10
| THE CHRONICLE
Changes in American Jewish
Identities Since 1948
(
continued)
professional leadership positions of the Con-
servative Movement, the older generation is
giving way to a new one. As with JTS, that
has happened at the United Synagogue
of Conservative Judaism and the Rabbinical
Assembly, signaling a thoroughgoing and
appropriate shift in culture, language, and
ethos that only a new generation can bring.
The emerging generation of prominent
Conservative rabbis, congregational leaders,
thinkers, and others will need to reconfigure
the Conservative Movement so that it regains
the attachment of its erstwhile natural con-
stituency. These are young-adult Jews who are
socially progressive, religiously liberal and, at
the same time, religiously and textually seri-
ous, and committed to high-quality spiritual
experiences. In the recent past, the exodus of
such individuals to Orthodoxy or to nonaffil-
iated communities has deprived Conservative
congregations of their highest-caliber poten-
tial leadership.
“
Who Lost BJ?”
Over the years, the Conservative Movement
has been extraordinarily productive, and has
created important endeavors – many of
which, however, are no longer associated with
it. It is American Judaism’s biggest exporter of
home-grown talent, people, ideas and insti-
tutions. Conservatism just can’t seem to hold
on to some of its finest creations.
The Reconstructionist Movement is but
one example of this tendency, as is the Havu-
rah Movement of the 1960s and 1970s. The
American Jewish University – the former
University of Judaism – is no longer Conser-
vative, while its rabbinical school is still
formally Conservative. The Jewish Museum
is affiliated with the JTS, yet hardly anybody
knows this. The well-known synagogue B’nai
Yeshurun (‘BJ’) on New York’s Upper West
Side was formerly Conservative but disaffili-
ated some years ago. This innovative
congregation, with arguably the highest pro-
file in North America, is one more formerly
Conservative export. So too are the many in-
dependent
minyanim
(
prayer groups) that
have been started by people trained in the
Conservative movement. These leaders were
and are capable of being leaders in the Con-
servative Movement, yet have decided – at
least for now – to build their communities
outside the formal boundaries of Conser-
vatism.
One might thus conclude that Jewish
intensification often means leaving Conser-
vative Judaism. The question then becomes
how does one create a space where these peo-
ple will have a sense of belonging? How can
they remain within the Conservative orbit
even if they operate with no formal affiliation
with the usual Conservative institutions?
The Intermarriage Challenge
The extent of intermarriage and intergroup
friendship is truly significant. About two-
thirds of older American Jews have mostly
Jewish friends. In contrast, two-thirds of the
under-thirty generation have mostly non-Jew-
ish friends. Most young Jews today who have
a partner – married or not – are either mar-
ried or romantically involved with non-Jews.
I can say with relative certitude that none of
my grandparents ever dated a non-Jew; and I
can say with equal certitude that the vast ma-
jority of Jews my children’s ages have had
intimate and loving relationships with non-
Jews.
The ReformMovement, in the forefront
of efforts to engage intermarried Jews in con-
gregational life, is tackling the question of
how to keep the intermarried and their chil-
dren attached to Judaism in an authentic way.
This issue is particularly challenging as so
many non-Jews with hardly any Jewish back-
ground come into Reform temples with their
Jewish partners, many of whom themselves
have weak Jewish backgrounds.
More and more, Reform temples consist
of two contrasting sorts of congregants. One
segment consists of growing numbers of well-
groomed alumni of NFTY, religious schools,
and URJ camps; the other comprises Jewish
and non-Jewish congregants with minimal
Jewish social and educational capital. The
growth of both populations propels seemingly
contradictory tendencies. For example, more
alternative services have been springing up
in Reform temples’ chapels and basements. At
the same, the larger sanctuaries on
Shabbat
mornings are filled with one-
Shabbat
-
a-year
worshippers celebrating
bar
and
bat mitzvahs
.
And a good fraction of the
bar/bat mitzvah
families will soon leave the congregation (a
troubling event to say the least).
Both intermarried Jews and their non-
Jewish spouses function as full members of
Reform congregations, serve as temple board
members, and officers, albeit with some lim-
itations on the leadership opportunities
available to the non-Jewish partner. Their
needs and values shape temple practices, poli-
cies, and personnel, underscoring the
–
Reflecting trends
that date back to 1960
or so, there are
probably twice as many
Conservative senior
citizens as there are
Conservative children.
–––––––––––
–
About two-thirds of older
American Jews have
mostly Jewish friends.
In contrast, two-thirds
of the under-thirty
generation have mostly
non-Jewish friends.
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