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| Over 70% of non Orthodox Jews marry out of the faith |
For Orthodox Jews, this is hardly a revelation. We have long
understood that without serious Jewish education, our future is in jeopardy.
The huge and growing number of
non-Orthodox Jews abandoning Judaism only reinforces that reality.
That troubling trend has prompted heterodox leaders to
search for solutions. But reversing a decades-long drift away from Judaism is
no simple task. Many of the proposed remedies, while well-intentioned, feel
more aspirational than actionable.
Acknowledging the importance of education - something
clearly demonstrated by the success of Orthodox day schools - is one thing.
Replicating that success across the broader American Jewish landscape is quite
another. And despite sincere efforts, heterodoxy has largely fallen short.
The clearest example is the decline of the Solomon Schechter
school system, once seen as the crown jewel of Conservative Jewish education.
Today, it is a shadow of its former self. Even in New York City, home to the
largest Jewish population in the country.
The reasons are not hard to identify. Day school tuition
that emphasizes academic excellence is prohibitively expensive, especially when
public education is free. And for many non-Orthodox families, academic
excellence takes precedence over religious commitment.
