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Food
for Thought
Jewish Continuity and You
I am concerned about the survival and
continuity of the Jewish people. What can I do to help?
Dear Friend,
Your concern for our
Jewish people is praiseworthy. As you may know, from the time of World
War II till today we lost over 6 million Jews to assimilation and
intermarriage - more Jews than we lost to the Holocaust.
There is a story from
which you, I, and anyone else concerned about our continuity may learn.
It goes like this: Once there was a great man. He saw the predicament
the world was in and wanted to change it for the better. After a sincere
and valiant effort, he realized, however, that all his efforts had been
in vain, so he said to himself, "Perhaps I will try to change my
country instead." His efforts did not bear fruit. He said to
himself, "Let me try to change my city." The city remained the
same. "What about my town?" No change. "My family."
Nothing. So he decided to change himself, to become more kind and noble
- in short, a better person. That he could do and did. His example
ultimately served to change the world for the better.
I want to make this
world a better place. You do, too. The best way to start, my friend, is
with ourselves, and our children, who will, with G-d's help, follow us.
Two things we can do now is to educate ourselves in Torah Judaism and,
step by step, introduce it into our lives. By learning more and
observing whatever we can, we can ultimately do good for the world.
If you think about it,
educating oneself in Judaism makes sense. Our walls are plastered with
school diplomas and certificates, yet how educated are we in the
important issues of our lives? We may be experts in our fields, but do
we know who we really are? Do we know why we are here?
The American Jewish
Committee's 92nd Annual Meeting recently gathered to discuss Jewish
Continuity. Elliott Abrams, President of the Ethics and Public Policy
Center, was one of the primary speakers. Mr. Abrams said that perhaps
the best strategy for Jewish continuity is "the oldest one: Judaism
itself. In the last fifty years," he said, "the American
Jewish community has focused instead on 'civil Judaism,' activities
conducted mostly in public in secular Jewish organizations." While
these activities are critical to Jewish life, he continued,
strengthening a sense of peoplehood and of responsibility for one
another, "they are not enough. We can see from the dire statistics
that Jewish civic activity, and even causes such as commemorating the
Holocaust and supporting Israel, have not inspired enough American Jews
to marry Jews, raise their children as Jews, and remain faithful to
their religion."
The problem, Mr. Abrams
stressed, is that "we have had it backwards: Jewish civic activity
does not keep people Jewish or even explain to them why they should want
to remain Jews. But faithfulness to the religion of Judaism does inspire
support for Israel, charitable giving and activity, and community
activism."
Mr. Abrams commented
that Jewish day schools, Hebrew or Sunday schools and Jewish education
at the adult level are "critical" to Jewish identity and
continuity. "And so is practice," he said, "for Judaism
is a religion that lives in our actions and not just in our thoughts. In
the end, only Judaism -- the religion -- can explain to American Jews,
and to our children, why they should care about staying Jewish.
"The task
ahead," he concluded, "is to refocus our activities as
individual Jews and as a community, putting Judaism back at the
center."
Many studies prove that
"putting Judaism back at the center" effectively ensures
Jewish Continuity. The 1990 National Jewish Population Study (NJPS)
found that 70 out of 100 Jewish children who do not attend a Jewish
school end up intermarrying, while 2 out of 100 Jewish children who
attend a Yeshiva Day school till Grade 12 do intermarry. The NJPS
study also found that the rates of intermarriage among Unaffiliated,
Reform, Conservative and Orthodox Jews are 72%, 53%, 37%, 2%
respectively.
There are five things
you can do to help Jewish Continuity and to assure your own children
will marry Jews:
1) Learn about your
heritage by attending a Jewish seminar and regular Torah learning programs.
(See the Jewish
Living Section - for further info)
2) Become part of a
Traditional Jewish congregation.
(Agudat Israel can refer you to
congregations in your area 1-212-797-9000 (US))
3) Introduce Torah in
your family life.
A good place to start
is by observing the Shabbat with your family or by learning Torah
regularly together. Many excellent books exist in English on a wide
variety of topics.
4) Enroll your children
in Torah day schools.
5) Enroll your children
in an Jewish Youth Group.
(Agudat Israel provides info 1-212-797-9000 (US))
It's also good to know
that the Torah's positive life values and outlook bring about many
benefits to those who observe it. A recent US Government study has shown
that children in Torah Schools have 20 times less reported drug use than
the rest of the population. The observant experience less alcoholism,
far less incidence of divorce and broken families, and infidelity is
practically non-existent.
Torah helps us to live
a harmonious family life and greatly boosts our ability to do good. It
allows us to attain more enjoyment, reward and satisfaction from our
daily activities. It adds a spiritual dimension to our life, enabling us
to maintain a closer relation with our Creator, and to live a life in
which every day has purpose and meaning. We come to understand better
why things happen in the world, and discover life as well as our own
selves. • Matatia Chetrit, M.B.A.
For further information
on learning programs in Israel and in your own country, see the
respective sections in this guide.
Enjoy • Jerusalem Life
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