[Judaism] what do we mean by "egalitarian"?

[cellio]

One of my ongoing frustrations with many Reform services (and prayer books) is what I think of as dumbing down the service to be accessible to all, in the process alienating some of the dedicated people who were already there. (There's a vicious cycle in there that leads to needing to do so because everyone else has fled.) I wondered a little whether I was being hyper-sensitive or something, because when I've brought it up in conversation I've mostly gotten surprised looks.

I recently came across rethinking egalitarianism and found myself emphatically saying "yes yes yes!" while reading. Excerpt:

Let's rethink what we mean by "egalitarianism." What if it meant "open to all who bother to make the effort"? What if synagogues distributed fliers that said: "Welcome! We are very glad you are here. Our service is somewhat traditional, because that traditional form works for us. You may be a little lost at first. So we warmly invite you to join our weekly Siddur 101 class, where you can learn the ropes." People who choose to accept the invitation obtain the rewards. Those who don't, don't. Not only would such an approach allow longtime participants to get more out of the prayer experience, but it would also suggest to newcomers that there's something worth working toward. Things that come cheap usually feel that way.

As I understand it, this is part of Rabbi Elie Kaunfer's argument in his recent book, "Empowered Judaism" (Jewish Lights Publishing). What the Jewish world needs, Kaunfer writes, is not more dumbing-down but more empowerment of individuals to opt in if they so desire. Before Kaunfer, this argument was Maimonides's: The best Judaism is really only for philosophers, but the opportunity to become a philosopher ought to be open to everybody.

American Jews have long prized education and knowledge. So why do we suddenly throw those values out the window when it comes to synagogue life? Is it really more inclusive to be patronized by a service aimed at the lowest common denominator?

Thoughts?

Comments

[fauxklore]

It strikes me that the intermediate group is the toughest one to find the right approach for. A lot of shuls have a "learner's service" - geared to beginners, who may not know much Hebrew. But the transition from that to a full-up rapid-fire service would stil be difficult.

Maybe the best approach is to have chavurot that start periodically and progress together.

[cellio]

Yeah, the middle group is hard. This comes up in adult-ed, too; most classes are pitched at the beginner level to be accessible, but I sometimes worry that we're leaving out the people who've moved beyond that and aren't going to come to another beginner-level class on a topic they know well. Currently I and the other people I know in this situation scratch that itch through one-on-one chevruta study (I even have two rabbinic study partners), but I wonder what else we could do.