Big Tent Judaism

Recognizing Jewish Identity across Denominations

Since 1983, when the Central Conference of American Rabbis (the Reform rabbinical body) passed a resolution accepting patrilineal descent, the debate surrounding “Who Is a Jew?” has persisted. Results of the change in policy have since exacerbated not just the differences between the Orthodox-dominated Israeli Rabbinate and the American Jewish liberal movements; it has also created a gulf between American Reform Judaism and most the Diaspora’s Reform movements. In only rare circumstances do progressive movements or congregations outside the United States accept patrilineal descent, according to this JTA article.

The Reform movement’s inability to coalesce around patrilineal descent and reconcile where modern Reform Judaism stands regarding “Who Is a Jew” has put communities across the globe in an unstable situation.

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The Grandparents Circle in Baltimore

At JOI, we do our best to measure the success of our various programs, which have been implemented in over 100 communities in the US and Canada. It’s easy to track the hard data to show our growth. Over 1,000 women have graduated the 8-month Mothers Circle course since the programs inception, we’ve trained thousands of Jewish communal professionals on outreach best practices, and our Big Tent Judaism Coalition has grown to include over 450 institutions worldwide.

But our work isn’t just about numbers – it’s also about the people we serve.

Barbara Pash, associate editor of the Baltimore Jewish Times, wrote a wonderful piece for Interfaithfamily.com that shows how participants in our Grandparents Circle program (for Jewish grandparents whose adult children have intermarried) in Baltimore, have been able to use the tools they learned to help nurture – and in some cases establish – the Jewish identity of their grandchildren.

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Including Those with Financial Challenges

[Cross-posted from eJewishPhilanthropy.com]

At any given time, the majority of US Jewish households are not affiliated with Jewish institutions like synagogues or JCCs. There are many reasons why, perhaps the most important being that the organized community hasn’t made a strong enough case for the meaning and value of being affiliated. There’s a subset of the unaffiliated, however, who already understand the meaning and value—or who, like most affiliated households, simply want or need the services provided—but do not affiliate because of their own personal financial situations. And the size of this subset has likely grown during the recent Great Recession. What can the Jewish community do to make sure that a financial challenge is not the reason keeping an individual from affiliating?

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Black Jewish History Month

Last month we celebrated Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, which prompted a response from too much of the organized Jewish community that, to the uninformed observer, might suggest we mistakenly believe the holiday is called “Abraham Joshua Heschel Day.” Yes, a rabbi walked arm-in-arm with MLK. Yes, “Mississippi Burning” was about the murder of three heroic young political activists including two Jews. And yes, Jews contributed disproportionately to the fight for Civil Rights in America—but only disproportionate to other white ethnicities. Our contributions paled in compared to the suffering, triumphs, and ongoing struggles of the African-American community, for whom the holiday should rightly focus and celebrate.

The Jewish community’s MLK Day internal congratulations seems to grow louder with each passing year, telling the story of “how we were involved” rather than just telling the story. More importantly, there is almost no soul searching on how the “historic coalition” between black and Jews has been battered beyond recognition in the ensuing decades since that partnership, with tensions continuing to this day.

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Bar and Bat Mitzvah Lessons Online

Preparing for a bar or bat mitzvah can be a daunting challenge for many in the Jewish community, particularly those who aren’t fully engaged in Jewish life. Not only are the logistics demanding, trying to squeeze in lessons between other extra-curricular activities, but the lessons themselves are intensive. A young man or woman is expected to gain a certain level of proficiency in Hebrew, to a level where they can comfortably read from the Torah. The barriers are high for almost any family in the Jewish community, perhaps enough to keep some from even choosing to participate in this important life-cycle event.

A new website, launched by a 3rd year rabbinical student at the Jewish Theological Seminary, aims to lower these barriers by offering bar and bat mitzvah tutoring lessons online. The website MyBarMitzvahTutors.com (and MyBatMitzvahTutors.com) is an interactive resource that “allows for learning to take place in the comfort of your own home.”

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Approaching a Jewish Institution for the First Time

How did you take that first step towards greater participation in Jewish life? What happened when you did? We invite you to share your stories – whether good or bad – in the comments section below so that Jewish communal professionals and volunteer leaders can hear directly from the people they seek to serve, and devise even better ways to meet your needs.