It is the main reason Jews should feel so welcome in this
country. We have been welcomed here more warmly than in any other country, past
or present. While there are still people who harbor antisemitic feelings of one
sort or another, it cannot be denied that it is this country’s ethos of freedom
that has enabled our people to soar to the greatest heights in a variety of
ways. Whether in Judaism as great rabbis, scholars, and thinkers, or in
medicine, scientific research, law, finance… you name it. There is nothing that
stands in the way of great achievement if one has the personal talent, desire, ability ...and works hard enough at it.
But it is that very freedom that has also been our worst
enemy in terms of our longevity as Jews. Being free to practice our faith also
means being free to completely abandon it. This is why according to Pew Research over 70% of non-Orthodox
Jews intermarry and could not care less whether their children are Jewish.
According to JTA, the phenomenon of Jews not caring about
their Judaism is increasing:
The proportion of American Jews who pray on any regular basis is down sharply from a decade ago, according to a new poll of American religion by the Pew Research Center.
In 2014, 45% of Jewish adults chose “seldom/never” to describe their prayer frequency. When Pew asked the question again in 2023 and 2024, the proportion was 58%. The increase exceeds the poll’s margins of error—5% for Jews in this year’s study—meaning that it is considered statistically significant.
The poll also found that fewer American Jews say religion is important in their lives.
The findings are in line with anecdotal reports from Jewish institutions, which, beyond the country’s Orthodox minority, are largely struggling to engage and retain Jews.
No surprise there. If you
factor out the 10% of Jews in this country who are Orthodox, the percentage of
American Jews who say religion is unimportant in their lives is even greater.
So there is a downside. The very thing that has allowed us to thrive in this country has also been the source of our biggest downfall as a people. When people are raised without values specific to Judaism and are given the freedom to choose whatever kind of life they want, why would they choose to be Jewish? Why choose the life of a people with a 3,000-year history of persecution? Why choose a life that entails so many rules and regulations that seem meaningless in modern times? Why choose a lifestyle different from everyone else’s? If we are free to choose whatever lifestyle we want, why be Jewish? Furthermore, why would someone adhere to a religion with values that seem radically different from their own? Freedom allows them to reject all of that in favor of what suits them.
How did it get to be this way? And why are Orthodox Jews so
loyal to their religious values?
The answer to the first question is a lack of significant
Jewish education both at home and in schools. Synagogue attendance alone did
little, if anything, to inspire American youth who were raised in homes that placed
little significance on their Judaism. These were homes that most often emphasized
successful careers and material success as the most important things in life.
It should come as no surprise that someone raised this way would abandon their
Judaism. Even if one is raised with a heavy dose of altruism, that is not an
exclusively Jewish value.
Add to that the fact that heterodox movements did little to
emphasize the importance of a lifestyle that is identifiably Jewish, and you
have a recipe for why Judaism is becoming increasingly meaningless in the lives
of the majority of Jews in this country.
Which also answers the second question. Orthodox Jews are
raised in homes that emphasize Jewish values. Success is not measured by
material wealth or social standing but by how well one fulfills their
obligations to God. While there is certainly nothing wrong with material
success or pursuing an education that helps achieve it, that is of secondary
importance at best. This perspective is transmitted in the home and reinforced
in the schools.
Is it a perfect system? No. Orthodoxy has its share of
dropouts. But when compared to the overall failure of raising children without
the values that set us apart from the rest of the world, it is clear that
assimilation leads to our decline.
What to do about it? Obviously, we need to redouble our
outreach efforts. Since October 7th there has been a renewed interest in Judaism among some of
our people who were raised without specifically Jewish values. But what to do about the vast majority
of Jews who can’t seem to abandon Judaism fast enough?
Beats me.
