DOCSLIB.ORG

American Jewry's Comfort Level

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
American Jewry's Comfort Level AMERICAN JEWRY’S COMFORT LEVEL AMERICAN JEWRY’S COMFORT LEVEL PRESENT AND FUTURE Manfred Gerstenfeld and Steven Bayme Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs Institute for Global Jewish Affairs Copyright © 2010 by Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs (JCPA) and Manfred Gerstenfeld Copyright of the individual essays is with the authors. All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying or recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system—except for brief quotations in critical articles or reviews—without written permission from the JCPA, 13 Tel Hai Street, Jerusalem, 92107, Israel. Tel: +972 2 561 9281, Fax: +972 2 561 9112. E-mail: [email protected], www.jcpa.org ISBN: 978-965-218-086-5 Set in Times New Roman by Judith Sternberg, Jerusalem Printed at Hauser Cover design by Rami & Jacky Dedicated to the memory of Emanuel Rackman, revered intellectual, communal, and religious leader, for his indefatigable and persistent advocacy on behalf of the unity of the Jewish people in both Israel and the Diaspora. Table of Contents Acknowledgments 9 David A. Harris: Foreword 11 Steven Bayme: American Jewry Confronts the Twenty-First Century 15 Manfred Gerstenfeld: American Jewry: Present and Future 55 ESSAYS AND INTERVIEWS 111 Manfred Gerstenfeld: The Fragmentation of American Jewry and Its Leadership: An interview with Jack Wertheimer 113 Manfred Gerstenfeld: Changes in American Jewish Identities: From the Collective to the Personal, from Norms to Aesthetics: An interview with Steven M. Cohen 123 Chaim I. Waxman: Changing Denominational Patterns in the United States 133 Steven Bayme: Intermarriage and Jewish Leadership in the United States 143 Sylvia Barack Fishman: Transformations in the Composition of American Jewish Households 151 Ira M. Sheskin: The Usefulness of Local Jewish Community Studies in Examining the American Jewish Future 160 Steven Windmueller: The Jewish Communities of the Western United States 170 Sylvia Barack Fishman and Daniel Parmer: Policy Implications of the Gender Imbalance among America’s Jews 181 Manfred Gerstenfeld: How the Status of American Jewish Women Has Changed over the Past Decades: An interview with Rela Mintz Geffen 190 Manfred Gerstenfeld: The Future of Jewish Education: An interview 201 with Jack Wertheimer Manfred Gerstenfeld: Jewish Grandparenting in the United States: An interview with Rela Mintz Geffen 211 Manfred Gerstenfeld: The Future of Reform Jewry: An interview with Rabbi David Ellenson 219 Manfred Gerstenfeld: The Future of Conservative Jewry: An interview with Arnold M. Eisen 228 Manfred Gerstenfeld: Modern Orthodoxy and the Challenges to Its Establishment: An interview with Marc B. Shapiro 237 Manfred Gerstenfeld: The Birthright Israel Program: Present and Possible Future Impacts: An interview with Leonard Saxe 247 Steven Bayme: The Intellectual Assault on Israel and Pro-Israel Advocacy: How the American Jewish Community Should React 257 Contributors and Interviewees 265 Index 269 Acknowledgments At the beginning of this decade the Center for Jewish Community Studies, affiliated with the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs, published four books on the position of Jews in the American public square. This was undertaken in the framework of a research project initiated by the Pew Charitable Trusts.1 The last of these books, American Jewry’s Challenge: Conversations Confronting the Twenty-First Century, by Manfred Gerstenfeld, came out in 2005. It contains interviews with seventeen prominent American Jewish personalities and presents their thoughts about the future. This new book of essays and interviews, American Jewry’s Comfort Level, is a sequel to it. As in the previous volume, authors and interviewees often consider the same issues from different perspectives. Many thanks are due to the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs and the American Jewish Committee for publishing this book. We would like to thank the authors of the essays and the interviewees for sharing their knowledge with us. The authors are grateful to David A. Harris, executive director of AJC, for providing the Foreword to the volume. We wish to thank Dr. Harold Shapiro, president emeritus, Princeton University and chair of AJC’s Koppelman Institute on American Jewish-Israeli Relations, for his support and encouragement of this project. We appreciate the collaboration of Dore Gold and Chaya Hershkovic, president and director-general, respectively, of the Jerusalem Center. We received many valuable comments from Rela Mintz Geffen, Alan Mittleman, Ira M. Sheskin, and Howard Weisband. We are thankful to them for sharing their insights with us. We are grateful to Edna Weinstock-Gabay, who was responsible for the production of this book. Chanah Shapira was most helpful in the final stages of preparing the text. Tamas Berzi has played an important role in the logistics of the project. Many thanks are due to Fredelle Ben-Avi and Naomi Babbin for typing the multitudes of drafts of this book, and to David Hornik for his copyediting, proofreading, and preparation of the index. Manfred Gerstenfeld Steven Bayme Note 1 Alan Mittleman, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Robert Licht, Jewish Polity and American Civil Society: Communal Agencies and Religious Movements in the American Public Square 9 10 Acknowledgments (New York: Rowman & Littlefield , 2002); Alan Mittleman, Jonathan D. Sarna, and Robert Licht, Jews and the American Public Square (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2002); Alan Mittleman, Religion as a Public Good: Jews and Other Americans on Religion in the Public Square (New York: Rowman & Littlefield, 2003); Manfred Gerstenfeld, American Jewry’s Challenge: Conversations Confronting the Twenty-First Century (Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2005). David A. Harris Foreword As we approach the end of the first decade of the twenty-first century, American Jewry faces daunting new challenges that demand fresh responses. The ever- accelerating pace of change renders policies of the past as obsolete as yesterday’s newspaper. The situation that the organized Jewish community addressed a generation ago was strikingly different than the reality today. On the international scene, the world stood in awe at Israel’s swift victory in the Six-Day War of 1967. Israeli security seemed assured. Israel advocacy meant educating the world to understand that Israel had gained large stretches of territory on its borders in a war of defense for its very life, and that it was up to the Arab world to offer peace for land. How different the picture is now. Israel has indeed negotiated peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan in exchange for land. But American Jewish support for Israel is up against the widespread perception that Israel—no longer the David that defeated Goliath—has “colonialist designs” that prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state, and that this constitutes the chief obstacle to rebuilding American influence in the Arab world. And in other Western countries, the anti- Israel bias is even worse. Making the task of interpreting Israel’s policies even more difficult, a good number of American Jews buy into the “blame Israel first” line too. What is the Israel advocate to do? Four decades ago, anti-Semitism seemed on the wane, as books, films, and plays about the Holocaust resonated with the broad public, and most people absorbed the lesson that the hatred of Jews that was translated into mass murder could be turned against any other vulnerable minority as well. Advocacy on this issue amounted to little more than pinpointing and publicizing the activities of fringe extremist groups. But anti-Semitism in our day has metamorphosed into the big lie that, of all the nationalist movements in the world, Zionism is uniquely evil and constitutes a danger to world peace. Ironically, it is Iran, which had good relations with Israel until 1979, that bangs the drums most loudly for the destruction of the Jewish state, and is developing the nuclear capacity that could carry out that threat. How shall we counter the new anti-Semitism—the demonization of Zionism— and how can we convince the world to stop the Iranian nuclear program? The domestic political terrain on which Jewish community-relations groups operated a generation ago was relatively simple. Americans, especially those in 11 12 David A. Harris leadership positions, were overwhelmingly whites of European ethnic origin, Christian in religion, or else blacks, also Christian, with deep ancestral roots in the United States. They possessed a cultural awareness, at least on a basic level, of Jews, Judaism, and Jewish history, so that Jews’ concerns fit within their frame of reference. That is no longer the case. Latino, Asian, and other non-European groups— many of them recent immigrants—have emerged on the political scene. They have had relatively little historic contact with Jews, and hence their understanding of Jews’ priorities cannot be taken for granted. The same is true of the growing non-Western religious groups, such as Buddhists and Hindus—not to mention American Muslims, whose political clout is on the rise. Where will Jews find coalitional allies in this increasingly complex American mosaic? Perhaps the biggest change for the worse has occurred internally—or as the legendary American cartoon character Pogo famously put it, “We have seen the enemy and he is us.” The Jewish community for which our organizational structure spoke forty years ago was small but relatively robust. The great majority of Jews married other Jews and brought up their children to feel part of the Jewish collective. Whether one was religious—of whatever denomination—or secular, a common sense of peoplehood, underlined by the memory of the Holocaust, strengthened by the emergence of the state of Israel, and heightened by the Six- Day War and the Soviet Jewry movement, bound Jews together. That sense of group identity has gradually waned and in its place has emerged a largely privatized identity: one is attracted to particular ideas or practices that enhance self-fulfillment, whether they come from Jewish or non-Jewish sources.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Can They Change?
    See Pages 3, 4, 5 $1.00 WWW.5TJT.COM VOL. 10 NO. 15 22 TEVES 5770 ,una ,arp JANUARY 8, 2010 INSIDE FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK POWER TO THE PEOPLE Faux Frumkeit BY LARRY GORDON Stacey Solomon 22 What Does Jimmy Want? SECURITY THREAT Hannah Reich Berman 29 “When it comes to airline the world. Defining Death Down security,” says Yehuda Dafna, Our talk with Yehuda Dafna Rabbi Avi Shafran 30 “America is backwards.” Dafna, a about security at airports and on MindBiz resident of Woodsburgh and a airlines was of course precipitat- Esther Mann, LMSW 31 member of several Five Towns ed by the events of December shuls, is the president and 25, when a lone terrorist, pur- Yitzhak Ahronovitch, a’h founder of ISS Action, Inc., and portedly a functionary of Al Rabbi Yair Hoffman 75 speaks from two decades of Qaeda, attempted to set off extensive experience with air- explosive materials on an airlin- line security. er approaching Detroit’s interna- The ISS offices are located at tional airport. The terrorist JFK Airport, and the company passed through screeners at air- Howard Kopel, the first Orthodox Jew elected to the Nassau County Legislature since its inception in 1996, being sworn in on Monday at the employs more than 150 people ports in both Nigeria and Cradle of Aviation Museum by U.S. Congressman Peter King as Mr. Kopel and provides security consult- began his term as a member of the new Republican majority. ants to scores of airlines around Continued on Page 15 See Page 61 HEARD IN THE BAGEL STORE Shidduchim:Letters Not So Fast to thewith length Editor of courtship, logic Dear Editor, would have us insist that a cou- Where The Time Goes Welcome to the shidduch ple really get to know each other Bat Mitzvah of Ayala scene.
    [Show full text]
  • CHRONICLE NEVEH SHALOM March/April 2010 Adar-Iyyar- 5770 No
    CONGREGATIONCHRONICLE NEVEH SHALOM March/April 2010 Adar-Iyyar- 5770 No. 5 This newsletter is supported by the Sala Kryszek Memorial Publication Fund From the Pulpit From the President Only A Hint The winter months have proven to For most of us, the smells and sounds of our be very busy for your Board of Directors and Pesach Seder evoke treasured memories. Though Committees, and just like the seasons of the for me, as a young child, this was not always year, Spring looks to be bringing with it new the case. Frightened to sing in front of a crowd, challenges illed with great potential. reluctant to snap on a tie, my parents had to bribe The Cantorial Transition Committee me to say the four questions…and geilte ish has completed its work. You can read their and horseradish was not exactly my favorite of inal report to the Board of Directors on our combinations. website at http://www.nevehshalom.org/ Nevertheless, Pesach has become one of my favorite holidays. I iles/cantorial_recommendation.pdf. This have joined the ranks of Jews throughout the world who have committee did excellent work in reviewing made the Seder the most celebrated ritual in modern Jewish life. I various Cantorial models and making have grown to love the Hillel sandwich. And yet, with my newfound recommendations on moving forward as adoration I have noticed something troublesome. Inevitably at every we now enter the process of conducting a Seder, there is always at least one relative who nudges, “How long till search for a replacement. The Cantor Search we eat? Let’s make this a quick one!” Committee held its irst meeting in February, What is the rush? We have likened ourselves to our ancient has received many resumes and may have Israelite ancestors.
    [Show full text]
  • Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace May 11, 2013 - 2 Sivan 5773
    Shabbat Shalom from Cyberspace May 11, 2013 - 2 Sivan 5773 SHABBAT SHALOM FROM CYBERSPACE BEMIDBAR/SHABUOT MAY 10-11, 2013 2 SIVAN 5773 Day 46 of the Omer Happy Mother’s Day to all and Happy Anniversary Chantelle SEPHARDIC CONGREGATION OF LONG BEACH We look forward to welcoming Baruch and Michal Abittan & Rabbi Dr. Meyer and Debra who along with Rebetzin Ida are sponsoring the Kidush in honor of their, daughter, granddaughter and great granddaughter Sarah Chaya, Abittan Friday Night: Candles: 7:41 PM - Afternoon and Evening service (Minha/Arbith): 7:00 PM Morning Service (Shaharith): 9:00AM –Please say Shemah at home by 8:29 AM 11:00 - 12:00 Orah's will be here with our Shabbat Morning Kids Program upstairs in the Rabbi's study. Stories, Tefillah, Games, Snacks and more . And Leah Colish will be babysitting down in the playroom 5:30 - Mincha Shabbat Afternoon Oneg with Rabbi Yosef and Leah; Treats, Stories, Basketball, Hula-hoop, Parsha Quiz, Tefillot, Raffles and Fun! Supervised play during Seudat Shelishit. 5:30: Ladies Torah Class at the Lemberger's 1 East Olive. Pirkei Avot 6:30 with Rabbi Aharon Minha: 7:00 PM – Seudah Shelishi and a Class 7:30 – with Rabbi David – Seudah Shelishi co-sponsored in honor of Chantelle and David’s anniversary and for all the moms on mother’s day … Evening Service (Arbith): 8:30 PM - Shabbat Ends: 8:41PM WEEKDAY TEFILLA SCHEDULE Shaharit Sunday8:00, Mon-Fri at 7:00 (6:55 Mondays and Thursdays) WEEKDAY TORAH CLASS SCHEDULE Daily 6:30 AM class – Honest Business Practices Monday Night Class with Rabba Yanai – 7PM Monday night LADIES: Wednesday Night 8PM with Esther Wein at various homes – continues next week Financial Peace University – Continues next Tuesday at 8PM The sisterhood will once again sponsor lunch the second day of shavuoth.
    [Show full text]
  • (The) Sisterhood Is Powerful: Remarks by Rabbi Rachel M. Isaacs Upon the Inauguration of the Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond Professorship in Jewish Studies
    (The) Sisterhood is Powerful: Remarks by Rabbi Rachel M. Isaacs upon the Inauguration of the Dorothy “Bibby” Levine Alfond Professorship in Jewish Studies. November 19, 2015 Colby College, Waterville, Maine In October of 1957, the Beth Israel Congregation sisterhood met to discuss issues that ranged from the pedestrian to the controversial. After a vigorous conversation on the value of having a gossip column in the synagogue newsletter, the women of the sisterhood turned to their attention to an issue that was as salacious as it was fantastical: the possibility of women rabbis. Even though the Reform movement had ordained one woman, Regina Jonas, in Germany before the Holocaust, she had perished with her congregation in the concentration camps, and was largely forgotten by the mainstream Jewish world for many decades to come. But on this day in October of 1957, the sisterhood leaders of Beth Israel Congregation discussed the issue in Waterville, Maine. According to synagogue records, “Mrs. George Chesner introduced Rabbi Steinberg who was the speaker of the evening. His topic - ‘Women Rabbis’.” Sisterhood secretary Esther Paikowsky recorded his remarks: “Rabbi Steinberg is definitely opposed to women following this 1 profession. One reason being that there would not be a ‘Rebbetzin (a rabbi’s wife), and since a ‘Rebbetzin’ has functional duties in a congregation, it would not do to have the husband perform these duties. Another objection is who would raise the family and care for the home, certainly a man cannot do that. Therefore a man
    [Show full text]
  • Wertheimer, Editor Imagining the Seth Farber an American Orthodox American Jewish Community Dreamer: Rabbi Joseph B
    Imagining the American Jewish Community Brandeis Series in American Jewish History, Culture, and Life Jonathan D. Sarna, Editor Sylvia Barack Fishman, Associate Editor For a complete list of books in the series, visit www.upne.com and www.upne.com/series/BSAJ.html Jack Wertheimer, editor Imagining the Seth Farber An American Orthodox American Jewish Community Dreamer: Rabbi Joseph B. Murray Zimiles Gilded Lions and Soloveitchik and Boston’s Jeweled Horses: The Synagogue to Maimonides School the Carousel Ava F. Kahn and Marc Dollinger, Marianne R. Sanua Be of Good editors California Jews Courage: The American Jewish Amy L. Sales and Leonard Saxe “How Committee, 1945–2006 Goodly Are Thy Tents”: Summer Hollace Ava Weiner and Kenneth D. Camps as Jewish Socializing Roseman, editors Lone Stars of Experiences David: The Jews of Texas Ori Z. Soltes Fixing the World: Jewish Jack Wertheimer, editor Family American Painters in the Twentieth Matters: Jewish Education in an Century Age of Choice Gary P. Zola, editor The Dynamics of American Jewish History: Jacob Edward S. Shapiro Crown Heights: Rader Marcus’s Essays on American Blacks, Jews, and the 1991 Brooklyn Jewry Riot David Zurawik The Jews of Prime Time Kirsten Fermaglich American Dreams and Nazi Nightmares: Ranen Omer-Sherman, 2002 Diaspora Early Holocaust Consciousness and and Zionism in Jewish American Liberal America, 1957–1965 Literature: Lazarus, Syrkin, Reznikoff, and Roth Andrea Greenbaum, editor Jews of Ilana Abramovitch and Seán Galvin, South Florida editors, 2001 Jews of Brooklyn Sylvia Barack Fishman Double or Pamela S. Nadell and Jonathan D. Sarna, Nothing? Jewish Families and Mixed editors Women and American Marriage Judaism: Historical Perspectives George M.
    [Show full text]
  • NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS PRINCETON | MERCER | BUCKS COUNTIES a PUBLICATION of the JEWISH WEEK MEDIA GROUP Vol
    ® NEW JERSEY JEWISH NEWS PRINCETON | MERCER | BUCKS COUNTIES A PUBLICATION OF THE JEWISH WEEK MEDIA GROUP Vol. XXII No. 10 | March 10, 2020 | 14 ADAR 5780 njjewishnews.com White supremacy leafletting surges in NJ Trend mirrors overall rise of anti-Semitism in state, country Johanna Ginsberg A roundup of the spring NJJN Senior Writer offerings in theater, film, music, books, and more n early 2019 leaflets promoting a Noam Kornsgold of East Windsor is a rabbinical student and delegate on public march for the New Jersey Eu- Spring Arts 15 ropean Heritage Association, a white MERCAZ USA, the Conservative movement’s slate. PHOTO COURTESY NOAM KORNSGOLD I supremacist group, were hung around the Princeton University campus, caus- Next generation of ing an uproar and sparking plans for a large counter protest (the Heritage As- sociation claimed that the announced leaders steps up for march was actually a hoax). By contrast, in December the New World Zionist Congress Jersey European Heritage Association posted flyers around Maplewood and Jed Weisberger anyone can practice their religion South Orange, urging people to “Reclaim NJJN Staff Writer in a pluralistic society in Israel the your nation, Reclaim your heritage.” The way they want to, without the Chief local police and the Department of Pub- oam Kornsgold, 24, is one of Rabbinate of Israel imposing any sys- lic Works were notified, the signs were Our annual no-holds- several young members of tem,” said Kornsgold, who grew up in removed, but there was little uproar. The barred Purim satire NNew Jersey’s Jewish com- East Windsor and is the son of Leslie muted reaction was by design.
    [Show full text]
  • RABBI YAAKOV GIBBER Torah Reading Pg
    PARSHAS EMOR RABBI YAAKOV GIBBER Torah Reading Pg. 672 Morah Da’asra Haftorah Pg. 1176 18 Iyar - 25 Iyar 5781 April 30 - May 7, 2021 BJC INSIDER The BJC Insider is generously sponsored this week by Rabbi Efrem & Rebbetzin Yocheved Goldberg in honor of our Yedidei Nefesh, Rabbi and Rebbetzin Gibber. Thank you for your friendship, leadership and partnership. A Place for Lifelong Learning, Community & Friendship h Executive Committee: Sidney Sayovitz - President Dr. Yakov Elefant Radine Spier Warren Struhl Hindy Stuart Dr. Charles Trauring h Executive Director: Matthew Hocherman 21065 Powerline Road, Boca Raton, FL 33433 (561) 477-8872 • bocajewishcenter.org • [email protected] WEEKLY AND SHABBOS SCHEDULE FRIDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE WEEKDAY DAVENING SCHEDULE April 30 May 2 - May 7 Plag Mincha/Kabbalas Shabbos 6:15 pm Shacharis Sunday 8:00 & 9:00 am Earliest Candle Lighting 6:30 pm Shacharis Monday - Friday 6:45 & 8:30 am Zman Candle Lighting 7:34 pm Mincha/Maariv Sunday - Thursday 7:40 pm Zman Mincha/Kabbalas Shabbos 7:35 pm FRIDAY NIGHT SCHEDULE SHABBOS DAY SCHEDULE May 7 May 1 Plag Mincha/Kabbalas Shabbos 6:15 pm Hashkama Minyan 7:30 am Earliest Candle Lighting 6:34 pm Main Minyan 9:00 am Zman Candle Lighting 7:38 pm Young Professionals/Teen Minyan 9:45 am Zman Mincha/Kabbalas Shabbos 7:40 pm Youth Groups (Ages 3 - 11) 9:45 - 11:00 am Latest time to say Shema 10:00 am SHABBOS DAY SCHEDULE Latest time for Shacharis 11:06 am Shabbos Afternoon Rabbi’s Class 6:35 pm May 8 Hashkama Minyan 7:30 am Mincha followed by Shalosh Seudos 7:20 pm Main Minyan 9:00 am Shkiah 7:52 pm Young Professionals/Teen Minyan 9:45 am Maariv and Havdalah 8:30 pm Shabbos Afternoon Rabbi’s Class 6:40 pm Mincha followed by Shalosh Seudos 7:25 pm Maariv and Havdalah 8:34 pm SHALOM ZACHOR INFORMATION MAZEL TOV TO OUR MEMBERS The Feingolds invite the entire community to the h David & Shaina Feingold on the birth of their son.
    [Show full text]
  • Hires Administrators Westfield Police Chief Reminds Public to Be Mindful
    Ad Populos, Non Aditus, Pervenimus Published Every Thursday Since September 3, 1890 (908) 232-4407 USPS 680020 Thursday, July 30, 2009 OUR 119th YEAR – ISSUE NO. 31-2009 Periodical – Postage Paid at Westfield, N.J. www.goleader.com [email protected] SIXTY CENTS WF BOE Approves Advertising At Fields; Hires Administrators By CHRISTINA M. HINKE in talks with the Boosters about com- Avenue when driving in one direc- Specially Written for The Westfield Leader ing up with a design that would not be tion, “but not the other.” WESTFIELD — Starting this com- too unsightly. He recommended “The sample banner did take into ing football season, onlookers in the Wednesday that the banners be con- consideration the residential neigh- bleachers at school sporting events sistent in size and shape, as well as borhood,” Superintendent of Schools will notice a new addition to the play- painted with the Westfield school Margaret Dolan said. ing field. Banner advertisements, sold colors – blue and white. Jane Clancy said that a sample ban- by the Westfield School Boosters “I don’t want to be bombarded with ner was hung at the varsity football Association, placed at the varsity advertising,” board member Ann Cary field “for awhile” and “you really baseball field next to Edison Interme- said, after inquiring if the banners at can’t tell [notice the banner] until diate School and the Kehler Stadium the field near Edison would be seen sitting in the bleachers.” football field, were approved as a from the street. “It is a strictly resi- Mr. Solomon touted the poor year-long pilot at a special meeting dential area.” economy as a strong reason to sup- Wednesday by the Westfield Board “I don’t think it will be noticeable port the initiative.
    [Show full text]
  • Jewish Subcultures Online: Outreach, Dating, and Marginalized Communities ______
    JEWISH SUBCULTURES ONLINE: OUTREACH, DATING, AND MARGINALIZED COMMUNITIES ____________________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of California State University, Fullerton ____________________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in American Studies ____________________________________ By Rachel Sara Schiff Thesis Committee Approval: Professor Leila Zenderland, Chair Professor Terri Snyder, Department of American Studies Professor Carrie Lane, Department of American Studies Spring, 2016 ABSTRACT This thesis explores how Jewish individuals use and create communities online to enrich their Jewish identity. The Internet provides Jews who do not fit within their brick and mortar communities an outlet that gives them voice, power, and sometimes anonymity. They use these websites to balance their Jewish identities and other personal identities that may or may not fit within their local Jewish community. This research was conducted through analyzing a broad range of websites. The first chapter, the introduction, describes the Jewish American population as a whole as well as the history of the Internet. The second chapter, entitled “The Black Hats of the Internet,” discusses how the Orthodox community has used the Internet to create a modern approach to outreach. It focuses in particular on the extensive web materials created by Chabad and Aish Hatorah, which offer surprisingly modern twists on traditional texts. The third chapter is about Jewish online dating. It uses JDate and other secular websites to analyze how Jewish singles are using the Internet. This chapter also suggests that the use of the Internet may have an impact on reducing interfaith marriage. The fourth chapter examines marginalized communities, focusing on the following: Jewrotica; the Jewish LGBT community including those who are “OLGBT” (Orthodox LGBT); Punk Jews; and feminist Jews.
    [Show full text]
  • Schechter@35: Living Judaism 4
    “The critical approach, the honest and straightforward study, the intimate atmosphere... that is Schechter.” Itzik Biton “The defining experience is that of being in a place where pluralism “What did Schechter isn't talked about: it's lived.” give me? The ability Liti Golan to read the most beautiful book in the world... in a different way.” Yosef Peleg “The exposure to all kinds of people and a variety of Jewish sources allowed for personal growth and the desire to engage with ideas and people “As a daughter of immigrants different than me.” from Libya, earning this degree is Sigal Aloni a way to connect to the Jewish values that guided my parents, which I am obliged to pass on to my children and grandchildren.” Schechter@35: Tikva Guetta Living Judaism “I acquired Annual Report 2018-2019 a significant and deep foundation in Halakhah and Midrash thanks to the best teachers in the field.” Raanan Malek “When it came to Jewish subjects, I felt like an alien, lost in a foreign city. At Schechter, I fell into a nurturing hothouse, leaving the barren behind, blossoming anew.” Dana Stavi The Schechter Institutes, Inc. • The Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies, the largest M.A. program in is a not for profit 501(c)(3) Jewish Studies in Israel with 400 students and 1756 graduates. organization dedicated to the • The Schechter Rabbinical Seminary is the international rabbinical school advancement of pluralistic of Masorti Judaism, serving Israel, Europe and the Americas. Jewish education. The Schechter Institutes, Inc. provides support • The TALI Education Fund offers a pluralistic Jewish studies program to to four non-profit organizations 65,000 children in over 300 Israeli secular public schools and kindergartens.
    [Show full text]
  • Grantees and Their Funders How Professionals at Jewish Not-For-Profits Experience Working with Grantmakers
    Grantees and Their Funders How Professionals at Jewish Not-for-Profits Experience Working with Grantmakers JACK WERTHEIMER March 8, 2021 Dear Friend, “Grantees and Their Funders” by Professor Jack Wertheimer was first published a year ago, but we are re-issuing it now to mark the launch of the project it inspired: GrantED. GrantED: Stronger Relationships, Greater Impact is a joint project of Jewish Funders Network and UpStart designed to strengthen relationships between Jewish philanthropists and the Jewish nonprofit sector, specifically between grantmakers and grantseekers, so we can share in the work of building and sustaining a vibrant Jewish community. GrantED (jgranted.org) creates and curates articles, tools, and other materials to inspire and inform grantmakers and grantseekers in the Jewish community, organizing around four core interdependent components of successful grantmaking partnerships: strengthening relationships, understanding and addressing power dynamics, sustaining impact, effective communication. GrantED also offers workshops, facilitated conversations and other programs. To learn more visit jgranted.org and sign up for its email list here. Based on interviews with 140 senior professionals at North American Jewish not-for-profits, “Grantees and Their Funders” provides a rare opportunity to hear honest feedback from those who might otherwise be reluctant to speak openly. While these professionals reported largely positive experiences with funders, they also shared feedback that we believe is important to address to ensure that Jewish resources are used as efficiently as possible and that the Jewish nonprofit sector is adequately supported in its important work serving the Jewish community. Funders and Jewish professionals are interdependent; while the community cannot function without philanthropic support, funders rely on the expertise and hard work of nonprofit professionals as partners in bringing goals and dreams to fruition.
    [Show full text]
  • Rabbi Richard Hirsh
    Rabbi Richard Hirsh Rabbi Richard Hirsh was the first full-time Rabbi at Darchei Noam, from 1981-1983. Since 1998, Rabbi Hirsh has been leading one of the High Holiday services each year at Darchei Noam. He has recently concluded five years as an interim and associate rabbi at Philadelphia-area synagogues, and is currently directing a pilot program, “Men As Allies: Leading Equitable Workplaces” for Jewish Women International in Washington, D.C. From 1998-2014, he was the Executive Director of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical Association, and was on the faculty of the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. Rabbi Hirsh was the editor of the journal The Reconstructionist from 1996-2006. Rabbi Hirsh has also served congregations in Chicago, New York, and New Jersey. He was Executive Director of the Philadelphia Board of Rabbis and Jewish Chaplaincy Service (1988-1993) and was on the staff of the Philadelphia Jewish Community Relations Council (1987- 1988). Rabbi Hirsh received his BA in Jewish Studies from Hofstra University (1975), his MA in religion with a specialization in the New Testament from Temple University (1981), and was graduated as a rabbi from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College (1981). Rabbi Hirsh was the chair of the “Reconstructionist Commission on the Role of the Rabbi” (1998-2001) and the author of its report, The Rabbi-Congregation Relationship: A Vision for the 21st Century. His commentaries are featured in A Night of Questions, the Reconstructionist Haggadah and the Reconstructionist High Holiday prayerbook used at Darchei Noam (look for the initials R.H !) He is also the author of the chapters “The Journey of Mourning,” “Welcoming Children,” “Conversion” and “Jewish Divorce” in the book A Reconstructionist Guide to Jewish Practice III: Lifecycle.
    [Show full text]