existed, in a Jewish context that was never truly representative. It forces young women behind a mechitza, and ignores the identities of all those who don’t conform to its narrow definition of Jewish life.
A Chabad rabbi doesn’t invite you to his house to show you how he celebrates Shabbat. He invites you to his house to show you how it SHOULD be done. One message of a Friday night dinner at a Chabad House is that the role of the Jewish woman should be confined to making dinner.
For all the vibrancy, innovation, learning and grappling existing in modern Jewish life, Chabad has no answer except: “this is the only way to do things.” What a sad statement.
Even though this report is a decade old i still think that it contributes significantly to the awesome job that Chabad does on campuses throughout North America.
http://www.chabad.edu/media/pdf/125/bbyp1251438.pdf
A Chabad-funded report looks at a Chabad-funded program and surprisingly says that Chabad is doing an awesome job? Wow. I can’t think how that methodology wouldn’t be unquestioned.