I OPINION I CONTENTS 24 CLOSE-UP Rapid Revival KIMBERLY LIFTON Dedicated volunteers are revitalizing the Grand Rapids Jewish community. 42 LIFESTYLES Family Portraits CARLA JEAN SCHWARTZ A profile look at the many interests of scholarly Phillip Applebaum. 46 SPORTS Pins And Needles MIKE ROSENBAUM Nathan Weindling hits the pins on two very different fronts. 50 AROUND TOWN Jubilation! Young Students at a Jerusalem School: Change and experiment. Search For Unaffiliated Jews GARY TOBIN Special to the Jewish News C aptain Kirk and the crew went searching for Mr. Spock in a re- cent Star Trek reprise. Porgy went searching for Bess. Sidney Greenstreet and a slippery Peter Lorre went on one more troubled expedition to find the Maltese Falcon. Meanwhile, Jewish organizations and institutions continue to seek the ever elusive "unaffiliated Jew." The search for the unaffiliated Jew is a misguided effort. The biggest problem we face is not in rates of affiliation, either with synagogues or temples or other Jewish organizations. It is levels of involvement that should concern us most. Study after study in the 1980s, whether in St. Louis, San Francisco, Baltimore, New Orleans, or other cities, show that most Jews are affiliated. Some may belong to a synagogue or temple. Others belong to one Jewish organization or another. Most Jews make some nominal gift to some Jewish philanthropy. Most Jewish children receive some Jewish education. The majority at- tend High Holiday services, even if they do not belong to a synagogue or temple. When all of these are added together, the total encompasses the great majority of Jews. Those who do none of these things are likely to be over the age of 65 and used to belong to some organization or institu- tion, or under the age of 30 and plan to join in the future. Proportionately, few Jews are totally disconnected, totally unaffiliated. Rates of true non-affiliation are found to be Gary Tobin is the director of the Center for Modern Jewish Studies at Brandeis University. highest among intermarried Jews. The real problem can be found in the level of commitment, involvement, and ac- tivity for connected Jews who are inactive within the organizational and institutional structure. The reason Jewish organizations search so hard for unaffiliated Jews is because most affiliated Jews are invisible within the Jewish communal structure. They are members, but in name only. While Jews give something to Jewish causes, the vast majority give only a few dollars. Most Jews who belong to Jewish organizations volunteer no time for them. Jews go to a synagogue or temple, but on- ly once or twice a year, or to drop off their children at Hebrew school. The search for the unaffiliated is a cop- out. It allows Jewish organizations to focus outward instead of looking critically in- ward. Jews already are connected in some way, or will be, or used to be. Certainly we should make every attempt to reach out to those who are totally outside the organiza- tional and institutional structure. But that search should not serve as a smoke screen to the obvious problems of involving those who will be marginally drawn to Jewish communal life at some point. Marriages, birth of children, children becoming school age, illness and death are all life cycle events that bring Jews into contact with Jewish organizations and institutions. What do we do to expand that contact? The most pressing and vital challenge we have is increasing levels of involvement and participation. That requires creating new volunteer jobs, undertaking new and broader agendas in our institutions and organizations, opening up leadership Continued on Page 12 A photographic portrait of Sunday's events celebrating Israel's 40th birthday. 61 ENTERTAINMENT Melody Maker JUDY MARX lzhok Prikupets has become a favorite entertainer of Detroit's Jewish seniors. 83 PROFILE Endless Flight ELIZABETH KAPLAN Author Jerzy Kosinski rarely travels far from his vivid imagination. SINGLE LIFE Choosing Bachelorhood 99 MIKE PARNOS Some men have made a conscious decision to avoid a formal, long-term commitment. DEPARTMENTS 30 32. 36 38 56 78 83 84 86 91 98 130 Inside Washington Synagogues Business Life In Israel For Women Cooking B'nai B'rith Seniors For Men Engagements Births Obituaries CANDLELIGHTING May 6, 1988 8:18 p.m. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 7