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82

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 6, 1991

Reform Jews Show
New Torah Interest

A current resurgence of in-
terest in religious studies
among adult Jews signals a
widespread yearning for
spiritual renewal in modern
life, according to Rabbi
Howard Bogot, director of the
department for religious
education at the Union of
American Hebrew Congrega-
tions.
Across the country, he said,
growing numbers of members
of UAHC congregations are
engaged in intensive adult
Jewish studies, which include
Torah and the classics of
Jewish religious thought.
"These are busy adults —
doctors, lawyers, corporate ex-
ecutives, homemakers — nor-
mally wrapped up in work
and family life," Rabbi Bogot
said. "For such people to
devote precious time to Torah
and other religious studies is
most encouraging. It
represents, I believe, a long-
ing for an anchor in what is
often a frantic and often
frustrating struggle for suc-
cess."
He noted that case studies
of individual Reform con-
gregations show an average
five-fold increase in the
numbers of adults enrolled in
intensive religious study
programs.
Temple David in Monroe-
ville, Pa., a suburb of Pitt-
sburgh, is one of dozens of
congregations participating
in Reform Judaism's "Keva"
adult program — a seven-
year-old project that seeks to
revive a Jewish tradition of
adult religious study. The
Temple recently received the
UAHC's first Talmud Torah
Award for Excellence in Adult
Education.
"The study of Torah and
Judaic precepts is more than
a fad or diversion," says Con-
stance Reiter, director of con-
tinuing education in UAHC's
department of religious
education. "It is a necessity if
we are to survive a civilized
and humane society."
A principal aim of Keva, the
Hebrew word for regular, is
"to help adults make the con-
nection between . Jewish
religious precepts and daily
life, a concept that has been
forgotten by many," she says.
"We must learn to light
candles not only on Friday
night but, figuratively, every
day of the week, and in every
aspect of our lives."

Ms. Reiter notes that too
often, people behave in their
corporate or business lives in
ways they would consider un-
thinkable in private life. "It's

a gap we have to bridge," she
says. "Adult religious study
can help do that by emphasiz-
ing that the covenant bet-
ween Jews and God calls for
the practice of mitzvot — com-
mandments — requiring us to
further the causes of justice,
freedom and peace through
the pursuit of righteousness
and loving deeds."
This view is echoed by Ar-
nold Blum, a retired.
metallurgist, who completed
the Keva program at Temple
David. "It behooves every Jew
to be involved in Jewish
studies," he says. "Following
purely material pursuits
turns out to be an empty kind
of life after a while"
Recent years have seen the
greatest emphasis in
religious education on young

"The study of
Torah and Judaic
precepts is more
than a fad or
diversion. It is a
necessity if we are
to survive a
civilized and
humane society."

people, Rabbi Bogot said. He
added, "Religious training of
children is vital if Jewish
tradition and identity are to
be a legacy to future genera-
tions, but it is. equally impor-
tant to teach Jewish adults
about their religion and what
it expects of them, so they can
leave their children a moral
heritage closely linked to
Judaism?'
Elaine Wolfe, one of 28 Thm-
ple David congregants who
completed 100 hours of Keva
adult study, notes that con-
cern about their children's
religious education is a corn-
mon spur for adults to em-
bark on religious study. "In
one sense," she says, "it
represents a maturing pro-
cess — a desire to return to
one's Jewish origins, and to
pass that legacy on to the
children."
The New York Federation of
Reform Synagogues is
developing plans to use con-
gregants who ha V
. e gone
through the Keva program
and been certified by the
UAHC's department for
religious education as leaders
in synagogue-sponsored
projects.
Throughout the U.S. and