survey for my Jewish readers

[cellio]

A survey in the first session of the Melton (adult-ed) program produced some results that struck me as interesting. I have a theory, but the class wasn't large enough to provide a good sample. So I pose the question to you. :-)

We were given a list of factors (actions and beliefs), and asked which were the top five "in terms of their importance in ensuring that a vital, coherent Judaism will be transmitted to future Jewish generations". So from the options below, which are your top five?

There are two questions below; please respond only to the one that fits your situation. (I've provided "does not apply" options so you can check that and see the poll results more easily.) Feel free to use the comments for things that fall outside the poll parameters (like comments from any non-Jews who read this far :-) ).

[Poll #819573]

Comments

This got long.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

Early on I learned to separate Jewish culture from the Jewish religion; I grew up in a nearly majority-Jewish school system, in a town where the hordes of people walking to synagogue on Saturday were much more visible than the ones driving to church on Sunday; but only a few were strongly religious.

I agree with the old adage that the Sabbath kept the Jews; it's a very pronounced cultural shibboleth to let the community see itself and be visible in a non-threatening way; surely having a pack of people in suits and nice clothes walking along the side of the road to go worship was something that even the most xenophobic Catholics could understand as a non-aggressive cultural act. Keeping kosher was easier in a town with so many kosher food places, but still not easy, and likewise enough of a marker. Celebrating holidays, similarly. Those help keep the community separate, identifiable and focused.

Keeping that community "Jewish", rather than sliding to another culture? That requires history and tradition. Where I was there was, of course, the traditional fight between the reform and conservatives, and the very small knot of Hassidim, about what it meant to be Jewish. We had our fair share of pregnant rabbis who considered themselves just as Jewish as those in peiyot. Tradition, and history, bound the communities together, but their interpretations of it differed dramatically.

Notice I haven't mentioned god or religion in there anywhere. For me, being (half) Jewish was a culture, not a religion; most of my friends got Bar Mitzvah'd without evincing a strong sense of faith or belief in the supernatural side, despite years of Hebrew school. To keep the religion, especially while teaching people to think for themselves as is the tradition, requires a religion that makes sense and is viable in modern times. Judaism is reasonably good at this, aside from the usual problems with invisible superheroes in the sky; it doesn't ask you with a straight face to believe in direct impossibilities, and it makes exceptions for things that make sense, like breaking sabbath for emergencies. So in the age of free information and open critique, I give it a decent chance of survival.

Re: This got long.

[cellio]

Thank you for these observations! You make a lot of sense.

Broadly speaking, there are two common paths to conversion: God-centered and family-centered (marriage, etc). The former does not necessarily focus on community and history, and the latter might not (though is more likely to). I'm not saying this is good; I'm just making an observation. Speaking personally, I tend to think of my Judaism in tersm of God first, current community second, distant community third, and historical community last.