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CoverStory By Steve Lipman

The New Face OF J EWISH O UTREACH

n a typical month in the Houston salinos, is the new face of Jewish out- Out-of-Town Outreach Iarea, members of the Jewish com- reach in the United States. Its kiruv, Three decades after the early kiruv munity study aspects of Jewish law outreach, programs represent the cur- movement’s yeshivot and classes on and philosophy with kollel rabbis, Jew- rent trend of outreach efforts that Torah began fostering the thousands ish residents of a nearby suburb attend bring traditional Judaism to the of ba’alei teshuvah who revitalized Or- Shabbaton programs and lectures led largely non-Orthodox American Jew- thodox Judaism, today’s successful by the rabbis of Houston’s largest Or- ish population. outreach programs look different. For thodox synagogue and Jewish stu- one thing, while kiruv organizations in dents at the city’s public high schools New York City still offer a variety of spend their free time discussing basic innovative outreach activities, a grow- Jewish concepts with Orthodox youth There are 5.2 million Jews ing number of start-up outreach pro- leaders. in America today, but only grams are coming from other Jewish Few of the participants in these ac- 3.3 to 3.4 million adhere to communities across the United States tivities are Orthodox. any type of Judaism. Roughly and Canada. one quarter of those who iden- Houston, which has grown into the “Kiruv is much more sophisticated nation’s fourth-largest city but is bet- tify as Jewish consider them- these days,” says Rabbi Steven Burg, in- ter known for Stetsons than for Bor- selves Orthodox. ternational director of NCSY, the inter- (2009 American Religious Identification national teen organization sponsored Steve Lipman is a staff writer for the Jewish Study by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar) by the Orthodox Union (OU) dedicated Week in New York. to connecting Jewish teens to Torah.

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In the early years of the teshuvah Kohn, director of the Jewish Renais- Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum, associ- movement, most of the successful pro- sance Center, a Manhattan-based out- atedirectoroftheNationalJewish grams originated in New York. But reach center for women, and are using Outreach Program (NJOP), a pioneer- thanks to the ease of communications that free time to learn about Judaism.) ing kiruv group, agrees. The Jewish fostered by the Internet and a flower- community is more spread out nowa- ing of Orthodoxy in smaller communi- Rabbis without Borders days, with more and more Jews set- ties across the United States and Once kiruv activities were based in tling in areas with no identifiable Canada, many kiruv programs today sites like synagogues and Jewish Jewish neighborhood, he says. NJOP is originate in a larger number of cities schools, and participants traveled to based in New York City but coordi- like Los Angeles and Toronto, accord- the programs. Today, the programs go nates non-denominational activities, ing to outreach authorities. towheretherearepotentialpartici- like crash courses in Hebrew and

“You are no longer going to find unaffiliated Jews in the JCCsorthesynagogues....You’regoingtofindthem in other venues. We have to engage them in their own The number of American territory, in their comfort zone.” Jews who identify as religious has dropped by more than 20 percent over the past two decades, while the cultural Jew- ish population (Jews who iden- tify by ethnicity alone) has nearly doubled. (2009 American Religious Identification Study by Barry Kosmin and Ariela Keysar)

Shabbat Across America, which brings tens of thousands of Jews together for an annual Friday night event occurring simultaneously at hundreds of loca- tions in cities across North America. “You have to work harder” than in thepasttofindunaffiliatedJews, Rabbi Rosenbaum says. “[Jews] are more scattered. They’re not looking for An NCSY advisor plays the guitar as youngsters dance at the NCSY National Convention, circa 1974. [Jewish enrichment].” The new trend in kiruv has both Outside of New York, there tends to pants—to coffee houses and college rabbis and lay leaders seeking out Jews be a more open approach to Judaism, campuses and public high schools. in high schools and college campuses, encouraging programs that transcend “Youarenolongergoingtofind cafes, restaurants and office buildings. Jewish labels, says Rabbi Gavriel Jack- unaffiliated Jews in the JCCs or the Think rabbis without borders. nin, educational director of TORCH, synagogues,” says Rabbi Burg. “You’re Many of these programs serve as a the Torah Outreach Research Center of going to find them in other venues. We magnet for Jews because they don’t Houston. “Away from New York, the have to engage them in their own terri- take place in an obviously Jewish site. slower pace of life allows people to lis- tory,intheircomfortzone.” Thus, programs loosely wear an “Or- ten in the first place,” he says. “In New “It’s a new dynamic,” says Rabbi thodox” or “outreach” label to avoid York, everyone is busy.” Kenneth Brander, dean of Yeshiva Uni- scaring away Jews who have little con- (Although nowadays, with the eco- versity’s (YU) Center for the Jewish nection with traditional Judaism. nomic downturn, even unaffiliated Future. In other words, the onus is on “The average kid who is not Ortho- New Yorkers are finding the time to the kiruv community to find and reach dox is terrified by an Orthodox shul,” learn. More people have more time on out to future members of the Torah- says Rabbi Burg. “It’s strange. It’s not their hands, says Rebbetzin Leah observant community. what he’s used to.” That, he says, is why NCSY has located some of its most successful outreach programs in places “Cultural Jews are harder to reach; they only vaguely identify with like public schools and cafes. “Kids— the Jewish community. It’s more difficult to find them.” even youngsters in families that belong (Rabbi Yitzchak Rosenbaum of the National Jewish Outreach Program) to Orthodox congregations—are not in the shul anymore.”

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Take Latte and Learning, an NCSY program “Torah hasn’t changed; what’s different is the founded in 1996 in Detroit, which attracts middle packaging,” he says. “The kiruv movement is all and high school students to coffeehouses with an about marketing Orthodoxy.” Not everyone in the Orthodox community understands this out-of the-synagogue ap- proach, Rabbi Burg says. One disapproving rabbi commented that “NCSY is not the National Con- ference of Starbucks Youth.” Interestingly enough, the NCSY chapter located in that rabbi’s community cre- ated a Latte and Learning program that now draws sixty to seventy teens each meeting. But Rabbi Barry Gelman of Houston’s United Orthodox Synagogues (UOS) understands that a shul can be alienat- ing. So three years ago he started UOS’ outreach to Sugar Land, a bedroom community thirty minutes from Houston with a growing Jewish community but no Orthodox resi- dents. The UOS initiative may be the first such Orthodox synagogue program in the United States that specifically aims to influence a community without Orthodox Jews, Rabbi Gelman says. He con- Whereas two-thirds of tinues to lead a adult Canadian Jews and Rabbi Effie Goldberg (right corner), executive director of West Coast monthly Sugar Land nearly 75 percent of French NCSY, teaches Torah to high school students in Beverly Hills, Cali- study group and last and Australian Jews have fornia, at Latte and Learning, a highly successful NCSY program year hired Yeshiva Uni- been to Israel, only 35 per- that takes place in coffeehouses. versity musmach Rabbi cent of American Jews have Moshe Davis, who co- visited there even once. offer of free coffee and a Torah discussion. The program has ordinates the outreach (“The Truth About American Jews and Is- rael,” by Jack Wertheimer, Commentary, spread across the country, from Seattle to Miami. Philosoph- and leads regular June 2009) ically, NCSY is making essentially the same pitch it did years classes in people’s ago, when kids were still in the synagogues, Rabbi Burg says. homesaswellasa

More than 35,000 teens in more than 200 cities throughout North America are inspired by NCSY every year. Illustration: Roy Wiemann

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monthly Shabbaton inthesocialhallof Niche Kiruv “Because there are more and an assisted living facility. In recent years, outreach was, or more people involved, there is more Interest in Sugar Land is still grow- seemed to be, largely in Chareidi hands. room for people to specialize,” says ing, Rabbi Gelman says. “People are But today’s kiruv programs range Rabbi Rosenbaum. more comfortable in their own homes across the Orthodox spectrum, from This is especially true in the émigré or in the homes of someone they Modern Orthodox to Chareidi auspices. community of Jews whose families The road of twenty-first-century out- came from the former Soviet Union. In reach was paved, in part, kiruv experts the early years of the kiruv movement, say, by Chabad, whose shaliach couples “For every ba’al teshuvah we have for decades served as the lone make, we probably lose be- outposts of Torah Judaism in isolated NJOP programs have been tween four or five other Jews.” communities, and by Birthright Israel, offered at almost 3,700 (Rabbi Rosenbaum of the NJOP) whose young participants, after visiting locations across North America Israel for the first time on the program, and in 37 countries worldwide. tend to return with a sudden openness Through these programs and its know.” Some participants in the Sugar to strengthening their Jewish identity. Jewish consciousness-raising Land program have joined UOS, some Moreover, with a growing number advertising campaigns, NJOP have become shomer Shabbat, some of trained leaders involved in kiruv ac- reaches 60-70,000 Jews across have moved within walking distance of tivities—some of them raised and edu- North America each year and, an Orthodox synagogue, he says, but cated as Torah-observant Jews, some to date, has engaged more than that isn’t the point. of them young and culturally savvy— 1 million Jews in Jewish life. “The most important goal is to in- many outreach programs are now spire people by exposing them to geared to specific, easy-to-identify Torah,” Rabbi Gelman says. “I’m inter- niche communities. One-program- ested in building a community that has serves-all is yesterday. Today, it’s ear- many of the programs geared for new- lots of different types of Jews. We have marked activities for teens and college comers who arrived with little or no a responsibility to teach Torah to who- students and women and Jews from Jewish background were led by Ameri- ever wants to have it.” Soviet or Iranian families. can-born rabbis.

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Among the newer, successful outreach programs in Now, says Rabbi Eli Blokh, the Moscow-born North America that share a “take Judaism-to-the- founder of the Jewish Russian Community Center in Jews” approach: Queens, New York, which concentrates its religious and educational efforts on people from the former Friday Night Lights: An NCSY program established in small Soviet Union, there are “many [Soviet-born] Russ- communities throughout New York’s Long Island, Friday ian-speaking people working in the field.” Night Lights (FNL) partners with communities to send young Another example: Rabbi Mordechai Tokarsky, a charismatic youth leaders to lead Shabbaton programs each native of St. Petersburg who heads RAJE (Russian month. The FNL team, consisting of “all-star” advisors, brings American Jewish Experience) in New York, a spe- Shabbat food, enthusiasm and inspiration to local teenagers cialized division of Gateways, an international kiruv while providing support to the local community’s synagogues organization. Rabbi Tokarsky’s colleagues, who are and patrons. fellow émigrés or members of émigré families, have Aish Campus: This offshoot of Aish HaTorah underwrites Jew- ish programming at universities, usually through rabbinical cou- ples who serve as teachers and Shabbat hosts. Established ten years ago, Birthright Israel has taken more than 200,000 young JAAM: Rabbi Avraham Jacobovitz’ Jewish Awareness America Jewish adults on a free ten-day educational began on two Michigan campuses and now operates in more trip to Israel. than thirty universities in the United States and Canada. JAAM established Maimonides Jewish Leaders Fellowship, its flagship program, which is one of the fastest-growing Jewish leadership a better understanding of the immigrant mentality training projects in North America. Additionally, its Yeshivalite and are better equipped to tailor their programs to program project, which combines advanced Jewish learning the participants’ needs. and training sessions with field trips to Israel and various cities “In order to be effective in kiruv, you have to in the United States, is highly successful. share common ground culturally with the group Torah High: Founded in Toronto, this educational project asso- you are reaching out to,” says Rabbi Burg. “You ciated with NCSY offers high school credit to students who at- have to have grown up with the same Sunday tend Jewish studies classes in several Canadian and American morning cartoons.” cities. (See article on page 38.) When it comes to outreach, specializing, experts say, makes sense. NCSY often gets referrals from JAM: Originally a campus club at the University of California organizations that have made parents but at Los Angeles, the Jewish Awareness Movement, under the kiruv frum are unable to reach the teenagers in the family. auspices of the Ashreinu educational organization, hires young “Teenagers’ brains are in a different place. They are couples to serve as advisors to student clubs on several South- notadultsandtheyarenotkids,”saysRabbiBurg. ern California campuses, offering a constant Jewish presence “Adult tends to be intellectual; teen is so- at the schools. kiruv kiruv cial. It’s all about hanging out.” JSU: An allied agency working in partnership with NCSY, the Jewish Student Union organizes student-initiated Jewish clubs ThirstingtoLearn primarily in public high schools. Founded in 2002 by Rabbi “Sage academic types were convinced that the Steven Burg, international director of NCSY, and staffed in the teshuva revolution [of the 1970s] was running out of main by NCSY professionals, the organization combats assimila- steam. It was part of a general American return to tion at its root by making Judaism “cool and relevant” to the religion, or left-over idealism from the ‘60s, or a re- largest population of Jewish teens—the unaffiliated. Meetings action to the devaluing of the individual, which take place before or after school hours or during lunch break, eventually people would come to grips with,” Rabbi and clubs operate in 250 schools throughout the United States Yitzchok Adlerstein, author and educator, wrote two and Canada. years ago on his Cross-Currents blog. “They were all American Jewish Spirit: A quarterly magazine, American wrong. All those cultural trends have come and gone, Jewish Spirit addresses the lifestyle and interests of a cross-sec- and there is no end in sight. More and more people tion of the nation’s Jews. Publishers of American Jewish Spirit emerge each day who wish to learn.” hope to reach the nation’s huge segment of Jews who are re- At the same time, however, there are not as many connecting with their spirituality. The magazine also offers re- willing to leave everything behind to go study gional editions in association with outstanding Torah outreach Torah. Several decades ago, Rebbetzin Kohn says, centers, most prominently the several dozen community kollels people were anti-establishment and were quick to that have been changing the Jewish landscape outside of the leave everything behind to join a yeshivah. Today, by New York area. contrast, they want to learn in addition to every- Rabbi Shmuel Skaist: Popularly known as Rav Shmuel, this ed- thing else they’re doing. It’s not that learning is less ucator-troubadour brings his guitar and original compositions important, she says, but that in some ways “it’s a dif- to New York coffeehouses, where he entertains with a combina- ferent reality. . . . [People] are more realistic and tion of humor, banter and spiritual lyrics. more grounded.”

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kollel aims its activities at the parents “Kiruv has changed,” Rabbi Adler- Chabad’s more than 3,000 of the schools’ students. stein wrote in Cross-Currents. “Kiruv “shluchim,” emissaries who It offers an ongoing Shabbat Family has become familiar and comfortable serve the Jewish public, are Minyan, a “halachic prayer service” with technology and sophisticated found in more than 70 countries that features explanations of the graphic presentation.” around the world. Chabadalso tefillah and a Shabbox, a bi-weekly People in all the new outreach ac- reaches more than 50,000stu- container that offers educational ma- tivities “are thinking out of the box,” dents on 238 campuses in terials and family activities on a Shab- developing new techniques and new North and South America, Eu- bat theme, says Rabbi Joe Hirsch, venues for reaching Jews unfamiliar rope, Australia, the former So- program coordinator. with traditional Judaism, Rabbi Rosen- viet Union and Israel. baum says. NJOP, he says, has turned Facebook Outreach to such innovations as Twitter, The new blood in outreach has helped YouTube videos and e-mail updates to Kollel Kiruv to generate new ideas. reach its hip target audience. “Society TORCH in Houston represents another It’sarevolutionintactics,orrather is changing. People”—especially young kiruv trend: ubiquitous kollelim that an evolution that has adapted over the people—“don’t read newspapers. They bring young scholars and their families years to new realities in the Jewish read e-mails.” to cities unfamiliar with advanced Jew- community, Rabbi Rosenbaum says. He “Many outreach professionals are ish learning. The rabbis, and often their using Facebook, Twitter, et cetera, for wives, dedicate significant time to recruiting and communication,” says teaching classes and participating in chavruta learning. According to the Association for Aish HaTorah International Jewish Outreach Professionals (AJOP), consists of more than 100 the major kiruv umbrella organization, branches and projects and has nearly three dozen community-sup- 750 full-time employees. ported kollel programs—some are affili- ated with the Mizrachi-oriented Torah MiTzion movement, others take a more Rabbi Alexander Seinfeld, executive di- Chareidi, Lakewood-inspired ap- rector of Jewish Spiritual Literacy, a proach—are in operation in the United Baltimore-based educational organiza- States, some in such unlikely Jewish tion that seeks to revitalize Jewish spir- settings as Savannah, Georgia; Des itual education. “But I’m not sure this Moines, Iowa; and Norfolk, Virginia. counts as a trend, because regardless of Local synagogues help establish the the trend, kiruv still boils down to rela- kollelim, NJOP’s Rabbi Rosenbaum American Jewish Spirit magazine hopes to tionships. These new tools are just says, as an investment in the future of reach Jews who are reconnecting with their that—tools.” their communities and the viability of spirituality. Rabbi Burg agrees. The NCSY web their congregations. In addition, YU site features videos about its upcoming rabbis, sponsored by YU’s Center for calls today’s successful programs a Gen- and past activities, and the youth organ- the Jewish Future, take part in tempo- eration Y throwback to the popular ization is active in the world of Twitter. rary kollel programs across the country mixed dances that Orthodox organiza- “Everything we do is on Facebook, during their vacation time. tions sponsored as early as the 1920s to since that’s where the kids operate,” The rabbis in ten-year-old TORCH attract unaffiliated and marginally affil- he says. “Of course, the most impor- are “Yeshivish—but not all the guys iated Jews. Then, they met at dances; tant thing is the one-on-one wear black hats,” Rabbi Jacknin says. today, on Facebook. Indeed, many of relationship; you can’t replace the They teach approximately one thou- the Jewish community’s new kiruv pro- human dimension.”  sand people a month, including partici- grams use high-tech Internet initiatives pants in well-attended women’s and online social networking to spread conferences and medical ethics confer- their spiritual message. These programs ences, he says. Many of the kollel classes include projectsinai.org, which concen- are held in Reform and Conservative trates on “personal growth”; thesh- synagogues. “The shuls are happy to muz.com, which offers interactive have us teach classes,” he says. forty-five-minute Torah lectures; jew- Upstate, in Dallas, the community ishpathways.com, an Aish HaTorah-de- kollel is developing a hands-on, user- veloped Web site and friendly brand of Torah Judaism. globalyeshiva.com, a source of videos, Based on the campus of the Akiba blogs and more. One can also study Academy and Yavneh Academy, the Torah via video podcast and mp3 audio.

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