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Home , Howard Jachter, Jewish leadership

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JBU SPEECH

RCA CONVENTION

Jewish Leadership: the struggle for Authority and Power

DATE: 6/14/93

tit^j-i n hx ^ ru -fr Introduction: Over the past five years, I have travelled the country working with Jewish organizations and Jewish communities on a variety of problems and issues - 40 project in 10 states -- ranging from care of the elderly to Jewish population studies; from plans to restructure to strategies for outreach.

-- the struggle for Authority and Power ־- Focus: Jewish leadership talk is in three parts: .Q outline what I see as the major challenges to Jewish leadership in ; the specific role that the orthodox community can and should play in helping the overall Jewish community meet these challenges and the implications for Rabbinic leadership. SIX CHALLENGES TO JEWISH LEADERSHIP IN NORTH AMERICA

1. THE BROADER CULTURE DOES NOT SEEM TO SUPPORT OUR COMMITMENT TO AND CONTINUITY

• Americans are generally receptive to intermarriage with other religious and ethnic groups

• The commitment to the "mosaic" of multi-culturalism seems to support black and hispanic identity, but not necessarily those of other growing ethnic groups

2. THE JEWISH COMMUNITY WILL BECOME INCREASINGLY FLUID IN ITS BOUNDARIES

• The community is going to have to learn to live with large numbers of "quasi-"

Differences of view about "who is a " exacerbate the schisms in the community

• It is virtually impossible to intelligently measure the size of the Jewish community, given multiple definitions

3. THERE ARE LIKELY TO BE FEWER SELF-DEFINED JEWS IN NORTH AMERICA IN THE FUTURE

• Jewish population is at or near a negative growth rate o Conversions in are balanced by conversions out o Even accounting for later marriage and child-rearing, fertility rates suggest that Jews are not reproducing themselves o Immigration is hard to predict; but not likely to substantially affect the numerical results (60,000 to 200,000 per year(?) o Many "secular" Jews are intermarried and are not raising their children as Jews ** / I

4. THE QUALITY OF JEWISH LIFE IS AT RISK WITH FUTURE GENERATIONS

Intermarriage data has the American Jewish community "spooked"

Their lack of experience with the formative Jewish events of the century ( and birth of ) makes being Jewish less compelling to younger people

Most Jews are neither affiliated/identified nor unaffiliated /unidentified; they are moderately affiliated/identified. For these families, the Jewish education that their children receive is not sufficient to compensate for the Jewish Oweakness of their families

The geographic dispersal of Jews (suburbanization + regional shifts) leaves behind the support structure of established neighborhoods

B'nai B'rith financial capacity is declining rapidly: Hillel programs are at risk

The cost of living Jewishly may influence the decision of moderately affiliated Jews to not take part in Jewish communal activities.

5. THE CULTURAL AND POLITICAL TIES BETWEEN ISRAEL AND NORTH AMERICA ARE WEAKENING

• Young people are less connected to Israel by every measure -- unless they have visited

• By the year 2000, Israel will be a larger Jewish community than the United States

• Language, life style, economic status, military service, and physical threat contribute to the growth of two Jewish cultures

6. PHILANTHROPY IS LESS FOCUSED AND HARDER TO MOBILIZE

• Israel is still the main draw for Jewish resources, especially if safety is at risk

• "Hands-on" giving increasingly important, as reflected in growth of philanthropic funds and supporting foundations

• Concern about Jewish continuity has not yet translated into large-scale domestic philanthropy outside the orthodox community FOR THE FIRST TIME, THE ORTHODOX JEWISH COMMUNITY IS POSITIONED TO TAKE A LEADERSHIP ROLE IN THE BROADER JEWISH COMMUNITY

• We are a tiny component of the total Jewish community -- 6% or 8% or 10% -- doesn't matter 9 out of 10 are not orthodox, by even the most liberal definition of the term orthodox. We are doing o.k. ,but we are not the wealthiest; there are few orthodox jews in important roles in political life. We have relatively few points of leverage. The largest group of Jews in the United States self-identity as conservative ^-Jcws; the Reform movement is the fastest growing. hr^ , pMt* • Our potential lowrogs comes from one place, and one place only - The concern for Jewish continuity has become the central issue on the communal agenda - today we are poised between rhetoric and action

• When it comes to Jewish continuity, we do have authority -because we have the best track record, (e.g. the lowest intermarriage rates)

• All of the available qualitative and quantitative evidence suggest that Jewish continuity will be assured where young people develop and maintain a strong sense of their own identity as Jew; and that while the family is probably the key instrument for building identity, the best thing the community can do is provide young people with intensive Jewish experiences of which three stand out: day school; Jewish camp and trips to Israel. Day Schools

For the first time in American , the day school is a serious option for non- orthodox Jewish families. Most day school boards are controlled by orthodox lay people. This combination presents a tremendous opportunity for us to exert leadership.

In making day school our own internal communal priority

In recruiting faculty and administrators who are going to be relevant to non- orthodox families

In making less observant families feel welcome as parents and as school leaders

[increasingly the faculty are the products of charedi yeshivot; the national day school organization - Tora U mesora has become the plaything of the charedi rashei yeshivot]

In being unrelenting in our advocacy within the broader community .. There is a new angle in Jewish continuity planning around Federations (we don't have to invest in day schools because those parents are committed already we should invest in the non- committed or marginally committed + don't invest in day schools, they reach such few kids -invest in supplementary schools they reach more kids. Needs to be fought- primacy of day school as an instrument ;potential to double day school enrollments with support (have seen it already) Partnership with Federation

The focus of organized Jewish life in the United States is and will continue to be the local Federation

There is a tendency in rabbinic circles not just orthodox, to dismiss the to view with suspicion jews־- Jewish continuity language of Federations as merely rhetoric who don;'t know a tzurat aleph talking about Jewish learning; to be bitter about the "Johnny come-lately aspect of -why has Federation woken up so late... all is counterproductive ... We have a potentially critical role in nudging Federations from « / "I rhetoric to reality Orthodox balabatim need to involved - in community after' J } f^Gmrmmtf^Tsee one or two kipot in a room full of leaders— don't dismiss rhetoric of י y, 4A I Jewish continuity -view it as an opportunity - Thank God that there still mat be time to 5 \ 5^V K d0 something... but if our people are not at the table, bad decisions are going to be ; \ ^f made— outreach to the intermarried will take 80% of the new money 5 ן If knowledgeable Jews are at the table- Jewish continuity program will have content; if / \ \ we are not at the table in significant numbers, the Jewish continuity will be in form only, I and nothing will happen: instead of programs to prevent intermarriage; day schools will be shut out despite their potential; Jewish camps will be Jewish in name only, and trips to Israel will focus feature scuba diving and horseback riding instead of learning.

\ Jewish continuity involves relying on a firm -Federation partnership. Yet the historical separation between Federations and the religious movements, and among the religious movements, will make it difficult to marshall a concerted effort.

, ^ ״נ ^ H* *י ^ The Orthodox as communal leader

The orthodox pulpit rabbi, with the explicit agreement of his baalai batim, needs to e w fa< די 1) find or create opportunities to learn with Federation lay leaders -- office sheurim are growing all over America - MANY OF YOU ARE DOING IT --YOU ALL SHOULD BE DOING IT . ן־ bo/pK^ir* A fA^ ( 1) ^ י״־* 2) Encourage young^eople, anshei shelomainu to go into chinuch Y J

lack of clarity about role is a major impediment to exercising leadership - if you and work every congregation should have a vision statement and a strategic plan -including an explicit statement of the role of the Rabbi- with your own leadership to develop a vision of the synagogue - clarify your role — what is the role of an orthodox rabbi in North America today - is it teacher/ shepherd/ counselor/ role model/ community figure/ educator\~ how much of each? . ) 7*vf ^UjLa /d \ v

CONCLUSION

11 We started out with a question about power and authority: at the most basic level, teaching is the source of our power and authority. We need to have the confidence and courage to face outward not inward. UKELES ASSOCIATES INC THE CABLE BUILDING 611 BROADWAY NEW YORK, NY 10017. Tel: (212) 26 0-8 758 Fax: (212) 2 60-8 760

^ בי *?

June 17, 1993

Rabbi S. Rubenstein Rabbi nail Council of America 275 Seventh Avenue New York, NY 10001

Dear Rabbi Rubenstein:

It was a pleasure to speak at the recent RCA Convention.

Several people spoke to me after the session, and I would like to be able to follow up. Would you mind sending me a list of the names and addresses of the attendees?

I also noticed that the session was taped. Was that by the RCA or by an individual? If it was by the RCA, would it be possible for me to get a copy of the transcript (if it is transcribed) or the tape (if the tape is not transcribed). Does RCA publish proceedings?

Thank you.

Sincerely,

^itiCob B. Ukeles President

JBU/ggt Dr. Jacob B. Ukeles is the President of Ukeles Associates Inc. — a planning and management consulting firm with clients in the Jewish community and in municipal government. In the last year alone they completed projects for eleven Jewish federations in nine states including

Detroit, Pittsburgh, and New York. They have also completed projects for University, the Memorial Foundation, and the American Jewish Committee.

Dr. Ukeles has had a long and varied career in government, academia and the Jewish community. In the eighties, he served in the number two position at New York's Federation.

In the seventies, he was an active participant in the successful effort to restore New York

City's financial and managerial health. In the sixties, he was the Deputy Director for

Comprehensive Planning in the New York City Planning Department.

Author and educator, he is currently an Adjunct Professor of Public Affairs at Columbia

University. He is the author of Doing More With Less: Turning Public Management Around.

His chapter on "A Model for Progressive Planning in the Jewish Community" is in the recently published Changing Jewish Life: Social Policy and Planning for the Jewish Future.

He holds a PhD from the University of Pennsylvania, and spent a year in India as a Fulbright

Fellow. He studied at the Yeshiva of Flatbush, Bar-Ilan University, the Mirrer Yeshiva and is a talmid of Hagaon Yehuda Gershuni, shlita. He is married to Mierle Laderman Ukeles, an artist. They have three children and live in New York City. May 10, 1993

Rabbi Jacob S. Rubinstein, Chairman, Rabbinical Council of America 275 Seventh Avenue New York, N.Y. 10001

Dear Rabbi Rubenstein,

Thank you for the invitation to speak at the RCA convention which I gladly accept.

My bio is enclosed.

Please ask the chair of the session to contact the speakers to arrange a conference call to prepare the session. I do not think it is my responsibility to " coordinate with the others listed on the program."

Please send me a copy of the program when it is ready.

I am looking forward to working with you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Jacob B. Ukeles Crllf a ?זי - Crfy I I -pc

G) C^o^P Rabbi Jacob S. Rubensteia••••••*• CJJ fiJV! Eugene Farber, President Harold Aspis, Vice President

d> I .<,0 Frana Mills,Treasurer Debi Hoffman, Secretary

י״ / J-T> u/ s ^S K® *יא Young Israel of Scarsdale, 1313 Weaver Street, P.O. Box 103H, Scarsdale, New York 10583, (914)636-8686 FAX #(914) 636-1209

S ufy ^׳״>Board of Trustees: 3 זוז Martin J. Beran Arthur Brainson June 3, 1993 ׳^Kenneth Brecher Tte Carol Daman B.J. Douek 7 ^ז^ר י ׳ Dianne Fensterheim Lynne Fishman

Bruce Greenstein Brian Hoch Mr. Jacob Ukeles Mari Hourwitz Melanie Kaminetsky U.A.I. Associates Jeffrey Kleinberg 611 Broadway - Suite 725

Oscar Lebtvohl New York, NY 10012 Barry Mahler Russell Mannis Diane Marks Dear Mr. Ukeles: ltzhak Nidam Alan Rice Samot Thanking you again for agreeing to participate in the forthcoming R.C.A. Susan Schneider Convention at the Hamowack Hotel. The convention's theme will be The Gerald Seligsobn Soss Crises in Leadership: Power & Powerlessness. Esther Trencher Sisterhood President: Robin Samot As we have a rich historic legacy of leadership, but today we face a tense struggle of providing direction to a multifaceted world Past Presidents: David Mars that goes far beyond the synagogue, school and coranunity. Our convention Roger Wimpfheimer will confront the nature of leadership in these critical times where the Milton Levy Daniel Levitt status, composition and power of the Jewish people are molded by internal William Stem forces even more strilling than external circumstances. Kenneth Werden Eugene I. Farber Simeon Fensterheim Your session scheduled for Tuesday, June 15, 1993, at 2:00 P.M. will Alan Garfunkel Hirsh Cogan discuss Jewish Leadership: The Struggle for Authority and Power.

Rabbi Louis Bernstein will preside and Mr. Zelig Chenitz of the W.Z.O. will follow your presentation. Should you wish to speak with Mr. Chenitz, his number is (212)339-6015. A half hour presentation by you will enable Mr. Chenitz to offer perspectives and the audience to ask questions.

rPlease contact the R.C.A. at (212) 807-7388 for instructions to the hotel?)

Sincerely yqurs, ""^v " ~ ~ י !

K 1 I C <05abbl\jjacob S. Rubenstein

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RECEIVED MAY 8 0 1993 ^תדרות[ר^רבנים דאמריקח » C7H % ftABBIMICAL COUtlQL Of AMERICA^׳1 /

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~ f %-e-^JL, הסתדרות הרבנים דאמריקה . RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF AMERICA 275 Seventh Avenue . hew York, hew York 10001 . (212) 807-7888

16 Iyar 5753/May 7, 1993

Mr. Jacob Ukeles c U.A.I. Associates 611 Broadway Suite 725 New York NY 10012

Dear Mr. Ukeles:

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the forthcoming RCA Convention. Your session entitled, Jewish Leadership: Hie Struggle for Authority and Power will be a panel scheduled for Tuesday" June 15, at 2:00 FM at the "C —״ יי• .Hcmowack Lodge

As the theme of the Convention is Crises in Leadership: Power & Powerlessness we would want your session to deal with the tense struggle of providing direction to a multi-faceted world that goes far beyond the synagogue, school and community.

The Convention will confront the nature of leadership in these critical times where the status, composition and power of the Jewish people are molded by internal forces even more striking than external circumstances. I would appreciate your focusing on leadership in America, specifically, religious, cultural and civic concerns and the role of the rabbi in dealing with them.

Please feel free to coordinate with the others listed on the program. You are invited to"bT35Fg5esFaF^ the Hamowack or for any needs please contact the RCA office.

Also, please fax the RCA office a copy of your C.V. to (212) 727-8452 as soon as possible.

Sincerely yours

RECEIVED MAY 1 0 1993 הסתדרות הרבנים דאמריקוז . RABBINICAL COUNCIL Of AMERICA 5 275eventh Avenue . hew York, hew York 10001 . (212) 807-7888 גיא

9 Tammuz 5753 June 28, 1993

Mr. Jacob Ukeles U.A.I. Associates 611 Broadway Suite 725 New York NY 10012

Dear Mr. Ukeles

I want to thank you for your kind and invaluable participation in the recent RCA Convention. The Convention was hailed by all for its timely theme, selection of sessions and exceptional speakers. Participants found the sessions quite substantive and most enl ighfcening. Your participation was a significant contribution to the success of the Convention and to the quality of thoughtful discussion and profound learning engendered.

I appreciate the time and effort you went through to help vis make the Convention the memorable one it was for all.

Sincerely yours

Annual Convention 1993

RECEIVEDMAY 2 0 1993 fiL J1> M

ב0״ד 12:30 P.M. LUNCH THURSDAY, JUNE 17 - 28 SIVAN Presiding: Rabbi Jacob J. Greenberg, , NT Chaplaincy Aware( Presentation to 6:45 A.M. Daf Yomi תועידה השנתית Chaplain Mitchell S. Ackerson it Chaplain David Zalis Rabbi Morton J. Summer, Monsey, NT Lunch Discussions של A. Chaplaincy St Religious Leadership 7:30 A.M. SHACHARIS Rabbi Jacob J. Greenberg, Brooklyn, NT Dvar Torah by R066i MosfieJ. Teres, Wilkes Bcare, PA הסתדרות הרבנים דאמרימח B. Recent Developments in Kashruth 8:30 A.M. BREAKFAST Rabbi Emanuel Holm, Flushing, NY C. Contract Negotiations Committee Meetings FIFTY-SEVENTH Rabbi Binyamin Wolfish, Teaneck, NJ 10:00 A.M. FOURTEENTH SESSION ANNUAL NATIONAL CONVENTION 2:00 P.M. ELEVENTH SESSION Presiding: Rabbi Joseph R. Radinsky, Houston, TX Presiding: Rabbi Mosfie Portnoy, Plainview, NY "Worlds In Collision or Collaboration: OF THE Shiur by Rabbi Michael S. Rosensweig, , RIETS , Schools and Yeshivot" Discussants: RABBINICAL COUNCIL OF AMERICA ״Innovation and Diversity in Halacha: Plurality and Polarity" Rabbi TosefAdler, Teanecfe, NJ 4:30 P.M. TWELFTH SESSION Rabbi Raphael Grossman, Memphis, TN Presiding: Rabbi Bernard E. Rothman, Cherry Hill, NJ Dr. Atvin Schiff, Chairman, American. Advisory Council HOMOWACK LODGE, SPRING GLEN, NT "Shev or Ta'aseh — Rabbis and Lawyers: Gitten andAgunot" 11:30 A.M. PLENARY SESSION Shiur on Halachic Aspects it Considerations by Rabbi Gedalia D. Scrovartz, Chicago, IL, Rosh , RCA 12:30 P.M. LUNCH JUNE 14-17, 1993 25 SIVAN-28 SIVAN 5753 Discussants: Presiding: Ra56i Max N. Schreier, Brooklyn, NT Mr. Marvinjacobs, Esq., Weil, Gotshal & Manges; COLPA Judge Joan Lefkowitz, Supreme Court of New York CLOSING OF CONVENTION

7:00 P.M. DINNER y Presiding: Ra66i Milton H. Polin, Brooklyn, NT writ 8:15 P.M. THIRTEENTH SESSION Convention Committee Presiding: Rabbi Jacob S. Rubenstein, Scarsdale, NT Rabbi Yitzchak Adler R066i Irvan Preis Address by Rabbi Norman Lamm, President, Tesftiva University Jacksonville., FL Baltimore, MD "Sheep and Shepherd: Ruminations on Leadership in Rabbi Simon Benzaquen R066i Stuart J. Rosen Rabbinical Council of America Jewish Thought and Practice" Seattle, WA Sacramento, CA Rabbi Mordecai Feuerstein Rabbi Chairn Shapiro Vancouver, Canada Newport, RI Rabbi Ephraim P. Skpcy Rabbi Howard Finkelstein RABBI MOSHE S. GORELIK, President L ongmeadow, MA Nepean, Ontario RABBI BINTAMIN WALFISH, Executive Vice-President Ra66i Aryeh Sokoloff Rabbi Marc H. Jablon Rochester, NY RABBIJACOB S. RUBENSTEIN, Chairman St. Laurent, Quefiec Rabbi Mark E. Urkowitz RABBI HOWARD S. WOLK, Co-Cfiairman Rabbi Yaakov D. Lufian Omaha, NE Highland Park, NJ 8:30 A.M. BREAKFAST 5:00 P.M. SEVENTH SESSION Program Mr. Marvin Scherb & Mr. Ricky Schwartz, MetLife, will be Presiding: Rabbi David Stavsky, Columbus, OH f״available for consultation on Pension matters Sftiur in Memory of the. Rav, Zt Topic: "L0 Titgodedu" 10:00 A.M. SECOND SESSION Rabbi Soloveitchik, Rosfi Teshiva Brisk and RIETS Crises In Leadership: Presiding: Rabbi Barry D. Hartman, New Bedford, NT Sftiur by Rabbi Meier Goldwickt, Rosh Teshiva RIETS 7:00 P.M. DINNER Presiding: Ra66i Howard S. Wolk, Dallas, TX Power and PowerCessness 11:00 A.M. THIRD SESSION Presentation to Ra66i Marc D. Angel by Presiding: Rabbi Joseph S. Ozarowski, Ehnont, NY Rabbi Moshe S. Gorelik, President HAVUROT Response by Rabbi Marc D. Angel, Honorary President MONDAY, JUNE 14 - 25 SIVAN A. "Hasagat Gevul" Rabbi Simcha Krauss, Flushing, NY 8:15 P.M. EIGHTH SESSION 2:00 P.M. Registration B. "Hilchot Gittin" Presiding: Rabbi Jerome M. Herzog, Minneapolis, MN Rabbi Howard Jachter, Brooklyn, NY Sftiur by Shear Tasftuv Cohen, Chief Ra66i of Haifa 3:30 P.M. Executive Committee Meeting C. " HaMakom" "Leadership and Loneliness: Halachic and Philosophic Aspects of Rabbi Mordecai Tendler, New Hempstead, NT Nezirut" 5:30 P.M. MINCHA

12:30 P.M. LUNCH 9:30 P.M. NINTH SESSION 7:00 P.M. DINNER FOURTH SESSION Presiding: Ra66i Beryl Rosensweig, Brooklyn, NT Welcome and Opening of Convention LUNCH AND LEARN WORKSHOPS Presidential Report by Rabbi Moshe S. Gorelik Rabbi Jacob S. Rubenstein, Scarsdale, NT ״A. "Hifcftos Refuaft b'Shabbos vTom Tov Convention Chairman R066i Avishai E. David, Downsvirw, Ontario B. "Hilchos Shemitah" WEDNESDAY, JUNE 16 - 27 SIVAN 8:30 P.M. FIRST SESSION Rabbi Moshe. Kletenii, Pittsburgh, PA Presiding: Rabbi Ranald Z. Schwartz, Baltimore, MD C. "Hilchos Gerus" 6:45 A.M. DafYomi "Rabbinic Authority, Da'as Toraft and the Study of Jewish Historf Rabbi Chaim E. Scfiertz, Harrisburg, PA Rabbi Israel Fishweicher, Chicago, IL Speakers: Dr. David Berber, Professor of History, Brooklyn College & 7:30 A.M. SHACHARIS The Graduate Center, C.U.N.T. and 2:00 P.M. FIFTH SESSION Dvar Torak by Rabbi Shlomo Hochberg, Jamaica, NT Rabbi Walter S. Wurzburger, Lawrence, NT Presiding: Rabbi Louis Bernstein, Bayside, NT "Jewish Leadership: Tfie Struggle for Authority and Power" 8:30 A.M. BREAKFAST Speaker: Mr. Zdig Chenitz, Executive Vice-President, TUESDAY, JUNE 15 - 26 SIVAN World Zionist Organization, American Section 10:00 A.M. TENTH SESSION Panelists: Jftr. Jacob Ukeles, President, U.AI. Associates Presiding: Rabbi Joel M. Tesskr, Washington, DC 6:45 A.M. DafTomi "Who Is Writing the Agenda of Jewish Continuity, 4:00 P.M. SIXTH SESSION Priorities and Challenges for the Rabbinate" Rabbi David Gorelik, Richmond, VA Resolutions Meeting Address: Ra66i Bernard Lander, President, Touro College 7:30 A.M. SHACHARIS Chairman: Rabbi Kenneth Brander, Boca Raton, FL Discussants: Dvar Torah by Rabbi Jeffrey Bienenfeld, St. Louis, MO Session for with Dr. Steven Bayme, Director, Jewish Communal Affairs, Esther Krauss, Sfuiiftevet Institute for Women American Jewish Committee Topic: ": The Chosen City; Sanctijuation and Conquest" Dr. Jeff , Executive Director & Chief Operating Officer of Program Services, UJA-Federation, NY