NY Jewish Week Knocks Jewish Hipsterism
Man, don’t even get me started about this article. I am way too close to the story and to even begin talking about it would set so many bridges ablaze it’s not even worth getting into. Let’s also not discuss the author’s Krucoff interview which was conducted from my couch.
This is me exercising restraint.
*** UPDATE ***
Now that I’ve calmed down a bit, here’s the real problem with Gabrielle Birkner’s hipster story:
The philanthropist wears no clothes.
If anyone is responsible for this false impression that projects such as Heeb, JDub, Jewcy or The Jewish Fashion Conspiracy are somehow supposed to be the salvation of American Jewry, it is the major Jewish philanthropies and Federations backing these projects themselves (Jewcy & JewFashCon, of course, the independent exceptions). Which is not to say these projects should not be supported, because they should: They are an expression of positive Jewish culture. Heeb is your satire, JDub your klezmer, Jewcy your Yiddish theatre, and JewFashCon your fashion. These are all important elements of modern Jewish culture and they all have their value and their place. It may look different than it used to look, but that’s only because, in the consumer age, all the world’s culture looks different. You might resent the packaging, but in this day and age, people need to make things slick and give off a seeming air of pretentiousness in order to garner attention and stick out from the crowd. Take, for consideration, Frank Luntz’s “Israel in the Age of Eminem” and “America 2020”, marketing studies which conclude with suggestions for making pro-Israel messages more palatable to MTV-conditioned youth.
The problem isn’t so much the projects, but rather the fact that their grantwriters all have to lie about their intentions in order to get funded. I didn’t understand this so well two years ago when I wrote about my interaction with Josh Neuman at Jewltide. (Since then Josh and I have become friends and I’ve grown in my appreciation for Heeb by leaps and bounds and would like to publicly apologize to both Josh and Roger for my ill-informed and ill-tempered remarks.) Now it’s a clear as day to me.
All of the grant money available to Jewish cultural projects fall under the auspices of Jewish continuity — recently rebranded “renaissance & renewal.” These are merely euphemisms for getting Jews to shtup other Jews. It seems to be the only thing big-wig Jewish philanthropists find themselves concerned with, with the few exceptions of those focused on Jewish education and social action. In this climate, the only way for innovative Jewish projects to get funded is if they present themselves within the context of Jewish continuity. It’s a dirty game, but it’s the reality.
These projects, against their will, are forced to say, “Yes, we can get Jews to hump within the race,” and then are put in the position of keeping up the continuity charade for their funders. The Federation-backed Jewish press then trumpets the philanthropists’ self-congratulatory PR materials and suddenly Heeb is here to rescue Judaism. Thus the impression is created that these projects are intended to serve a purpose that they themselves don’t consider part of their charter. Ms. Birkner now wishes to hold them accountable for their “deal with the devil.” You can say it’s dishonest on their part, but that’s how the funding game is played. Ask yourself, though: Would you rather live in a world with, or without, new Jewish culture? Can you remember the last time people were so eager to identify as Jews? Would you prefer to see Matisyahu on MTV or singing at weddings?
In terms of true renaissance & renewal — the reinvigoration of traditional Jewish culture — that isn’t going to come from within the philanthropies and certainly not from within the halls of institutional Judaism. That’s because the true efforts which are revitalizing Jewish ritual, practice and observance are all organic, autonomous projects.
For the last year, the Jewish press has been churning out stories left-and-right about post-denominationalism and the rise of independent minyanim. Projects like Jewschool are also getting attention because we have become a tour de force without any institutional backing. We have their attention but we don’t have their money.
The reason why the major Jewish organizations won’t fund such projects (Hadar being the current exception) is because they pose a threat to their status quo. The Conference of Presidents want you paying synagogue dues, donating to your local UJC chapter and visiting Israel. They’re not so much interested in you davening in your friend’s apartment and attending Jews in the Woods instead of the JCC. They need you to keep their dinosaurs alive.
I don’t know how many times I need to post Rick Marker’s rather well-informed observations about the rigidity of these institutions and their penchant for driving away the most driven and invigorated members of their communities.
Akiva Gersh has a great quote up on his website:
A rabbi once told a fellow rabbi, “People aren’t coming to synagogue as much these days because they’re just not spiritual!” The other rabbi answered, “You’ve got it all wrong! They’re not coming because they ARE spiritual! They come to synagogue looking for something uplifting and meaningful. When they don’t find it, they don’t come back!”
Imagine what happens to someone who wishes to bring their spirituality into their community only to be stepped on or otherwise left waiting for their shul’s board members to die off.
Thus these entities emerge organically, out of necessity. A lively chevra can’t be instituted from the top-down. They are grassroots movements which can only bubble up from below. Therefore, Jewish organizations can’t install autonomous Jewish communities. However, they can attempt to inspire them and there are experiments in the works, like Kavod House, which aims to be a liberal alternative to Chabad, and Jewgie, my forthcoming social networking project which aims to provide the tools and resources both autonomous and established communities need to better connect and organize their constituents. Jewish organizations can become think-tanks and resource providers which assist independent communities in growth and sustainability.
So, um, Ms. Birkner, don’t blame our friends at Heeb, JDub, Jewcy, The Jewish Fashion Conspiracy, Reboot or Natan for failing to reinvigorate the synagogue. That isn’t their role. Do, however, blame yourself for not taking into account Storahtelling, of which we are all active supporters; nor the independent minyanim we participate in, like Kol Zimrah and Selah; and for ignoring Jewschool, which does consider it it’s charter to actively present this critique and still support independent Jewish culture which struggles enough without such attacks.
i have bubblegum all over my face but am still dying to read this article. thewjewishweek.com seems to be down. if you’ve got the story cached can you email it to me?
okay i got it. ha! thrilled to hear that my gelt digger tee shirts are no substitute for prayer. really? whodathunk?
gabrielle, if you’re reading this, you’re invited for shabbos dinner anytime you’re in SF. and to my minyan. we all davven around here. and donate to AJWS. and hold seders. and date jews. and hope to spawn someday. and have full, exciting, fulfilling lives. the tee shirts just pay for it, and give people a laugh.
g-d forbid we have any fun in between all that praying!!
Hey don’t restrain yourself on my part. People call, I just pick up the phone and answer questions. I am certain that none of the authors of the articles meant to slight you and as an independant Jewish weekly, I am certain the Jewish Week does not have some kind of institutional anti-Jewschool bias.
[Ignore 1st version above – apologies for tag problems!]
Mobius writes, “The reason why the major Jewish organizations won’t fund such projects (Hadar being the current exception) is because they pose a threat to their status quo. The Conference of Presidents want you paying synagogue dues, donating to your local UJC chapter and visiting Israel. They’re not so much interested in you davening in your friend’s apartment and attending Jews in the Woods instead of the JCC. They need you to keep their dinosaurs alive.”
This is not entirely true. IKAR, Brooklyn Jews, and a number of other emergent groups that are synagogue replacements have secured significant foundation funding, notably from Natan, Nathan Cummings, and Revson, among others
Synagogue 3000 (S3K), largely funded by the Marcus Foundation (of Home Depot founder Bernie Marcus) has established a Working Group on Emergent Sacred Communities within the S3K Leadership Network to provide a forum for these new communities. A list of participants and details of one aspect of the meeting are here.
From my own personal experience, I can cite the ghetto shul in Montreal as an example that both supports and contradicts your assertions. Seen at first as a threat to their monopoly on student related activities in Montreal, the local Federation wanted to close down this ndependant grass roots minyan. However, once it became clear that the minyan was very successful in attracting Jewish students studying at McGill, and thanks to the local Hillel’s active support of the minyan, Federation woke up and now pays the shul’s rent and the Rabbi’s salary. The rest of the funding needed to continue running the Ghetto shul comes from membership dues and donations. As far as all other Jewish grass roots initiatives, yes, funding from these projects is still ad hoc. Philanthropists and Federations have been skeptical, suspicious and often clueless about what to do with these projects that they did not initiate. There is also an institutional bias against these activities because while they fulfill a need, their very existence and success demonstrates failure on the part of the well monied, well staffed organizations dedicated to accomplishing similar goals. That having been said, I believe there’s change afoot. It’s slow in coming but it is coming. Fundraising bureaucracies have never been known for being nimble but I feel they are getting ready to co-opt many heretofore grass roots initiatives via the power of shiny lucre. Being independant is often difficult and thankless but it also allows you to not have to deal with bureaucracy, to not be answerable to anyone but your constituency. Success is thus sweet and satisfying in a way that a mere job can never be. Beware what you wish for, you just might get it.
ck has a point, but there’s something else, too, in addition to philanthropies and federations being “skeptical, suspicious and often clueless about what to do with these projects that they did not initiate.” Many of them are wary of funding ephemeral flashes-in-the-pan, for example independent minyanim that never do become more than just a regular private gathering in someone’s apartment. Once those minyanim — like Hadar, Kol Zimrah, Darchei Noam, etc. — demonstrate some staying power, then they become serious candidates for meaningful philanthropic investment.
I agree with ck, largely.
We live in an age of decentralization.
Jews already represent a Distributed Nation, and these institutions – UJA-Federation, UJC; etc – were once nodes within that distribution. They represented junctions within that network for resource pooling and allotment.
In time, though, they just became these unwieldy institutions that sort of lost touch with their initial investment. My sense is that they’re like any other plodding Old Model charities: sort of AS interested in survival as they are in their mission to help us thrive as a Distributed Community.
In a very modular society, where the Jewish community no longer vests itslef in a single space for more than a generation, and community centers of ALL denominations are sort of dated and losing the public’s attention span; UJA/UJC/Others are clinging desperately to their old business plan.
AS ck said; I think change is coming, because these guys are outmoding themselves right out of business.
It is the Jewish Week’s job to not get it. They stay funded by the UJA by glorifying whatever they perceive to be the center position of a topic, and they never veer far from that center position. Rosenblatt could find the centrist position in WWIII.
Anyone who seeks to challenge that center position cannot receive a positive response until that position is deemed the center one. Then they will talk it up to death, once it is no longer perceived as controversial, but pretending they think it still is.
Even their important stories, such as Boruch Lanner, hardly rocked the boat. Few in the traditional secular Jewish world really thinks its okay to ignore the complaints of a child molestor because he “makes people frum.”
CK,
You wrote, “I am certain that none of the authors of the articles meant to slight you and as an independant Jewish weekly, I am certain the Jewish Week does not have some kind of institutional anti-Jewschool bias.”
“Independent,” my ass. 80% of their circulation comes from the UJC.
nice jitw shout out mobius.
jews in the woods is another of the important, contemporary, content-rich endevours which gets routinely spurned by federation grantmakers. i don’t necessarily think the reasons are malicious, just folks who haven’t ever been forced to think about the limits in the boxes they use to put proposals in.
getting Jews to shtup other Jews.
True, true. Too bad it ain’t so hip to invest in Jewish education, even paying for others. It’s time for a few rich guys to do an a la birthright for Jewish ed. The same way Bronfman and friends sends kids to Israel for free, money should be raised to send Jewish kids to Jewish schools. Easier said than done, but this way less effort would need to be spent trying to attract the lost souls afterwards.
I haven’t read the article yet, but all you Jewish hipsters out there should also understand the life-cycle of any project, ups and downs and changing trends. It might be hard for us young ones to see but once these institutions we bash as being ‘old fogey’ were progressive, hip and trendy too, relatively of course. On top of that, we all grow up and priorities change. As a single, you’d love to go to the carlebach minyan in Givat Shmuel, but once you get old and have more kids, you realize that you need to settle down a bit and get home for dinner at a reasonable time.
shabbat shgalom and hanukah sameach,
Josh
I may not always agree with Mobius and his views, (then again, our tradition’s literature is littered with disagreements…interes tingly, disagreement seems to propel the Jewish community forward faster than just about anything else…but I digress) but that takes nothing away from the hugely important service Jewschool provides. I will always throw my kippah in his ring and am confident that Jewschool (and publications similar) will continue to add enormous value in an ever changing Jewish landscape.
Speaking from a British Jew’s perspective, I can echo much of what seems to be happening in the USA and Canada. Folks my age (30ish) aren’t altogether interested in rote davening void of sprituality, but neither are they interested in jettisoning the tradition. Rather, we are challenging the traditional institutions to engage us on terms that are categorically different to those that the establishment grew up with due largely to the technology that we have grown up with. If we aren’t engaged, we just go off and start our own thing. Far from eroding the Jewish community or tradition, I see emerging technologies such as blogging and podcasts as providing platforms for engagement on a level never before seen. As such, I expect that it will take a significant amount of time for the establishment to catch up. In the mean time, let’s keep progressing and encouraging things like Jewschool until we ourselves become the establishment and can change some of the ‘rules’ we have such difficulty with. If you haven’t read ‘And the Walls Came Tumbling Down’ by Mobius, I would heartily encourage you to do so. As knowledgeable and insightful discourse as you are likely to read on this subject, in my opinion.
Long live Jewschool, all hail Moby.
Moby is on point, and so is matityahu. I have gone right up in the faces of Steinhardt, the Bronfmans et al at meetings–and no moby, it ain’t the conference of presidents–they don’t give a shit about shuls….it’s the NCSY’s and those types of orgs that wanna stiff you…but but but…the real shanda is Jewish education and the fact that it’s virtually unaffordable, and that has been my mantra for 30 years. When the net when boom, I begged them to put it on CD’s and the net….but when, in 1991-2? (not sure, but really early), I brought them all David Pfeffer’s mult-media CD magazine, the dopes were still kacking around with green screens and dual floppy drives saying it would never fly.
They shit on everything they don’t get.
You know what it takes TODAY to convince some of these people to build a website?? Then, when you get them in front of a screen, they are so dense, they REFUSE to look at the screen because….and they will come up with 5,000 excuses about it being too difficult.
Oh, and as for the Lanner thing….you can’t knock Gary on that, (it took almost 30 years for a bunch of Teaneckers to get that done and it wouldn’t have been possible without Gary, who came to the story late, but did the right thing. It was the OU, RCA, RCBC and the parts of the local Teaneck community of that prevented prosecution, except for a handful of folks led by the Hillers and the Senters …so….nu….props are in order on that one…no one paid attention until Gary moved to town.)
HOWSOMEVER:
you CAN bitch about stuff that goes on at the Jewish Week. At the Folksbiene (WWW.FOLKSBIENE.ORG) we are plenty pissed at the headline they stuck on our story. We had 20,000 people come to performances, up 60% from the previous year and they tried to kill us off week before last. Why? Go find out. Wouldn’t we just love to know?
Ya see, a headline like that can kill the fundraising effort and put a negative spin on a positive story–and it ain’t benign….
but back to the issue. One out of ten Jewkids gets Jew’ed and his folks need to make a minimum of four times the national average salary to provide it; the rich owners of Judaism all think that parents keep their kids away from Jew’ed by choice.
Kids don’t get Jew’ed because their parents have no money….but the owners of the community don’t even care or see those people until their kids get old enough to get jobs–and only those in high paying fields…but by then it’s too late. The kids know someone is aiming at their pockets, and they want to pay for what they like…by then it’s too late for the dinosaurs, and Jewschool, Jewcy, Heeb and the rest take over.
They don’t like it? Let them make Jewish education free to whoever wants it. And that will be when Hell freezes over.
Gomarnu!
This morning’s New York Times has a similar story – albeit told in the world of the Evangelical megachurch. It seems like the young folks do not like the dinosaurs – so they create their own smaller institutions where they feel more connected. The big churches are threatened and want to shut them down or they look to sink money into the smaller enterprises. The young people are forced to make the hard choice of continued freedom or possible micromanaging from the top. What seems to be organic is not the growth of small institutions – but the cycle in which small institutions become large institutions until they reach their peak and eventually spawn new, smaller ones that become either rivals or strategic partners. In academic circles I think this is called “Empire.” Nice topic for the Hannukah season when we dicuss the death by elephants.
Can someone explain whats going on? Im not really privy to this whole young hip jewish culture (nor did I know it even existed), or jewish philanthropists.
Why would a jewish donor or philanthropist fund a website like jewschool, and why would they see jewschool as a threat to the establishment? Forgive me if im missing something, but I read alot of these blogs, and jewschool appears to just be another jewish/political blog. Perhaps among the better ones out there, but still, not too different. Also, exactly what in this site threatens the old guard? are your views really that different from their views (other than just the usual generational / age difference)? If so, please explain.
DK,
I think the JWeek is only “centrist” from an Upper West Side/Riverdale Modern Orthodox “centrist” position. Which actually isn’t very centrist. But yes, they are by no means “independent.” I’m pretty sure if you donate to the UJA it comes free, no?
Kyle’s Mom,
I agree with you, but it’s much more expensive than we realize. If the Jewish community can barely afford to sustain birthright israel at its present levels, there’s little chance it’s going to be able to afford the billions it would take to ensure free day school education to all Jews. But it’s still a worthy goal…
This is the problem: Traditional Jewish media in the US, UK etc is losing readers (older readers die, younger readers use the web/blogs) as a result they have an issue with digital media and how they should embrace it. Problem is, very few of them know how to embrace it. Their core skills are print, their core audience is 55 plus. So no new readers for them and their own future is in doubt.
Many of these papers get funding and support from local Jewish groups and centres. Without this, they would not survive. So without the older members subscribing and paying their dues, these newspapers will not have much of a future.
A similar problem with old-school “traditional” shuls.
So when both these media and Jewish organisations feel threatened, they will try and use their “influence” (or usually lack of it) to knock their competition.
Remember, it is all about power and control. The web and blogs give many people the same voice that the old school Jewish media once had and indeed Jewish organisations. These days, it is Jewish blogs and websites that are becoming much more important and a part of someone’s day.
How many people here will read atleast one Jewish blog or website a day, compared to how often they may read a newspaper.
A healthy network of Jewish webs and blogs is waking up younger Jews and indeed even older Jews who are fed up with the way in which traditional Jewish media has been run.
Of course, there are some exceptions out there from the traditional Jewish media, but on the whole, traditional Jewish media has done a poor job at reporting for the community.
Atleast with the blogs and websites, you can deal directly with the writers and express yourself.
cheers
Leslie
EV,
Yes, you get it free if you donate to the UJA, but that doesn’t mean you even sent a check to pay your annual “Jew Tax” (special inside joke for Jewlicious friends, they love that sh-t) but even if you attent an event sponsored by the UJA, that newspaper will start arriving at your door, and when you live in a walk-up and are a Forward person, this is quite annoying.
EV, you are correct that the UWS Conservadox (the mean average targeteed more than Modern Orthodox) is only relatively centrist to that area, but centrist is always relative.
DK,
Agreed — within their four-square-mile target, they’re “centrist.” But relative to the larger Jewish community — even just within NYC — they’re pretty damn right-of-center. They should rename themselves The UWS Conservadox Jewish Week.
For some time this summer, they actually seemed like The Gaza/West Bank Settler Jewish Week.
Good posts above. I couldn’t agree more that Jewish education is the key, and that it’s unaffordable for too many people. But alas, EV is right. The expense is beyond the means even of our most generous philanthropists. So what can we do?
Hmmm. In today’s New York Sun, a story about a huge voucher program for New Orleans kids. What say, all you left of center folks? Ready to oppose the ACLU and the teacher’s unions, and most of your beloved Democratic Party, and demand school choice?
I don’t know, J. Maybe, maybe not. Let’s take it slow, but let’s try it out.
But what I do agree with is getting rid of the threat of violence and chaos. And that means more suspensions for troublemakers, and expulsions. Which is finally happening. As reported in our the Post: http://www.nypost.com/news/reg…
Hold on a second. Some of you are assuming the conclusion that universal day school education for American Jews is desirable. While some may choose to send their children to day school, other committed Jews (whether or not they have the financial means to do otherwise) will continue to support public education. This means that we need to find other venues for effective Jewish education.
BZ,
That’s true too.
“Some of you are assuming the conclusion that universal day school education for American Jews is desirable.”
If it’s Jewish continuity you want, the track record of the day school approach is outstanding.
“While some may choose to send their children to day school, other committed Jews (whether or not they have the financial means to do otherwise) will continue to support public education. ”
Why? Is supporting public education a Jewish value?
“This means that we need to find other venues for effective Jewish education.”
That’s fine in theory, but in practice we have limited resources. We should put our money, energy and polotical advocacy into programs that work.
oh boy, i have so much to say on the topic, but will work on a longer post on my blog about over time- a few brieft points though:
-i find it so interesting that this debate has been raging in larger circles, just as my friends are were having the same unanswered gripes and discussions at our liberal northeast university, which, to me, now, seems like a perfect microcosm of the way things are playing out on a national scale.
– J, i know you put me up to this response, but: i do NOT thing free day school education is the key, (unless you’re referring to some of the newer more progressive schools like newjew)both because of the complete lack of responsibility for and engagement with the public school system, in addition to the fact that i don’t think it’s necessarily a successful solution for all kids- i know many who have become so turned off by the insularity of it that they completely rebel from judaism.
– i think it IS important to see this in a historical context, which is that when those large institutions rose to prominence, the major jewish activities of the majority WERE shtupping other jews and other limited ritual activities that they only did out of obligation and spirituality. the only binding tie was a sense of hardship and xenophobia for non-Jews. now that we are losing many of those non-progressive values that were hidden behing the liberal jewish facade, of course intermarriage is up. and i no longer remember my point, except to say that i think that there is a difference between the goal of jewish continuity referring only to genetic continuation of the race, and continuation of jewish culture/heritage/contri bution of jews to society and the world, which someone can do very successfully within the context of an intermarriage (ie frank london and others).
Very much need to edit that post. The third point should read: ” the major jewish activities of the majority WERE shtupping other jews and other limited ritual activities that they only did out of guilt/obligation/narrow -mindedness and NOT spirituality.”
responding to the more recent posts: yes, i think many would argue that supporting public education IS a Jewish a value, although i won’t get into that now.
and also that i don’t think the financial issue is quite as big as you’ve made it seem for the current generation, at least coming from someone who grew up in a highly secular Jewish middle-class suburban area which seems representative of a huge sector of the American Jewish population (at least for where Generation Y kids grew up- I don’t know what the demographics are for the next generation of new little kids)
You know, in the off chance that we establish free tuition for all in the next couple of months, perhaps we should take more of an interest and a stand in making sure urban public schools (mostly but not only New York) are safe and properly service Jewish students.
That means, quite frankly, defending Honors programs and making sure they aren’t elminated (like ACORN wants) or watered down out because of affirmitive action programs.
I meant, in the off chance we don’t establish free tuition.
hee hee we only have room for maybe 40 kids a year to even enroll in jewish day school in san francisco. shit, we better start bulldozing…
seriously, one thing that is important to do is remove yourself from the tri state area bubble when having this thought process. i grew up in south carolina, did some wonderful time in nyc, and now live in san francisco. so i know how wonderful the whole UWS/day school/conservadox dating scene et al is, but it doesn’t touch most american jews.
i just finished 4 years working for an independent jewsh summer camp as the outreach director and so i am pretty familiar with the truism that 3 things impact a child’s future jewish identity and interest in shtupping other jews – day school, jewish summer camp and a trip to israel. this research is where the birthright program came out of. and it’s where san francisco’s BJE’s campership program comes out of. if you want to send your kid to camp, they will make it happen, and they don’t care if you’re affiliated anywhere.
so i love the day school idea but there are other models. here in the bay area we have a popular program called midrasha – it’s an after school intensive jewish program for high school students. it ain’t the hebrew school you grew up in. it’s incredibly engaging, taught by extremely talented funky jews, and the kids get something rock solid to take into their futures with them. this model is a lot less expensive and more easily duplicatable around the country than investing bazillions in day schools, which i’ll agree do seem to create as many rebels as bachurs.
off topic, but briefly: can you please provide more info about acorn wanting to get rid of honors programs? do you mean tracking?
It’s nice that you support Heeb now, but I still find it damaging. It’s just continuing the trend of people who only identify themselves as jewish culturally. That may be acceptable or the goal of some including the editor of Heeb, but most of the jews I know who identify themselves that way don’t care enough about the culture not to intermarry. As much as it annoys me to hear the constant droning about intermarriage, it’s still an important. The children of intermarried couples have conflicted identities. They may feel Jewish, but they also feel part of the other parent’s group. More importantly, they’re more likely to intermarry themselves.
AW:
“i do NOT thing free day school education is the key, (unless you’re referring to some of the newer more progressive schools like newjew)both because of the complete lack of responsibility for and engagement with the public school system,”
There are dozens of ways to be responsible and engaged in your community. Why pick the one (being part of the public school system) that damages the Jewish future? And why is it so important that education be public in the first place? (Note that private schools have to meet state-wide minimum standards just as public schools do.)
“in addition to the fact that i don’t think it’s necessarily a successful solution for all kids- i know many who have become so turned off by the insularity of it that they completely rebel from judaism.”
Nothing works for ALL kids, but this is the best solution we have. And perhaps some of the day schools could be improved.
“i think that there is a difference between the goal of jewish continuity referring only to genetic continuation of the race, and continuation of jewish culture/heritage/contri bution of jews to society and the world, which someone can do very successfully within the context of an intermarriage (ie frank london and others).”
The facts don’t bear this out. And although your distinction between genetic continuation and spiritual/cultural continuation is valid, consider that we need the former if we want to have the latter.
“responding to the more recent posts: yes, i think many would argue that supporting public education IS a Jewish a value, although i won’t get into that now. ”
More like a liberal American Jewish value circa the New Deal era. Not the same as a core, pan-Jewish value.
“and also that i don’t think the financial issue is quite as big as you’ve made it seem for the current generation, at least coming from someone who grew up in a highly secular Jewish middle-class suburban area which seems representative of a huge sector of the American Jewish population ”
Coming from a strongly Orthodox Jewish urban area that earns middle-class but spends a lot of the income on tuitions, I can tell you that private school tuition is a crushing burden.
Sarah: I don’t think after-school programs are the answer. You may have an excellent one in the Bay Area, but I suspect it only serves a small number of kids, for which you can find a small number of dedicated and energetic teachers. If it expanded to accomodate more students, I don’t think it could maintain the quality. In any case, after-school programs are seen by their students as a burden, and the after-school status makes the education seem to be an extra, like sports or piano lessons. It’s just not enough to reverse the causes of assimilation.
As long as some of us see Judaism as a means of making more Jews, and others see Jews as vessels for transmitting Judaism, we’ll be talking past each other.
Here you go, AW.
http://www.shsaa.org/index.php…
There are a lot of people who can afford private school education but prefer to send their kids to private secular or (gasp) Catholic schools. Why? Because they think it gives their kids a greater advantage with respect to colleges, careers, etc. So free tuition would be amazing, but there are a lot of Jews who would need to be convinced that their kids would be best off with a Jewish education.
On a personal note, I went to a Jewish pluralist school growing up, and there were kids from every Jewish spirtual/religious background (mostly conservative, but there were orthodox, reform, atheist, sepharadic, ethiopian kids etc.. really ran the gamut). I think it would be great to see more schools that promote ahavat Yisrael as a chief value, rather than schools that champion one specific vantage point vis a vis Jewish practice/though. The ‘movement’ schools are probably a major source of our ever-deepening divisions.
Re: other models of Jewish education outside of dayschool. I think the Institute of Southern Jewish Life has a unique approach… But that’s probably because I work there.
I haven’t gone through the whole debate since I posted. but wait a minute folks…I didn’t say DAY SCHOOL — I said Jewish education, and I meant digitally and audio-visually, with parents, via media that is accessible at all times….open source code…moby’s idea…your generation is the one to make it happen…. now I go back to reading more of the response to what started with a plea for cheaper Jewish education for the masses. the spamblock is problematic.
no lie! LOL
Not sure why this devolved into a discussion about day school funding, but the initial several posts were all on point. Writ large, these programs and initiatives ARE the JCC’s of our generation. Aside from the funding end of things, the other big differences between them and the institutios of our parents are that a. they are mobile and b. they are entrepreneurial. One might argue that a good metaphor is the click and mortar revolution in retailing. Big bos stores haven’t gone away because of the internet, but they exnteded their reach, streamlined sales and grown the overall sales base.
The central agencies could bring Nu Jew groups on as the click to their mortar with nominal funds (really) and in kind support, but so far they’ve only put up a static site…
The problem is one of shortsightedness. The central agencies and their funders are still largely clinging to models that still have some validity now. But times are a changin and recognition of the new model needs to happen now, so that these groups can get up and running to meet what will be a massive demand for alternaJew outlets in the next ten years.
In 10 years independent initiatives and entrepreneurs without support will have been starved out of business and given up their dream to invigorate their community, the central agencies’ funding bases will have shrunken to the point that their brick and morter and failed programs will be in need of major surgery. Combine that with thousands of young Jewish without an alternative to the shuls their older siblings were rejecting a decade prior, and the future looks bleak.
none of the websites can work if the people who run them don’t know anything about Judaism….therefore Jewish education is at the base of the whole system–bricks or pixels both need basic knowledge that goes beyond Adam Sandler songs and as much as I love him Jon Stewart (and Frank Luntz said to my face that JS is the cure for Judaism–is och und vey if he is the ‘rabbi’ of the future…but if he runs for pres, I’ll vote for him!)
Bricks and mortar is too expensive for everyone. Pixels is lots cheaper….and that’s where we have to put the education. On the net.