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Outreach
... Is it good for Judaism?
Ann Arbor
or years, many people have
felt that children brought up
in interfaith homes feel little
connection with Judaism. A recent
study conducted by the Jewish
Outreach Institute,
however, has inject-
ed great doubt in
that notion.
The survey
focused on 90
detailed interviews
with adult children
of interfaith cou-
ples. It found that
nearly 70 percent
JIM KEEN
of them felt that
Columnist •
being Jewish was
somewhat" or
"very
very • important to
them. While only 30 percent of the
respondents considered themselves
religiously Jewish, the overwhelming
majority identified with Jewish culture
and causes. Think how much higher
that 30 percent would be with more
outreach programs to encourage
Jewish choices.
I recently asked our rabbi, Bob Levy
of Temple Beth Emeth in Ann Arbor,
what a study like this means.
"The problem with surveys like this
is that the interviewees are a genera-
tion removed," he said.
Well, that couldn't be good I
thought.
But, he continued: "Think of the
progress in outreach we've made in
those 25 years since these adult chil-
dren were born. Think about how
your children would respond if asked
in the future."
He's right. I am Protestant; my wife
is Jewish. Back in the early 1990s,
when we decided to raise our children
exclusively as Jews, there were fewer
outreach programs than there are now
We were lucky to find our way. For
r
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those interfaith couples married a
decade before, the lack of acceptance
must have made their choices even
more difficult. My wife and I have
been able to give our children a con-
sistent Jewish message. I have a sneak-
ing suspicion how they would
respond.
'Another potential problem in a sur-
vey like this," Rabbi Levy continued,
"is the question of religious identity
and the people interviewed. Some
never feel close to their Judaism any-
way. They marry a Jew or non-Jew,
have kids and never go near religion
again. These people would have
answered the same way. It's like asking
someone who doesn't enjoy football,
`who will win the Super Bowl?'"
In other words, the important part
of the study is the high number of
respondents who feel a connection to
Judaism, and how the Jewish commu-
nity can give them the vehicle in
which to express it.
Jewish Survival
I wondered why so many of these
adults feel that their Jewishness is
important? Is it cultural pride? Is it
like me dressing in a kilt and going to
the Detroit Highland Games?
Maybe. Rabbi Levy believes it has to
do more with a desire to pass it on. In
fact, the study also showed that an
even higher number, 78 percent,
wanted to "transmit" their Jewish
identity to their children.
So what is it that the Jewish com-
munity is looking for from interfaith
families? What is Jewish enough? Is it
enough to simply feel Jewish? If so,
then that's been achieved. Or is it
that these adult children should go to
temple? If that's the case, then I'm
more Jewish than some of my friends
who grew up in a family with two
Jewish parents.