The Antidote

NCSYers at the Siyum (JTA)

The tragedy of so many of our people no longer considering themselves ‘our people’ and opting out of Judaism cannot be understated. Pouring salt on this wound is the realization that there is precious little - it seems - that can be done about it. We are all just about doomed to watching it all happening right before our eyes.

I don’t think that is even arguable. The attrition is as vast as it is fast. In a generation or two, there will be few if any non orthodox Jews in America if the  trend continues unabated. Is there nothing that can be done to reverse this trend?

In my opinion the answer is no. At least not on any major scale. But that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try. Nor does it mean that there will be no success in trying. The fact happens to be that there is much success among many secular Jews that, when exposed to observant Judaism find it appealing enough to consider becoming a part of it. By many, I do not mean any significant proportion of secular Jewry. But I do mean significant numbers.

This is where Orthodox Jewish Outreach comes in. I do not believe I need mention the wild success of Chabad in this area. They have reached out successfully to perhaps tens of thousands of secular Jews over the last few decades. And they are still doing it.

But they are not the only ones doing it successfully. If anyone wants to see young secular Jews be inspired by Judaism, one need only watch the video below produced by NCSY. It is a recap of their Yarchei Kallah - a week long Torah study program for teenagers. About 350 Jewish teenagers that attend public high school opted to spend their winter vacation exploring their heritage. It began with attendance at The Daf Yomi Siyum at MetLife stadium.

One might wonder how on earth a group of secular American Jewish teenagers could possibly be inspired by attending an event they know very little - if anything - about. Whereas practically all the other 90 thousand attendees do. Their reaction to something  that seems so strange – so foreign to their lifestyles, might even be off-putting rather than inspiring. Here is how Rabbi David Bashevkin described it in a JTA article:

The right flank of the Orthodox community has adopted a unique lexicon commonly known as Yinglish. It’s not quite English, not quite Yiddish and certainly not modern Hebrew. Words like “zechus” (merit in Hebrew), “geshmak” (delicious or joyful in Yiddish) and “Kudsha B’rich Hu” (God in Aramaic) pebbled each speech — a peripatetic linguistic experience not unlike the Talmud itself. 

Explaining the nature of the event and the purpose of the celebration can also be a mouthful. How are teens supposed to get excited about the Siyum HaShas (Completion of the Six Orders of the Mishnah) and celebrating the completion of Daf Yomi (daily page)? These terms — siyum, shas, daf and yomi — meant absolutely nothing to our participants.

What possible motive could there be for exposing these kids to something they don't really understand?

The answer is inspiration. The same kind of inspiration that inspired some of the non Jewish people that worked the event. The idea that so many of them were inspired by what they saw speak volumes. Just to cite a few examples:

A security worker by the name of Rosemary Vacono posted on he Facebook page that - of the handful of events at MetLife Stadium since 2001 that have totally moved her, the Siyum definitely qualified. In the current spate of horrific crimes committed against us, instead of postponing it we chose to express joy about our faith through an important element of it. Torah study. Even though she would never leave her own faith she could not help being so inspired that she said that she will attend the next one seven years from now even if she no longer works at that job.

Then there is a story about an Orthodox Jew that got caught speeding. The cop approached him and asked him if he had studied  the ‘page’ yet. He answered no.  The cop then told him if he promises to study the ‘page’, he won’t give him a ticket. That cop was at the Siyum.

Another security official said that in all the years that MetLife hosted sporting events, there are always a number arrests of a number of unruly individuals. At this event there none.

The idea of so many people celebrating -  dancing, singing, and extolling the virtues and value of Torah study had its impact on a lot of even non Jewish people. No less those young Jewish teenagers.

This is the way to stop the hemorrhaging. This is the antidote to ignorance and indifference. The unity and clarity of purpose of that one evening spoke volumes of inspiration to the people that were there. Even those that had no clue what Daf Yomi is. Despite the fact that they never studied a Blatt Gemara in their lives. An event like this can make anyone want to be a part of it. Part of a people that lives their lives that way.  The week spent by 350 secular teenagers being inspired by what they saw has incalculable value.

Does that mean they are all now ready to jump on the observance bandwagon? Probably not. At least not all of them. And certainly not right away. But it might have left them hungry for more. And it surely gave them food for thought that they never would have gotten otherwise. I would not surprised eventually more than a few of them decided that observant Judaism is what their heritage is really all about. And become observant themselves.

At the very least there are now 350 people that will be a lot less likely to opt out of Judaism or marry out. All  because of what they experienced that week. And who knows where that will lead.