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Who's Saving American Jewry? What's TEVES, 5738 I DEC., 1977 VOLUME XII, NUMBER 9 SEVENTY FIVE CENTS Who's Saving American Jewry? an analysis and critique What's Really Happening to Soviet Jewry? a first-person report Who's Worrying About American Kids in "Sheirut La'am" Programs? diary of a reach-out attempt plus BOOK REVIEWS • SECOND LOOKS • LETIERS Essays Based on Convention Addresses By Roshei Hayeshiva THE JEWISH BSERVER in this issue Who's Saving American Jewryl I Nisson Wolpin ............................. 3 Jews in Russia Today: Fact and Fiction, I}. David Bleich ................ 8 Yelamdeinu Rabbeinu A Matter of Values I based on an address by Rabbi Yaakov Yitzchok Ruderman .................................................... 11 Of Truth, Responsibility, and Zeal I based on an address by Rabbi Moshe Feinstein ................................................... 20 Torah Consciousness on the Border I Hanoch Teller ................... 25 THE JEWISH OBSERVER is publi$ed Books in Review monthly, except July and August. by the Agudath Israel of America, Anvil of Sinai ............................................................................... 29 5 Beekman St., New York, N.Y. Oholei Yeshurun ......................................................................... 29 10038. Second class postage paid at New York, N.Y. Subscription: Time for Torah ............................................................................ 31 $7.50 per year; Two years, $13.00; Jewthink ........................................................................................ 31 Three years, $18.00; outside of the United States $8.50 per year. Second Looks on the Jewish Scene · Single copy seventy-five cents. Comment ...................................................................................... 33 Printed in the U.S.A. Shabbos and the State ............................................................... 36 Ozymandius in Rome I Mordechai Schi//er ................................. 38 RABBI N1ssoN Wot PIN Editor Photographs pp. 11, 14, 20, 42~46, Aura Studios ------Clip,andsave------- Editorial Board Subscribe DR. ERNST L BODENHEIMER The Jewish Observer Chairman Renew 5 Beekman Street I New York, N.Y. 10038 RABBI NATHAN BULMAN 0 One Year $750 0 Two Years $13.00 RABBI JOSEPH ELIAS or Give 0 Three Years only $18.00 }OSEPH f RIEDENSON RABBI MOSHE SHERER Now Send Magazine to: Name ...................................................................................................... THE JEWISH OBSERVER does not and Address .................................................................................................. assume responsibility for the City ....................................... State/Zip ............................................. .. Kashrus of any product or ser­ SAVE From: vice advertised in its pages. copyright, 1977 Name ..................................................................................................... .. Address .................................................................................................. DECEMBER, 1977 VOL. XII, No. 9 City ....................................... State/Zip .............................................. Typography by Compu·Scribe ..• 0 gift D 0 . Enclose card Bill me: $.......... Enclosed: $......... at ArtScroll Studios, Ltd. _______________ Nisson Wolpin Who's The statistician and his computer forecast Saving doomsday the social agencies and their directorates unwrap band-aids and palliatives American ... while the Torah community forges ahead - slowly, but deliberately, and sure-footedly. Jewry? The Talmud tells us that since the close of the Era of Without raw statistical data, it is quite impossible to the Prophets, the task of forecasting future events has pretend to translate this force into a projection of the been left to children and idiots. One might suggest that make-up of American Jewry a century hence, but it is putting trust in the projections of statisticians sets them obvious that Bergman read the over-all downwards up as yet a third category .... As a case in point, statisti­ drift, ignoring these very real counter-trends. cians do not even shy away from attempting to gauge Nonetheless, the situation is definitely of crisis propor­ the strength of the sense of Jewish identity of the tions. Amerian Jewish community (if such a qualitative Obsolescent Hopes and Activities feature can be quantified), and determining what it bodes for the far distant future. Thus, Elihu Bergman, In fairness to Bergman, he does deftly consider - and Assistant Director of the Harvard Center for Popula­ then reject - the possibility of a salvation coming from tion Studies (in "The American Jewish Population historical corrective devices that had recharged Erosion," Midstream, Oct. '77), projects that in the year American Jewry's dwindling sense of Jewish identity in 2076 "the American Jewish community is likely to the past. As Bergman sees it (with our comments in number no more than 944,000 persons, and con­ parenthesis): ceivably as few as 10,420." Immigration ... natural increases? Highly unlikely, The factors that point to this radical loss of numbers for there is no untapped source of conscientious Jewry are the spiraling intermarriage rate, the rising tide of as­ abroad, and minus-population-growth seems to be the similation, and the plumetting birth rate (only 1.6% wave of the future in the American Jewish community children per family, according to Gladys Rosen of the (except, of course, for the strong reservations in regard American Jewish Committee) .... The striking range of to the Orthodox community, voiced above). 10,000 to almost 1 million Jews in 2076 depends on The sense of community that Jews muster whenever whether the intermarriage rate stabilizes at a "low" of a crisis looms? Non-Jews and inter-married Jews also 15% or rockets up to 50% (as per projections by Harvey "identify" with crisis Judaism, with no appreciable cor­ Liebenstein and Samuel S. Lieberman, also of the Har­ rective result. (And should one think that buying bonds vard Center for Population Studies). or supporting UJA prevents inter-marriage, one need While we are very deeply concerned over the vast only check the leadership of these causes to see plen­ numbers of Jews who seem to be marked for disap­ tiful evidence to the contrary.) pearance as Jews, and it is to their plight that this article Moreover, we should rather be hoping for an end to is addressed, a cautionary note must be registered crises, rather than relying on their conscious-pricking before allowing the statisticians to push us over the power as prods to identity. Also, one must always con­ brink into extinction. There are some very potent sider: with what frequency will culturally estranged counter-trends both within the Orthodox community Jews continue to sign the dotted line to bail out the and emanating outward from highly productive ac­ threatened communities of Israelis or Soviet Jewry; tivities of the Torah camp. These will be discussed later. and, how much staying power can crisis appeal have? The Jewish Observer I December, 1977 3 Affiliation with Defense Agencies? Active anti- marriage as life threats to a viable Jewish community. Semitism, based ostensibly on unfamiliarity and suspi­ What, then, is it doing about it? cion of the alien Jew, seems to be fading away in the For one, according to a JT A story (Nov. 4), the New United States. With the exception of pro-Israel lobby­ York Federation of Jewish Philanthropies is putting ing and watch-dogging against more subtle forms of "increasing emphasis" on Jewish education, as well as discrimination, AJC and AOL have pretty much out­ focusing "on including every age group in the lived their general usefulness - certainly as rallying educational process." Now, before the reader is carried points for identity. Why, the wealthy Jew who has ac­ away with the assumption that Federation is reordering crued the wherewithal to do so can often as not skip the its priorities, and investing its funds in yeshivas instead Bnai Brith route and join the country club of his choice, of the great-white-hope-of-old, the Y's and Com­ if he so chooses. Leaving the Defensive Jew an en­ munity Centers, read on: dangered species. "(This new emphasis) is reflected in the inclusion of Jewish educational content as an integral part of daily What, Then? programming at 33 community centers and YM­ Unfortunately, it would be a gross exaggeration to YWHA's under Federation sponsorship ... (which) of­ say that the broad Jewish community is mobilizing its fer social, recreational civic and cultural activities for forces to fight against defections and to fortify its sense the whole family. They also provide a variety of oppor­ of Jewish identity. In fact, some Anglo-Jewish new­ tunities for both formal and informal Jewish education spapers make a practice of publishing announcements for children, teenagers and adults. of mixed marriages on their social pages - to keep the "This includes 2400 children in nursery schools and young couples within the community, they claim, kindergartens, including registration in bi-cultural meanwhile obliterating the definition of "Jewish com­ programs in Hebrew and English, sponsored by com­ munity" beyond any meaning .... 40% of the Reform munity centers, Hebrew school programs for children rabbis in America officiate at intermarriages, while and teenagers, conversational Hebrew and Jewish countless others make referrals to those who do; and history classes for adults, and Jewish literature
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