ALWAYS

rots

the bonds of religion are actually
much stronger than the bonds of
culture," Jonathan Sarna, a professor
at Brandeis University and a leading
commentator on American Jewish his-
tory, said M. an interview.
Still, Sarna believes that just as
venture capital firms fund numerous
startups knowing that only a few will
succeed, some Jewish cultural initia-
tives — those that appear to be suc-
cessful and cost-effective — ought to
be funded by the Jewish community.
It is clear these cultural endeavors
are popular. Ari Kelman, a research fel-
low at Hebrew Union College, has done
two studies of contemporary Jewish
culture in New York along with soci-
ologist Steven M. Cohen. He discussed
the findings at the funders conference.
"The numbers exceed anybody's
expectations," he said. "People are
dying for it."
Young Jews, the studies found, are
less and less interested in taking part
in activities that are strictly Jewish.
And while taking part in a Jewish
cultural activity may not spur many to
join a synagogue or give to their local
federation, they may go to another
cultural event.
"It gets them to do other Jewish
stuff in this sphere said Kelman.
"If they go to a concert, they'll go to
another concert —including people
who have never been to one before!"
Funders young and old are grap-
pling with this new phenomenon.
"The generation that is older has
to understand that engagement
that looks different from the way

they engaged is still engagement:'
said Danielle Durchslag, 25, of New
York, a board member of the Nathan
Cummings Foundation and a founding
member of Grand Street, a network of
twentysomethings who are involved in
their family philanthropies.
But publisher Bennett, also senior
vice president at the Andrea and
Charles Bronfman Philanthropies,
acknowledged the difficulties inherent
in this new approach.
"For this to work:' he said, more
established donors "have to essentially
support projects for which they are not
the desired end users. It's a very hard
emotional thing for a funder."
For Sarna, the long-term implica-
tions of approaching Jewish culture as
a destination rather than a gateway to
involvement are troubling.
"If it remains a destination, then
I fear that we may find that many of
these Jews, deeply committed to secu-
lar, cultural Judaism, may discover
that their children and grandchildren
are happy to view that culture as part
of their ancestral background but
will not see the same need to pass it
on to their generational offspring:' he
said. I 1

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$41.50 pavilion/$32.50 lawn.
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Standup from page 33

JN: Your appearance Aug. 4 won't be
your first visit to the Detroit area,
right?
BS: I've been in and out of there many

times as a performer [and personally].
My uncle, Bill Sage — he dropped
the "t" in Saget — used to live some-
where in the Detroit area. And my late
cousin Frank Rosenthal lived there.
He was one of the few Jewish players
on Wayne [State] University's football
team in the 1950s. His wife, Eileen
Rosenthal, lives in Birmingham.
I love the Detroit area, and I hope
to see all my friends and fans this
Saturday. II

Opie & Anthony's Traveling Virus
comedy tour, featuring Bob Saget,
comes to DTE Energy Music
Theatre 7 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 4.
Other comedians include Carlos
Mencia, Frank Caliendo, Louis
C.K., Otto & George, Rich Vos,
Robert Kelly, Stephen Lynch and
Jim Norton. Before the show, fans
can meet their favorite Opie &
Anthony radio show characters in
the "petting booth," play "outra-
geous" games in the "pest booth"
and enjoy refreshments. Tickets:
$39.50 and $65 pavilion and $20
lawn. (248) 645-6666 or
www.palacenet.com .

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JN

August 2 • 2007

41