THE CHANGING NATURE OF JEWISH IDENTITY

NORMAN LINZER, PH.D. Samuel J. and Jean Sable Professor of Jewish Family Social Work, Wurzweiler School of Social Work Yeshiva University, New York

Three concepts contribute to an understanding of the changing nature ofJewish iden­ tity: boundaries, dissonance, and choice. Policies that establish more impermeable boundaries are needed to entice Jews to remain within the fold, to foster a greater sense of dissonance between Jewish and American values, and to encourage limited choices. Strengthening Jewish identity requires a retum to Torah study and the performance of mitzvot.

ewish identity is an issue that has never terrelated concepts of boundaries, disso­ Jbeen finally resolved, but rears its head nance, and choice comprise this analysis of in every generation in different forms. Its modem Jewish identity. complexity stems from the fact that identity is determined by the interface of religion, JEWISH IDENTITY ethnicity, psychology, politics, and nation­ "Jewish identity is both a great obsession ality in the context of social change. This and a great ambiguity in American Jewish article explores the changing nature of life" (London & Chazan, 1990). It is a modern Jewish identity and its ramifica­ great obsession because there is grave con­ tions for the organized Jewish community. cern about the diminution of Jewish behav­ Three concepts contribute to an under­ iors, in-marriages, and family size in the standing of the changing nature of Jewish Jewish community (Kosmin et al., 1991). identity: boundaries, dissonance, and The drive to preserve the Jewish commuiuty choice. Boundaries refer to the physical in the face of assimilationist forces is fiieled and cultural separation between one ethnic by the weakening of Jewish identity across group and another. The ethnic group that the age spectmm, particularly among the lowers its boundaries to permit members to young. leave and non-members to enter endangers Jewish identity refers to Jewish feelings its continuity as a viable group. Dissonance and aflBliative behaviors. The call for is necessaiy to preserve the distinctiveness strengthening Jewish identity is an exhorta­ of the group. If group members do not tion to lead a life more committed to Jewish value their difference from others, the group acts and community. Jewish identity is a will soon disappear. Choice of identity is a function of inwardness, a choice to focus on modem ubiquitous phenomenon that is dif­ one's community, one's spiritual process, ficult for traditionalists to grasp. Identity is and the love of fellow Jews (Margolis, 1995, no longer perceived as ascribed but p8). achieved; choices abound for the expression Jewish identity, according to Jewish law, of Jewish identity. Traditionalists regard is conferred through matrilineal descent or the tampering with traditional notions of through conversion sanctioned by the Code Jewish identity as threatening the continuity of Jewish Law. The Reform and Recon- ofthe Jewish community. stractionist movements have adopted the When boundaries become permeable, policy of patrilineal descent, which has con­ when Jews do not experience dissonance ferred the status of Jew on the children of from the values and culture of the greater mixed-married spouses, and has caused se­ society, when they express their autonomy vere rents in their relationship with the Or­ in choosing to be Jewish, the consequences thodox and Conservative movements. for the Jewish community are dire. The in­

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An important feature of Jewish identity Jews would find it more difficult to main­ can be traced to the Jews' otherness—"Be­ tain their Jewish identity over long periods hold, this is a nation that lives alone and is of time. not reckoned among the nations" (Numbers The plausibility structure that most 23:9). Historically, the Jews' separateness strengthens people's identity is the ethnic was self-imposed, but was reinforced by the group to which they belong. The essential nations among whom they lived. This sepa­ characteristic of ethnicity is the boundaries rateness has been diminished in modern that separate one group from another, im­ times with the Jewish community's greater plied in the we-they phenomenon acceptance into the mainstream of Western (Pinderhughes, 1989; Vincent, 1974). society. When the we is uttered by the ethnic group, Identity cannot long survive intact unless the they implies boundaries and power. it is expressed through concrete behaviors. Levitz (1995), who distinguishes between THE FUNCTIONS OF BOUNDARIES identity and identification, defines identity Boundaries have two essential fiinctions: as involving "a complex integration of val­ they keep members ofthe group in, and ues, attitudes, knowledge, content, skills, they keep non-members out. They thereby and beliefs that inform specific behaviors," maintain the viability and distinctiveness of which then reinforce those values and be­ the group. liefs. Identification involves "taking on the Boundaries may take several forms. An admired attributes of another individual or obvious boundary is self-imposed geo­ idealized person whose characteristics are graphic separation from other groups as especially admired" (p. 78). Identification practiced by the Mennonites and the Amish, is superficial; identity is deep. The focus in and, among the Hasidim, the Skver and this article is on Jewish identity. Satmar. When an ethnic group closes its doors to the outside world and does not per­ Components of Identity mit access to outsiders, it strives to isolate According to Erikson (1974), identity is a its members from external influences and "sense of being at one with oneself as one preserve its unique culture. Geographic iso­ grows and develops, and a sense of affinity lation is reinforced by prohibitions against with a community's sense of being at one television, movies, and newspapers. With with its future, as well as its history or geographic boundaries, ethnic identity tends mythology" (pp. 27-28). The self-concept to be solidly confirmed for group members. includes belonging to a larger group. A parallel boundary is social insulation. The group has been identified as the Though the group presides in a multiethnic "plausibility structure" (Berger & Kellner, urban environment, it stakes out a particu­ 1972) that is indispensable for identity for­ lar community that it saturates with the ar­ mation and continuity. Thus, the presence tifacts of its culture and religion. Social of significant others with whom one inter­ contacts are made almost exclusively with acts in a social setting is required. Parents members of the ethnic group in the local require interaction with the child to make community. Groups practicing social insu­ the parental identity plausible. Jews require lation include the Chinese in Chinatown, interaction with other Jews to make Jewish Muslims who have moved into Boro Park, identity plausible. All people who occupy and, among Hasidim, the Lubavitch, the various roles need to confirm them socially Satmar, the Bobover, and other Hasidic in order for them to be incorporated into groups in Brooklyn. their total identity configuration. Conse­ Another boundaiy is language. When quently, Jews who are unaffiliated and who the ethnic group speaks its native dialect in lack significant communication with other public, it maintains cohesion within the

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group and excludes outsiders. Ritual and human traflBc does not augur weU for the dress can also fiinction in ways similar to continuity of a community whose existence language. These components of culture was predicated on being "a nation that maintain the group's distinctiveness from dwells alone." other groups. Some members of ethnic groups, how­ Socializing Institutions ever, wish to lower boundaries in the hope For a group to maintain boundaries and fos­ of reaping societal benefits. Yet, groups ter identity, it needs to develop and sustain who lower boundaries and appear no differ­ socializing institutions. In the Jewish com­ ent fi-om other groups pay a price for accep­ munity, the family, religion, education, and tance by the larger society—the loss of a social welfare are the major institutions distinctive identity. through which young and old are socialized The higher, more impermeable the into the traditions and culture of the Jewish boundary, the greater the chance of preserv­ people. Among the major socializing agen­ ing separateness and continuity. The lower, cies are the federations, synagogues, Jewish more permeable the boundary, the greater schools and camps, Jewish family services, the chance for eliminating separateness and and Jewish Commumty Centers. Each is increasing assiitulation. involved in reaffirming its mission to per­ Illustrations of lowered boundaries in the petuate the Jewish commuiuty through par­ Jewish commututy abound, but they can be ticular policies and programs. Except for encapsulated in two statistics reported in the family, each institution is represented by the 1990 National Jewish Population Sur­ lay and professional leaders who are pre­ vey: the conversion of 210,000 Jews to sumably knowledgeable of, and committed other faiths and the 52% intermarriage rate to, transmitting Jewish culture and tradi­ (Kosmin et al., I99I). Conversion to other tions. Ideally, when the institution's values faiths and intermarriage with Gentiles re­ and concems are in tandem with those of flect the ease with which Jews can leave the their representatives, they deepen members' group and the ineffectiveness of the social­ Jewish identity through shared study and ization industry—the federations, JCCs, practice. Jewish schools and camps (Mason, 1991). Several social patterns threaten the suc­ Intermarriage also permits Gentiles to cessfiil performance of these socializing in­ traverse the boundary of the Jewish commu­ stitutions. Jews reside in diverse rather nity. Since only a small percentage of than self-contained communities and are mixed-marrieds affiliate with the Jewish highly acculturated to American society. commuiuty, the loss of Jews outweighs the The high cost of living Jewishly excludes gain of Gentiles. many individuals and families from partici­ Outreach to mixed marrieds conveys the pating in Jewish communal life. Jewish message that Gentiles can now be members distinctiveness is no longer valued as a vi­ and assume leadership roles in synagogues. able alternative to assimilation. When Jews Thus, the success of outreach can make it want to be like everyone else both in public more difBcult to discourage interfaith mar­ and in private, socializing agencies stmggle riage by blurring the distinction between to maintain high boundaries and prevent Jew and Gentile. The importance of con­ the erosion of Jewish identity. version is de-emphasized. Jews require much greater distinctive­ THE DECLINE OF DISSONANCE ness from American culture in order for Jewish identity to flourish. As long as the A consequence of having permeable bound­ boundaries remain low and porous, Jews aries that permit easy access and egress is will exit the Jewish community and permit the decline of dissonance. Dissonance is Gentiles to enter. The ebb and flow of the the state of discomfort that results from the

SPRING 1996 Changing Nature of Jewish Identity / 145 experience of difference. Throughout their ality and the study of Jewish texts by intelli­ history until the tnodern era, Jews experi­ gent, educated men atid women in their enced dissonance in the expression of their thirties, even as they pursue secular culture. Jewish identity. Dissonance was both a bur­ Dual identity was not the historic norm. den and an opportunity—a burden due to In the traditional Jewish community—^the prejudice and persecution and an opportu­ East European shtetl, for example—^the pri­ nity for spiritual and intellectual growth mary and exclusive identity was Jewish. through Torah study and the performance of Excluded from dual citizenship, Jews mitzvot. sought the certainty of a Jewish identity With large-scale acculturation and mari­ through Torah study and mitzvah perfor­ tal assimilation, dissonance has declined mance, buttressed by tradition, history, and and is almost nonexistent in many sectors of community. Jewish identity was not a mat­ Jewish society. On many levels, Jews are ter of choice but of birth, reinforced by the not distinguishable from Gentiles, nor do institutions of religion, family, education, they want to be. There are many Jews today law, and social welfare. who are both proud of their heritage and In America today, while some Jews can who feel integrated in the American main­ synthesize the duality of an American Jew­ stream. One such group consists of young ish identity, some will not, as with Hasidim; adults who experience the antithesis of dis­ others cannot and become marginal to Jew­ sonance, as they see no real conflict be­ ish life. Factors conducive to marginality tween their American and Jewish identities. include the paucity of Jewish education, role models, ritual observance, and a Jewish am­ Dual Jewish Identity biance in the home. Assimilated peers play a significant role, as does the college envi­ Jewish young aduhs in America today are ronment. thoroughly acculturated to the American The eight young adults in the AJC stutfy, way of life and values. Eight were recently even those brought up in highly identified interviewed by the American Jewish Com­ Jewish homes, see themselves as fiill par­ mittee (AJC) to ascertain how they ex­ ticipants in American society. They view pressed their Jewish identities (Meir, 1993). their Jewish identity as a fulfillment of their The survey concluded that their Jewish American identity, rather than as a source identity is intertwined with their American of conflict (Meir, 1993). identity. Neither excludes the other. If this group is paradigmatic of acculturated young When many in his generation were American Jews who have opted to actively choosing not to be Jewish at all, one respon­ pursue meaning in their Jewish identity, dent attributes his decision to remain Jew­ then being Jewish and American are not ish to his parents' decision to send their seen as contradictory. children to Jewish schools and provide a Jewish ambiance at home. He learned that The stucfy did not posit the necessity for being Jewish and being American are not dissonance in order for Jewishness to be sa­ mutually exclusive, though they cottflict in lient. Neither did it ask about the primacy ftmdamental values. "Judaism emphasizes of American or Jewish identity. The likeli­ hood is that for these young adults Jewish community and belonging; America extols identity was secondary, but that seemed im­ individuality... In America, the freedom to material to the respondents. Their empha­ choose often operates to the detriment of the sis was on the importance of Jewishness in Jewish community" (Meir, 1993, p. 42). their lives, which makes them a growing His dilemma was that "in San Francisco I nunority in the Jewish community. had to choose to be Jewish or choose to let it go; there was no Judaism by diBRision" Klagsbrun (1995) corroborates this (Meir, 1993, p. 58). This statement reflects trend. She describes the hunger for spiritu­ a general trend that Jewish identity "is fiilly

SPRING 1996 Journal of Jewish Communal Service / 146 self-chosen, both in terms of the range of vi­ changeable. Jewish children were social­ able options available in American society ized into Jewish life by their parents, teach­ and of the psychological autonomy of ers, and rabbis, thus confirming their innate today's young Jews" (Reisman, 1992, Jewish identities. 'The community of belief p. 354). constituted a total system (italics added), In addition to a conscious choice of a that controlled the individual's environment Jewish identity, the young adults felt a with a detailed pattern of prescribed actions strong need for religious/spiritual teachings and fixed roles. Group membership was and study, greater involvement in the Jew­ thus clearly defined" (Medding et al., 1992, ish commutiity, a pluralistic approach to Ju­ p. 16). daism, and sharing the values of tikkun The total system was dominated by Juda­ olam, chesed, family and community. ism, which had the moral power to coerce The young adults' apparent integration individuals to follow certain patterns of pre­ of American and Jewish identities—^their scribed behavior. Living in an institutional­ choice to be Jewish and to strengthen that ized world with clearly prescribed norms of identity through study and involvement in behavior enabled Jews to accept their clear­ the commututy—seems to be a model for a ly defined roles without having to think distinctive American-Jewish identity that about what was expected of them. Hence experiences no dissonance. The lack of dis­ they could be creative and turn their atten­ sonance flies in the face of traditional con­ tion to other pursuits (Berger & Luckmann, ceptions and experiences of identity. Disso­ 1967). nance has served as the spring of creativity In the modern world everything that was in defining the Jewish experience, in formerly in the institutionalized background searcfiing for roots and uniqueness, and in is shifted into the deinstitutionalized fore­ relating Torah and mitzvot to the everyday ground (Berger & Luckmann, 1967). The life of Jews. Will the integrated identity traditional answer to the question. Why survive the enticements of assimilation? must we do it this way?—^because "We al­ Will it contribute to Jewish continuity? ways did it this way—no longer suffices. Does this new, modem form of identity Traditional ways of doing things are no bode well for the Jewish fiiture? One won­ longer normative simply because they are ders whether this group of eight young traditional. The authority of tradition has adults is representative of the Jewish young waned (Linzer, 1984; Shils, 1981). aduh population at large. The contemporary community of shared indi­ JEWISH IDENTITY BY CHOICE vidual feelings (itahcs added) is a voluntary and partial community of personal choice, A dual Jewish identity reflects a high de­ with tmclear boundaries and undefined mem­ gree of comfort with being both a Jew and bership. It is characterized by emotions and an American. To attain inner compatibility, attachments that, while often deep, are not the individual must be selective in adopting always clearly articulated (Medding et al., values and behaviors from both systems that 1992, p. 16). are compatible. This requires choosing among a plethora of ideologies that would Group membership in the traditional Jewish fit the individual's personality and way of community is different from a "community life—choosing who one wants to be. of shared individual feelings." The contrast Choosing an identity is a modem West­ is analogous to the difference between a em phenomenon. Traditionally, identity group qua group and a group as an aggre­ was ascribed to an individual at birth. It gate of individuals. In the former, members was then developed throughout the lifetime, identify with the group as a whole and defer but the core within was believed to be un­ their individual needs for the welfare ofthe

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group. The group transcends the individu­ vAiat we are not, but by what we are... .The als. In the latter, the group has not yet real choice is only in how we identify, how formed because the individuals do not share creatively, how whole or half-heartedly, how a common purpose; it is not an entity unto much weight in our self-concept we give our itself. ethnicity (Klein, 1989, pp. 5-6). Being a member of the traditional Jewish community meant that individual Jews Although Jewish identity may be conferred identified with the goals and aspirations, at birth, it no longer suffices for many, nor the joys and travails, ofthe Jewish commu­ does it inform their future behaviors. The nity as a whole. The success and failures of "contemporary community of shared indi­ the community were felt by the members vidual feelings" (Medding et al., 1992) con­ themselves. The destinies of individuals sists of isolated individuals who choose to and the community were intertwined express their Jewish identity in varying de­ (Zborowsky & Herzog, 1964). grees of intensity and involvement. "Being a Jew is no longer settled by the fact of be­ To be a Jew means to belong to a very spe­ ing born a Jew, Jewish identity now confers cial family within the family of nations, to a range of choices and, consequently, confu­ rehve that family's joys and tragedies, and to sion" (Klein, 1989, pp. 7-8). Jewishness in build one's future upon the expeiiences of America has become less a phenomenon de­ the past. To be a Jew means to be together fined by others through anti-Semitism and even in a society where so many are alone, more of a subjective personal act. If iden­ to derive security from deep roots even in a tity requires an act of choice, empirically society where so many are struggling merely many assimilated and unafBliated Jews to remain afloat (hitroduction to the Passover have chosen not to belong. Haggadah). In a pluralistic situation, the variety is there for the choosing. Choice is supported The metaphor of family is an apt descrip­ by the democratic ethos of autonomy, tion ofthe traditional Jewish community be­ rights, and individualism. In the process, cause it denotes a primary group in which the individual is thmst back upon him- or membership is involuntary and relation­ herself to decide how to live. Confiision en­ ships are intense, emotional, and interde­ sues when knowledge and support are lack­ pendent. ing, and there is uncertainty about the va­ In the modern community, relationships lidity and meaning of the choice. Yet, are tenuous, superficial, and partial, and choosing a particular form of Jewish iden­ membership is undefined. The community tity from among an array of available op­ resembles Rabbi Joseph B. Soloveitchik's tions may only be a pattern among a minor­ natural conmiunity—a community bent on ity of highly educated American Jews. It biological survival and "doing," rather than seems to be a non-issue for a majority of a covenantal faith community bent on spiri- Jews. tiiality and "being" (Soloveitchik, 1992). Illustrations of such options abound. Today one chooses to belong, for ascribed Under what circumstances would one belonging is devoid of meaning. choose to send one's child to a day school To the traditional Jew, choosing to be­ or to a public school? to Israel or to summer long is a puzzlement. How can one choose camp? to affiliate with a synagogue? to hght an identity that was already conferred at candles on Friday night? to permit one's birth? daughter to date a non-Jew? to give to UJA or to the American Cancer Society? to post­ As our society becomes more and more pone having children for the sake of a ca­ multiethnic, we have reached an era of reer? These questions evoke conflicting choices. We no longer define ourselves by values. They challenge the individual to

SPRING 1996 Joumal of Jewish Communal Service / 148 decide where his or her priorities are—in dent, generation to generation. Jewish identity, commitment, continuity Until Jews are ready to commit them­ and distinctiveness or in American identity, selves to performing mitzvot on a daily ba­ commitment, equality, and integration. The sis, their Jewish identity will suffer from the resolution of this dilemma reveals the infusion of secular culture. The continuity individual's confusion or clarity in ordering programs are valid in attracting the unafBli- Jewish and American values. Since choos­ ated or marginally unaffiliated, but they ing a Jewish identity seems to be wide­ only partially succeed in strengthening Jew­ spread, it behooves the socializing agents in ish identity. the Jewish community to influence choices and strengthen commitment. Programs and Services

In recent years, federations have allocated JEWISH COMMUNAL RESPONSES considerable resources to both formal and The issue of Jewish identity will not go informal Jewish education in Jewish schools away. As long as Jews struggle to reconcile and Jewish Community Centers. Federa­ conflicts between American and Jewish val­ tions and synagogues have been urged to ues and act them out in different ways, the co-sponsor imaginative programs to combat organized Jewish community will need to the erosion of distinctive boundaries confront this elusive issue and devise ap­ (Shrage, 1992). proaches to strengthen Jewish identity. A Synagogues have instituted 'Turn Friday variety of efforts are already underway. Night into Shabbos" programs by which in­ dividuals and families can experience a tra­ Commission on Continuity ditional Shabbat. The concept is designed to convert a secular time frame into a mean­ In November, 1992, at its General Assem­ ingfiil, religious experience. bly, the Council of Jewish Federations es­ A recent survey of day school graduates tablished a Commission on Jewish Identity across denominational lines documents the and Continuity to help reverse the trend of value of a day school education. Jewish assimilation and intermarriage. The ulti­ education was seen to have an overwhelm­ mate goal of the Commission is "to make ingly positive impact on adult Jewish iden­ Judaism more central in the lives of more tity and behavior, particularly on intermar­ Jews, to nurture the desire and commitment riage rates. Only 4.5% of the respondents to make Jewish choices and to live by Jew­ married non-Jews. The report reaffirms the ish values, to foster vibrant Jewish homes need for Jewish communal agencies to sup­ and families" {Jewish Week, 1993, p. 26). port and provide opportunities for continued As a result, a large number of communities Jewish education (Schiff & Schneider, have undertaken various projects to deal 1994). with the issues of identity, continuity, and At the 1994 General Assembly, the call education. went forth to establish a new Jewish conti­ The very nature of such a Commission, nuity agenda that would include increased however, will prevent it from taking the funding for (1) Hillels on college campuses, bold steps that need to be taken. This is be­ (2) sending 50,000 Jewish teenagers to Is­ cause the problem of Jewish survival cannot rael annually, and (3) seeing to it "that ev­ be addressed without dealing with Judaism. ery Jewish child who wants a Jewish educa­ Federation vocabulary speaks of committee, tion can get one regardless of ability to pay" process, and consensus, rather than Torah, {Jewish Week, 1994, p. 28). covenant, and mitzvot. It is in the mitzvot- Boards of Jewish Education have estab­ the repeated concrete behaviors of daily lished the annual "March of the Living" Jewish living—that the tradition is perpetu­ trip where thousands of teenagers visit the ated from parent to child, teacher to stu­

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concentration camps in Poland during Yom funds for outreach be diverted from pro­ Hashoa—Holocaust Remembrance Day— grams that serve active and involved Jews? and then travel to Israel to celebrate Yom (Bayme, 1992). Ha 'Atzmaut, Israel Independence Day. The. scenes create indelible images and memo­ CONCLUSIONS ries and serve to strengthen Jewish identity The complexity of defining modern Jewish through the two most significant Jewish identity is a fiinction of its myriad expres­ events in this century. sions and the multiple factors that comprise The buzzword ofthe nineties is outreach. its definition. Because Jews are a religious Jewish educational institutions have and ethnic group who are attempting to pre­ mounted extensive kiruv—outreach—activi­ serve their culture amidst threatening ties to bring alienated Jews back into the assimilatory forces, Jewish identity is a dy­ Jewish community. The National Jewish namic phenomenon that is threatened by so­ Outreach Program is but one ofthe more cial change. prominent institutions that have concen­ Three factors underhe the Jewish com­ trated mainly on teaching Jews to read He­ munity's stmggle to strengthen Jewish brew and become more literate in the lan­ identity. Policies that establish more imper­ guage of the Siddur. In addition, Jewish meable boundaries are needed to entice family education programs have invited en­ Jews to remain within the fold, to foster a tire families to participate in synagogue or greater sense of dissonance between Jewish school-sponsored educational activities. and American values, and to encourage lim­ In recent years, upon the recommenda­ ited choices. These are diflBcult to imple­ tions of the Mandell Commission (Chazan ment, but indispensable if Jews are to re­ & Chaxendoff, 1994; Maximizing, 1984; main a distinct group that is not swallowed Task Force, 1995), there has been a grow­ by the forces of assimilation. ing trend for JCCs to hire Jewish educa­ The perceived weakening of Jewish iden­ tional specialists to provide formal Jewish tity, as indicated by rates of intermarriage, educational activities for all ages. synagogue attendance, Jewish education, Religious institutions have taken up the ritual observance, fertility, philanthropy to cause of outreach in trying to combat inter­ Jewish causes, and visitations to Israel, has faith marriages. Reform, Reconstmctionist, alarmed lay and professional leaders in the and Conservative religious leaders have organized Jewish community. Although placed great faith in outreach to intermar­ these trends have been known for many ried couples to stem the erosion of Jews years, they were highlighted by the 1990 from the Jewish community and to keep the National Jewish Population Survey. Serv­ children ofthese unions connected to Jew­ ing American Jewish youth and their par­ ish life. One of the latent fiinctions of these ents constitutes a priority in preventing the outreach policies is to maintain the fiscal fiirther erosion of Jewish identity and iden­ viability of synagogues and temples through tification. increased membership rolls. Outreach ef­ There are no quick solutions. The pro­ forts continue, despite Cohen's prediction cess is long and arduous. Ideologically, it that "by the year 2050, the American Jewish requires a retum to the stucfy of ancient and community may shrink numerically but be contemporary Jewish texts—^formal Torah stronger qualitatively (1994, p. 95). study—and the performance of distinct Jew­ Serious questions have been raised re­ ish behaviors, mitzvot. Jews have survived garding outreach efforts to mixed-marrieds. only because there were those who devoted Does outreach make it difiFicult to discour­ their hves to Torah and mitzvot and taught age interfaith dating and marriage? Can them to their children. The Jewish commu­ Jewish identity be maintained in a home nity possesses the knowledge, talents, and where one parent is a Gentile? Should

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