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American Jewry today is dis- united, partially because free com- munication with the rest of the population is now possible. Di- minished anti-Semitism is ac- companied by a diminished sense of identity among Jews. Our di- minishing proportional size with- in the U.S. population also leads to more tolerance of us. The question is: Can a new source of cohesion be found among Jews to functionally replace the cohesion that comes from exter- nal threats? That is our challenge. We should engage that chal- lenge, because societies that lack cohesion are dangerous places — dangerous not only in terms of be- ing the breeding ground for total- itarianism, but dangerous in terms of individual mental health. The answer is we need to be as diverse and creative as possible, to abandon a one-size-fits-all ap- proach to Jewish involvement in favor of a fragmented approach. Because of the nature of today's American Jewish population, what we need is as much diversi- ty and multiplicity as we have Jews. Our challenge should be to keep the diversity vibrant so everyone will be attracted to something. Some of you will argue that this proposal involves a waste of re- sources and overlap of groups, or it's watered-down Judaism. I sug- gest we stop worrying about these issues as false problems. Human communities are not like ideally functioning organisms where every cell is devoted to a separate activity. Human communities replicate constantly. Things that don't work will simply disappear. Some of the most creative ideas will not come from organizations at all but from grass-roots groups. Let's co-opt them, work with them and not reject them. If I had to define the actual problems, I would label them drift, irrelevance and barriers. 1. Drift: People are drifting away as individuals; they are drifting away into the vast sea of being a "regular American," being a lawyer or doctor or activist, be- ing a resident of a particular area, being a consumer. Jews don't typ- ically wake up one day and say, "Today I will disassociate myself from anything Jewish." Rather, they drift away, day by day, missed opportunity after missed opportunity. Judaism requires time, and people don't have time because they work such long hours, and then need more time to spend their money. To make Judaism attractive to Americans other than the truly religiously committed, it has to be made efficient, con- densed. How can we retrieve and retain? Through some groups cre- ating a more efficient, manage- able, even purchasable Judaism, like Talmud study in the work- place. Our challenge should be to keep the diversity vibrant so everyone will be attracted to something. 2. Irrelevance: If I am truly interested in stopping the drift, I have to learn what turns people on and speak their language. I have to become relevant. I think the best way to become relevant is to target one's audience. What do we know about the particular audience we are trying to attract? Let's not be afraid of segmenting our programs. If something appeals only to women, so be it. Don't force it on men. If something works, do more of it. How can we elicit interest in the next generation? By using the technology of the younger gener- ation — e-mail, cyberspace, CDs, CD-ROM. Let's get into Jewish kids' computers. Let's get into Jewish ecological camping, Jew- ish elder hostels, and more. Let's continue to address domestic vio- lence within Jewish families. We are not only the "People of the Book," but the "People of the Research Studies." Let's imple- ment those studies. We already have many of the answers. 3. Barriers: The final problem is the false notion that fragmen- tation constitutes barriers. The major barriers within and outside the Jewish community are finan- cial, time and cultural. Simply put, people don't usually join things unless they feel they have the time and resources to belong, and un- less they feel that they will belong socially once they are in. If there are financial barriers, people will simply not avail them- selves of Jewish organizational life. Dr. Jehuda Reinharz is president of Let's make sure all fl-12 barriers Brandeis University in come tumbling down. Le,..'s take Waltham. Mass.