EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

Embracing Our Story

W

hat binds us as a people is our story, and what
about leaving Hillel, which he helped extend to 27 more
keeps the story current are the questions that we
locations, including East Lansing, Ypsilanti and the former
ask. We're a people with profound questions.
Soviet Union. What convinced him was when he and his
As we write our story, we confront those questions with a
wife, Esther, went to see the play Man of La Mancha and
sense of not only who we are but who we ought to be, says
they heard Don Quixote sing, "This is my quest, to follow
Richard Joel, 54, the thought-provoking president of
that star no matter how hopeless, no matter how far."
Yeshiva University in New York.
A Burning Need
He's right: The Jewish story is personal. Our experiences
become part of this 4,000-year-old epic. But we need to
Joel hammered on the point that today, being Jewish is an
know and own the story for it to resonate.
option, not a condition. So why should our kids exercise the
We're celebrating 350 years of Jewish life in America. But
option? They shouldn't unless it gives meaning to their life,
we're at a crossroads that threatens the role
unless they see it as their story.
we now enjoy in this great nation.
Like Joel says, "The goal for all of us is to know our story
"I don't know a society that has been
and to own our story. And that's the only way we get to con-
influenced by the Jews for good and for not tinue this narrative in a world that is so desperately needy for
so good as much as America," said Joel,
the values of our people and the lessons of our story"
keynoter at the sixth annual Shiffman
To assure the story continues, we must address the igno-
Family Lecture at the Jewish Community
rance among many Jews about our story. Joel tells how his
Center in West Bloomfield. "We have been
grandma instilled the truth about how hard it is to be a Jew.
so welcomed. We have been so secure. And
Tell
that truth to college students today, Joel said, and many.
ROBERT A.
we have never been in such danger of dis-
will say, "Who needs it then?"
SKLAR
appearing."
His grandma felt victory over Nazi Germany each time Joel
Editor
Joel addressed 200 peo-
watched her light 18 Shabbat candles, one for
ple at the Jan. 11 kickoff
each relative murdered in the Holocaust. The
for Detroit Jewry's 2005 Seminars for
strands of continuity echoed. But Jewish youth
Adult Jewish Enrichment (SAJE), spon-
today aren't always impressed by our survival.
sored by the JCC, the Jewish Federation
They need something more.
and Federation's Alliance for Jewish
I'd like to think that they're looking to part-
Education.
ner with God and other people of good will to
His theme reverberated. Learning links
make a difference, to make the world better.
us. At the heart of learning is the most
But they're stymied if they're oblivious to our
sacred part of our story: Torah. It's what
story. "We have created the most profoundly
sustains us — and empowers, inspires and
Jewishly ignorant generation probably since
comforts us.
Sinai," said Joel, blasting home that having
Joel has been president for 16 months at
more opportunities than ever to learn about
Yeshiva, where he once taught legal ethics. Richard Joel, story champion
your religion isn't the same as learning it and
He previously led Hillel: The Foundation
accepting it as your story.
for Jewish Campus Life for 14 years. He gets it. He under-
"There's just no substitute for Jewish literacy," he said.
stands that children and grandchildren become curious
"There's no substitute for having language, for being able to
when they see their parents and grandparents engage the
know what to say to each other to form a common bond."
family in Jewish living — celebrating Shabbat, visiting
Charmed Times
Israel, spreading Jewish values. "That's the best message I
could give you," said the father of six.
Hear Richard Joel: "If you want your children to have a
So direct, so simple, so right. He underscores why a com- Jewish background, you have to give them a Jewish play-
mitment to a lifetime of learning our story is so essential.
ground."
Detroit Jewry has more than 6,000 youths enrolled in day,
You do so on a stage that not just encourages talking about
synagogue or supplemental schools. But the pool is vaster.
our story, but also learning it and living it. Experiences that
The vision this Yonkers-bred Orthodox Jew has for his
"wow" kids help, whether it's a sunrise prayer service, climbing
university of 2,900 undergraduates is humbling. "We're
Masada or aiding the downtrodden.
looking to be a force for the future of the Jewish people and
Joel tells about a group of Birthright Israel students who
to make sure that the Jewish people have a reason to have a
told him in Jerusalem that they didn't know what they were
future," he said.
supposed to feel the next morning at the Western Wall. He
Like Joel says, the plot of the Jewish story thickens and
said they didn't have to feel anything, but to know that their
twists. But we must maintain the telling. Without this nar-
great-great-grandparents probably didn't know one another yet
rative, we're doomed as a people. The narrative drives
had two things in common: a desire to touch those stones and
Jewish continuity — the passage of our history and heritage
the realization that they never would. Once at the wall, the
from one generation to the next.
students hugged Joel because he helped them understand the
His Jewish soul emerged when Joel was 8, and the music
stones were theirs and part of their story.
of Theodore Bikel playing on a phonograph rang in his ears
I loved Joel's closing metaphor: Our story is like a charm
as he lay in bed. The music grew louder two years ago when
bracelet that should expand, not like a chain that shouldn't
Joel was asked to lead Yeshiva U. It pained him to think
break.
We as a people must focus not only on how we will contin-
For information on SAJE, call (248) 432-5577 or log on to
ue to matter, but on what charms we must add to our story.
vvvvw.jccdet.org
Our destiny awaits. ❑

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