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survey for my Jewish readers
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 :-) ).
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I am, however, trying to survey the same options that were presented in the in-class survey.
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"I was raised in a Jewish home, and the reason I will *not* participate in the religion or raise any children within it is"
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(1) raise a Jewish child in a Jewish home
(2) have her attend a Jewish summer camp (worked for me!)
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I was kind of surprised by some of the things they did include. Make havdalah? I mean yeah, it's nice and I do it, but as a candidate for top five important things, I'm a little dubious.
(I wouldn't have thought of camp, and you're right: that seems to be formative for many folks.)
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Other factors are more internal, and improve one's spirituality, but wouldn't outwardly make the house *jewish*, such as belief in God, following ethics and morals, supporting Israel, giving to charity. These factors, although Jewish in behavour, are also something that would be done by the fundamentalist Christian population as well.
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And I'll repeat what others have said about the obvious omission of things like "send kids to Jewish schools/camps/youth groups".
(I'll admit, though, that in a world where the Jewish community seems to revolve around families with kids, a list of things that can all be done by single adults is kinda refreshing.)
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Five was not enough.
However, other than supporting Israel, the way to ensure a Jewish future is to raise knowlegible Jewish children - not always possible.
What I wanted to see there was "teach", because that is a way to ensure a Jewish future. I'm surprised it wasn't there.
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I find it very interesting that "Believe in God," while not at 0 in both sections, does not have the response of say "Lead an ethical and moral life."
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Wow. That was one hell of a run-on sentance, there.
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I agree that some of the options are pretty weird.
This got long.
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.
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I nearly did choose "build your own sukkah". Sukkot, and Hannukah, which was based on Sukkot, both have strong public components: you put your Hannukiah in a window where it can be seen from the street, and, just because of the lack of yard-space around here, most everyone in the city who puts up a sukkah has it somewhere visible. So both of those are ways to give yourself a public identity as a Jew.
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Re: This got long.
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.
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Yeah, me too.
Sukkot, and Hannukah, which was based on Sukkot, both have strong public components
Very good point. I live in a neighborhood where the sukkah is more likely to fit in the back yard -- so public but not as public -- but that's obviously not true everywhere.
I counted building a sukkah very low, but if it had said using a sukkah I would have raised it some (not into the top five, though). There is no commandment to build a sukkah, so if I was going to choose just a few observances to try to instill in others, I'd focus on some that are actual commandments.
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