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Keeping The Faith
JUST JEWISH
from page 12
Rabbi Silberberg:
"Ultimately, society
can rationalize
anything it wants
to do. That's why
the only moral
compass we
have is God."
A Long Journey Home
MOl
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While streams of Judaism are grap-
pling with welcoming non-Jewish and
gay spouses, they often discount an
individual's spiritual search if it goes
outside Judaism.
As part of her lifelong spiritual
quest, therapist Kreger lived in
Honolulu, Hawaii, with a Buddhist
family and visited a Baptist church,
drawn by the powerful music. She
now finds the Course in Miracles, a
program for personal transformation,
inspiring once she "got past the
Christian language."
Kreger attended the Birmingham
Temple growing up; her parents are still
members. She calls the temple "a great
foundation." However, she wanted to
get a sense_of God, and the Birmingham
Temple "doesn't talk about that," which
led her to explore other avenues.
In his recent book Finding a
Spiritual Home, Rabbi Sidney
Schwarz, founder and president of the
Washington Institute for Jewish
Leadership and Values, argues for con-
sideration of journeys like Kreger's.
He believes "the great spiritual ener-
gy fermenting among disaffected Jews
can remake the synagogue."
In a New York Times article last Sept.
23, Rabbi Schwarz says these searchers
are not "lost Jews," but rather "Jews
that we lost." He encourages congrega-
tions to listen to them.
"Rabbis have to relearn what touch-
es the souls of Jews," concludes Rabbi
Schwarz. "We cannot assume that
doing the same service we've done for
centuries is going to do the job."
Rabbi Jacobovitz of Machon L'Torah
agrees that "the Jewish people have a
strong yearning for spirituality, and
that's not provided for today."
However, he believes that Jews mainly
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need "to study and understand the
depth and beauty of the Torah."
The problem, he says, is that many
Jews learned the Torah by rote and
without meaning. "We have a golden
opportunity, which we may not have
much longer," Rabbi Jacobovitz says.
He cites learning centers where Jews
feel comfortable to study Torah, as
well as home study groups, as the best
ways to reach unaffiliated Jews.
Examples of Jews who identify with
their faith culturally, and who are affili-
ated with an organization other than a
synagogue, are those who belong to
Workmen's Circle or Jewish Parents
Institute UPI). Workmen's Circle, a
secular, cultural Jewish community,
locally in Oak Park, describes itself "as
a commitment to social economic jus-
tice as well as a warm, heimish place for
Jewish learning and living." JPI, which
meets at the West Bloomfield Jewish
Community Center, is similar, but
with a more politically diverse mem-
bership and without a Yiddish empha-
sis. Both offer educational and holiday
programming.
Creative Campaigns
In the Detroit area, synagogues and
Jewish organizations are making head-
way in their search for ways to attract
and care for unaffiliated Jews.
"The health of the Jewish communi-
ty is reflected in how well it attends to
their special populations," says
Harlene Appelman, executive director
of Federation's Alliance for Jewish
Education.
Special populations are those at risk
— not only the poor and elderly, but
also the unaffiliated, those involved in
interfaith relationships, the divorced
and single parents. "And the best way
to attract new folk is to have a vibrant
community people want to join,"
Appelman explains.
But the Federation isn't waiting for