T. Belman. If a Jew knows nothing about Judaism and doesn’t care about being Jewish, why should he care about Israel? Why should he stand with the Jewish people?
By Martin Ingall, AMERICAN THINKER
The liberal American Jewish population is shrinking dramatically while Orthodoxy continues to grow. The American Jewish future is Orthodox.
For many years Orthodox Jews recognized, if begrudgingly, that the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements had appeal for Jews who were religiously uneducated or did not affirm Jewish law, or whose agnosticism meant discomfort with traditional Judaism. To its own discredit, Orthodox Judaism still has not committed itself to discovering more welcoming models without comprising its principles.
There used to be many common values among Jews of all affiliations. A love of Jewish culture, the bond of recent immigrants, clear support for Israel, common cause against anti-Semitism, a respect for ritual even if not practiced personally, and love of America for its liberty, acceptance and opportunity. Little of this endures.
At least 5 tectonic shifts have occurred, all catastrophic on the Richter Scale.
First is near complete illiteracy about Judaism, including Jewish texts, thought, ritual, history and Hebrew. How can anyone have a compelling reason for embracing Judaism and passing it to his children if he knows approximately nothing? A big part of this illiteracy stems from the minimalism of the three movements.
Second is the colossal intermarriage rate among non-orthodox Jews. The three movements surrendered to intermarriage and then embraced it. Reform and Reconstructionist rabbis and cantors have become “marrying Sams.” The Conservative movement is actively playing catch up. The leadership made this conscious choice, rather than looking in the mirror at the foment caused by their own roles and philosophies. It’s been easier to blame the assimilationist pull of the American melting pot.
The claim that embracing intermarriage encourages couples to choose a Jewish life has proven a statistical farce, although it may bolster membership and dues in the short run. Indeed, the leadership has doubled down on their lemming march off a cliff even though the traditional position — that participation in intermarriage ceremonies weakens Jewish identity — has proven true.
Third is disaffiliation. A plurality (soon to be majority) of Jews do not join any synagogue, do not give charity to Jewish causes and — let’s face it — do not meaningfully participate in Jewish life at all, publically or personally. Almost all are from families who affiliated with the three movements.
Fourth is the collapse in support for Israel among the three movements’ leadership and laity. While those hostile manage to make a lot of noise, it is the widespread indifference among the laity that is far more consequential. This dissipation of fidelity inevitably follows Jewish illiteracy, assimilation and disaffiliation.
Fifth is the whole hog conversion to the religion of contemporary liberalism. In the last 30 years, the three movements rapidly devolved away from being rejectionists of traditional Judaism. For some time they have embraced their new religion, liberalism, with gusto.
So much of liberalism is so at odds with traditional Judaism it’s hard to know where to start. Moral relativism; multiculturalism; rejection of religion; globalism; elevation of the group over the individual; exchange of God-given rights for government-conferred rights; inversion of private property; casting aside the preciousness of every soul. This is on top of contemporary liberalism’s rejection of the American idea and its vehement denial of the nature of Islam.
One liberal value worth separate note is the diminution of not only the traditional family but of the concept of family itself. The ghoulish consequence is a radically low birthrate among the Jews of liberalism, well below the replacement rate and among the very lowest of any ethnic or religious group in the United States.
These 5 tectonic shifts have led to a tsunami of self-immolation. With its high intermarriage rate and low birthrate, American Judaism is now in a demographic free fall.
The Jewish communal structure is dramatically contracting. JCCs, Federations, synagogues, youth movements, Hillels, social service organizations and advocacy groups face closure or struggle for relevance. Donations for American Jewish communal life will continue to decline sharply. The donor base has already shrunk dramatically and the number of Jewish constituents to participate and serve is evaporating before our very eyes. Both liberal and religious Jews lose.
When the dust clears, what remains is a large majority and high birth rate Orthodox American Judaism. What’s left of the rapidly contracting liberal movements will be a residual of social justice warriors, a dwindling intermarried constituency and, as always, lapsed Orthodox Jews. We dream of a growing percentage of all Jews moving to Israel … but don’t count on that.
If I may make some belated suggestions, broad brush, incomplete and unlikely to be widely adopted. Hope springs eternal.
To the rabbis, cantors and educators of all three liberal movements, rather than emphasizing social action and critique of Judaism, make it personal. For those among you who believe in the God of Israel, foster a personal relationship between your congregants and God. Highlight texts that teach about family, modesty and relations between man and his neighbors. Reveal the time honored centrality in Judaism of personal conduct, prayer and Israel.
Telling congregants that a good Jew advocates for abortion, welfare, gun control, feminism, gay rights, gender fluidity, business regulation, socialized medicine, affirmative action and immigration isn’t working for the Jewish future. Have you noticed? If you sing a new tune perhaps a few Jews will be salvaged from their otherwise inevitable drift to Jewish oblivion.
To the Reconstructionist and Reform, put Judaism foremost and social action second. If you believe that Judaism calls us to social action of a particular orientation, why do you suppose that calling can continue without knowledge of the theology-texts-history-heritage that generates the mission in the first place?
To the Reform, teach Jewish obligations. You might be surprised how many people are inspired by them and how few flee if you discuss them.
To the Conservative leadership, stop following and start leading. Teach Torah for what it is trying to say to us, rather than intellectualizing its origins and historical context. Highlight its profound lessons rather than endless revisionist critique. Who would want to be a part of a movement that afflicts its own religion with continuous criticism and unceasing revision?
To the Orthodox rabbis, cantors and educators of all stripes, I will quote my own rabbi: “How bad does it have to get before us Orthodox rabbis declare an emergency? Who said that Orthodox rabbis should be rabbis only to Orthodox Jews?”
Would it kill you to carve out time for the broader Jewish community? Is it best for you to leave outreach to Chabad and Aish HaTorah, terrific as they may be? Your dearth of initiative was a large factor in the creation of the recent non-Orthodox splinterette, often called Open Judaism.
As a first step, enrich your communities by proudly broadcasting you are there for all Jews regardless of background. Encourage congregants to earnestly welcome less observant families and singles. That is the way of a refined Jew. Run a concurrent learning service on Shabbat mornings. In addition to Talmud study, offer classes and programs accessible for Jews elsewhere on the ladder.
With all the upsides and issues of Orthodox hegemony in American Jewish life, we’d rather have our Jews back. With profound regret, millions of Jewish souls are being lost to the Jewish future. Many are being misled from their rightful inheritance and many are dropping it on their own. And many are neither being led nor making a choice. They just don’t care.
I assert all this with great sadness. There are counterpoints, there is a wealth of data to cite and there is a lot to talk about. Still, the direction is clear, tragic and undeniable. Most American Jewish institutions will collapse. The liberal American Jewish population will continue to shrink dramatically while Orthodoxy continues to grow. The American Jewish future is Orthodox.
Martin Ingall is the President of Technology Information Corporation. He holds an M.A. in Middle East Economics and International Business Policy from Harvard University. Prior to moving to Israel, he was a member of Beth Sholom Congregation and Har Tzeon Congregation in Maryland. He was bar mitzvahed at Temple Beth Elohim near Boston.
@ Arthur Wellesley:
Married for 50 years eh… I see… that explains it maybe??…..senility in it’s most virulent form… Seems very “penis obsessed.”.. makes “big” thing of it……Hmmm. Psychologists anyone…??
I (and likely Laura although I can’t speak for her) believe that you are the farthest “thing” (and that requires long handled tongs) from ANYTHING I’ve ever met…except “The Beast From 20 000 Fathoms”….but that was a movie.
Showing off his Spanish “erudition”..(with his “Rocinante)
P.S. Your absurd. irrelevant ignorance (lovely alliteration) is far too great for me to waste time explaining the clothing of the Chassidim to you. All you could do in reply would be to grunt..anyway.
Oh yes…(TED) please forgive the ad hominem response… a more deserving recipient never lived…. .
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
HEAR DOUBLE HEAR….!!!
@ Arthur Wellesley: Arthur,I never suggested that you “sound female.”You are confusing me with another responder. I responded only to the contents of your post, and made no critical remarks about you other than what you told us about yourself and your opinions in your post. I deplore any abusive remarks about you.
Its not totally reasonable for you, however, to expect no ‘ad hominem” criticisms at all, however, since your post dealt mainly with yourself and your own life. This is a Jewish-nationalist and religious-nationalist site, and your boasting of your non-Jewish life-style and values, such as your rejection of Judaism, contempt for religiously observant Jews, contempt for Jewish artists, contempt for Jewish dietary laws, your non-Jewish marriage, and above all your indifference to the fate of the Jews murdered in the Holocaust, guaranteed that you would receive a hostile response from some of our readers. Surely you must have known that when you made the post in the first place.
@ Arthur Wellesley:
Hi Art. Thanks for writing. If you are referring to your rebuttle it is there. It may be that for some reason it was detained in moderation and I released it today.
I approved your first comment even though I didn’t like it because it was disparaging of all things orthodox and by extension of all Jews who appreciate orthodoxy. You in essence were ridiculing them.
You might have anticipated the blowback. Yes there were some ad hominem attacks. Generally I am against such attacks because one should deal with the content of the comments.
But this case is different because you were attacking their values in an offensive way. You showed yourself to be intolerant of Judaism.
I have a personal; story to relate. I was secular though my parants at one time were orthodox and I learned the rudiments. But I married an Hareidi sabra but lived most of her life in Canada. I agreed to be Shomrai Shabbat, and kosher and to send my kids to orthodox schools. I never regretted my decision. I think it unfortunate that you and others like you are not more inclusive and less disparaging.
Why do you flaunt your distain?
@ Laura:
Ah, the old ad-hominem attack. I leap upon Rocinante, and face the windmills: Actually I’m the furthest thing from a liberal you’ll ever not meet, Laura, because the thought of never meeting you delights me. Yes, my wife’s Italian-American, and so what? I’d rather own a Michelangelo than anything by that laughably talentless fraud Rothko. A Chagall would be another story…
‘Did you also have your circumcision reversed–maybe a little pigskin sewn on…..” No, Edgar, my circumcision has not been reversed- still pruned and proud, but if I ever am in a situation needing a generous amount of pigskin to do the job, can I rely on you for a donation since you’re obviously so replete? As for hasidim dressing the way they do- it’s laughable how we who justifiably curse the imposed wearing of yellow stars still harbour among us those who encourage people who blatantly inflict the personal on a society that for the most part has offered us more tolerance than any other in history- indeed a society in which the President speaks proudly of his converted daughter and Jewish grandchildren. Religion, for anyone, should be like a penis. Nice to have, but not to be waved about in public or stuffed down the throats of those holding a different opinion.
And finally- if I ‘sound female’ to you, Inspector Dalgliesh- you should only be married for fifty years to such a meiskeit as a female version of me would look like.
@ Adam Dalgliesh:
I wouldn’t exactly use the word “grateful” …. I have a large variety of “pithy” terms- all of which would fit him (like the departed foreskin he regrets)… to a “T”…(whatever a “t” is -maybe it should be a “p”..) but not suitable for the delicate ears of the rest of us..
To me Wellington sounds female…has an odour of…say… Amira Hass….powerful enough to be dropped on the Gaza rioters..THAT would make them run.
(in fact it’s long puzzled me as to why they don’t drench them with long-lasting nausea inducing “stinkies”..The IDF has a good variety..
In spite of the disagreement all the writers here have with Mr. Wellesley, a positive way to observe what Mr. Wellesley wrote is to be grateful for his support of Israel and that he chose to remain childless. Both of these positions are helpful to the community.
@ Edgar G.: Edgar, maybe we should feel grateful to Arthur for providing us with such graphic evidence of what is causing the decline of Judaism in the United States.
@ Arthur Wellesley:
When you go out and feel a drip from overhead… it might not be rain…but spittle.–or “something”…. and well deserved. You have been as offensive to real Jews as is possible to be. Did you also have your circumcision reversed–maybe a little pigskin sewn on…..What the hell are you doing on this site. A contemptible fake Jew of no class it seems..and out of place (and how) here..
(There’s a very good reason the Hasidim dress in 18th century garb..and not ordinary garments ether…and T.G. for them else there would be no Judaism today.)
I suppose you love the Iron Duke…you should be like him –long ago already….?
Ted, my last post got trashed somehow. Can you find it and restore it to the comments section? It concerned the enormous pressures on American Jews to assimilate. Many thanks.
I am less confident about the fate of Orthodox Jews in America than this author. One poll I read said that over half of the Jews over sixty who reported that they were raised in Orthodox homes say they are no longer Orthodox. Either they have joined Conservative, Reform or Reconstructionist congregations, or are comletely secular in their later years. While people raised in from homes intermarry at a much lower rate than those raised in non-Orthodox homes, that is not necessarily true of their children and grandchildren. Orthodox Jewry in America seems to be only one or two generations away from complete assimilation than non-Orthodox Jewry.
Another poll, by the Pew group I think, says that the number of Orthodox Jews is only holding steady over the past ten years and 750,000. I know from personal experience and contacts that many Orthodox shuls have closed and are closing, and few new ones are being built.
A few Hasidic sects, it is true, are growing, because of their high birth rate. But not the “Moderdox” non-hasidic communities. And the hasidim face open and avowed discrimination in many communities. Many openly refuse to allow Hasidim to “expand” and “settle” in their communities, and have enacted zoning laws explicitly enacted to exclude them. This is a violation of several civil rights acts, but the Federal government has made absolutely no effort to enforce these laws to protect Hasidim from this discrimination and segregation. Since the few existing Hasidic communities are at bursting at the seems and cannot provide housing for young couples and their children, most young people will be forced to leave these communities and assimilate.
Arthur’s hostility to Hasidim is typical. Makes it very difficult for them to survive in America.
@ Arthur Wellesley:Arthur, you seem to be a poster boy for Jewish assimilation, and the contempt and indifference to the fate of your fellow Jews, especially the religiously observant among them, the comes with assimilation. Enjoy your ham sandwiches.
@ Sebastien Zorn:
I don’t welcome him. He’s a fake Jew. His last name isn’t Jewish, he’s called himself an atheist and is married to an Italian. And he bashes Jews.
Arthur Wellesley Said:
Is all I heard and all I care about. Welcome aboard, Comrade.
@ Arthur Wellesley:
Which is exactly the reason that Orthodox Judaism is filling the vacuum left by Jewish liberals like yourself who have abandoned Judaism on any level. If it weren’t for the Orthodox, there would be no Jewish future in America. Thanks for reinforcing the very point this article is making. You’re an ass and prove what is so contemptible about “Jewish” liberals.
I like Jewish food and humour; that’s it. When the Hats demand we submit to their completely irrational control, it’s time for a bacon-fest. I went through (or survived, if you will) seven years of after-school Hebrew education and an equal time spent every Sunday on religious studies, so at least have the very basics.
But why a certain lunatic element of my people insist on dressing like 18th century Poles (not even like Arabs, which at least Moses would have understood since he presumably dressed that way too) is completely beyond me.
Orthodox/Hasidic insularity is infuriating, and their essential frumpiness and sexism appalls. Admittedly I’m delighted I’m not female, but after three marriages (my current one of 14 years to a nice Italian-American ballet dancer 27 years my junior) who wouldn’t be? I’ve not negated my roots- we’re both childless atheists and we leave it at that. We did a roots trip last summer through Poland and Ukraine, then Italy, first in the families to return since the late 1800s. I visited the old villages, toured Belzec, and felt nothing in particular, though I’m glad I went and was able to go.
The point is that if religion is such a wonderful thing, why do people of different religions only get along well if they’re not religious? And why is it that if you really want to convince someone to do something absolutely horrible, the easiest way is by convincing them that it’s what God really wants them to do?
I’ll stick with ham and swiss on rye, accompanied by an appropriately clad or unclad lie on the beach, thanks very much. And I support a well-armed one-state secular Israel in case I genuinely need a refuge because too many religious nutbars of all persuasions want to see an end to its present condition.