SPECIAL COMMENTARY
Heed The Heart
Jerusalem
answer lies in a profound intuition
merican Jewry is busy count-
that continues to animate many Jew-
ing itself again. Soon we will
ish hearts: a feeling that the entire
all be waiting breathlessly to
world depends on the continued exis-
see how the year 2000
tence of our tiny people.
National Jewish Population Study
The source of that is an experience
compares to that of 1990.
forever implanted in the collective
These censuses reflect American Jews'
unconscious of our people: the Revela-
ongoing obsession with perpet-
tion at Sinai 3,400 years ago.
uation. Millions of Federation
There, God spoke for the
dollars are earmarked every year
only time in human history
for Jewish continuity. Two years
to an entire people. There we
ago, 11 millionaires committed
were given the mission of
S18 million to create Jewish
bringing knowledge of Him
day schools across denomina-
to the entire world through
tional lines; more recently,
observance of His Law.
Charles Bronfman and Michael
Many of those who wring
Steinhardt contributed gener-
their hands over Jewish con-
ously so that a trip to Israel
tinuity no longer consciously
JONATHAN
becomes part of every Jewish
believe in the defining
ROSENBLUM
teen's "birthright."
moment at Sinai. To them,
Special to
One finds no comparable
the claim of Jewish chosen-
the
Jewish News
level of concern with self-per-
ness smacks of racism.
petuation among any other
And so it goes. The Jewish
ethnic group. Irish and Italian
head denies what the Jewish
Americans do not pull their hair over
heart knows to be true.
the declining ethnic identity of their
By now, it is abundantly clear that
children. They maintain no large
the money spent on Jewish continuity
apparatus of communal organizations
has barely made a dent. There were
to foster ethnic identity or to commis-
4.8 million American Jews in 1928.
sion large-scale studies to document
Today, those who identify as Jews by
their disappearance and chart rates of
religion are 4.4 million. Given normal
intermarriage.
population growth, the number
Why are the Jews different? The
should be three times that.
And the future is even grimmer. In
Jonathan Rosenblum, a writer and
1975, Elihu Bergman, assistant direc-
biographer living in Jerusalem, can be
tor of the Harvard Center for Popula-
reached via e-mail at
tion Studies, projected an American
Jbr@netvision.net.il
Jewry shrunken by 85 percent to 98
LETTERS
percent by 2076. While that projec-
tion failed to take into account the
astonishing Orthodox growth rate —
it is now predicted it will reverse
American Jewish decline 40 years from
now — it is depressingly on target for
the remainder of American Jewry.
Jewish continuity efforts are
doomed to fail as long as Jewish par-
ents convey to their children a mes-
sage diametrically opposed to the intu-
ition of their hearts: No matter what
you do, Judaism accepts you.
Judaism makes no demands; there is
no beyond-the-pale. Judaism is trivial.
Desperate to preserve the illusion that
their progeny are not lost to the Jewish
people, American Jews demand that
clergy officiate at intermarriages, even
when their children sign statements in
advance that any offspring will be raised
in another religion.
To convince themselves that their
grandchildren are Jewish, they invent
patrilineal descent. They beg their
non-Jewish sons and daughters-in-law
to convert on the easiest possible
terms. When even those terms are
rejected, they insist that the temple
show an accepting attitude to inter-
married couples.
All this is justified in terms of
"keeping the children within the
fold." But the fold is being expanded
indefinitely to encompass them no
matter how far they stray. And it does-
n't help. Only 18 percent of children
of intermarried couples are raised Jew-
ish, and 85 percent marry non-Jews.
Every time the fold is expanded,
the message of Judaism's triviality is
conveyed loud and clear. That same
message is sent every time a Jewish
child hears that the Law proclaimed
by God Himself no longer applies
because it has been found too difficult
or is no longer spiritually fulfilling.
Not without logic do young Jews
conclude: If Judaism confirms my every
opinion, and accepts my every action,
why do I need Judaism? Raised to view
their religion as insignificant, they can-
not comprehend why their parents give
so generously to Jewish charities, and
even less why they should not marry a
gentile with whom they are in love.
And they certainly have no clue as
to why, for three millennia, their
ancestors gave up their lives for
Judaism.
Until American Jews heed the intu-
ition of their hearts and figure out
why their survival is truly so impor-
tant, their future as Jews is bleak. E
Paying Honor
To Heroes
Forum Stirs
Reminder
I was pleased to see the article "Civil-
ian Citations" on Sept. 24. It is about
two heroes who were honored by the
city of Southfield in the shooting of
Dr. Reuven Bar-Levav, until I got to
the part where the killer was "hon-
ored" by having his name published
once again.
I think memories are dishonored
every time the focus leaves the real
loss — that of Dr. Bar-Levav in this
instance.
It would help our society if the
media would pay more honor to
people who help than to those who
harm.
The colloquium conference ("The
Future Is Now," Oct. 1), with its dis-
cussion of the varied religious groups,
reminds me of a quote I read many
years ago: "Who is a Jew? The Jews are
one people divided by a common reli-
gion."
Most Jewish
continuity efforts
are doomed to
fail.
LETTERS FROM PAGE 35
ish News staff That said,
the photos and text of
"Day-Trippin"' (Oct. 1)
prompt clarification.
The wonderful pre-
1900 children's shoes
pictured on the cover
and on page 97,
belonged to Leonard T.
Lewis, long-time owner
of Lewis Furniture and
president of Temple
Beth El from 1944-47.
Mr. Lewis' shoes were
donated, along with
other family memora-
bilia, to the Franklin Archives by his
late widow, Sally Butzel Lewis.
We welcome family treasures as
diverse as those pictured throughout
the issue as well as those that will docu-
ment and preserve, in some meaningful
+MA zi,14s.eauscv.e,,M;:r7,i1,
way, a part of Beth El's
150-year history.
The photograph of a
sensitive young scholar
credited twice to Krista
Husa is actually a pic-
ture of a Tony Spina
original owned by the
Franklin Archives. And
Susan Tawil's reference
to the fabulous first-
floor museum at Tern-
ple Beth El should
note that it is the
Shapero Museum,
named in memory of
Nate and Ruth Shapero and unrelated
to me.
Mary Shapero, chair
Franklin Ar chives of Temple Beth El
Bloomfield Township
Cheryl Barill Gluski
Farmington
Ruben Isaacs
Southfield
Overtures
To Forgiveness
In honor of Rosh HaShana and Yom
Kippur, the New York Times ran a full-
LETTERS ON PAGE 38
10/8
1999
Detroit Jewish News
37