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 As part of this special focus about Jewish renewal and identity, we asked a noted expert, Jonathan Woocher, for his perspective about trends in the field. He is chief ideas officer at the Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA) and director of its Lippman Kanfer Institute.
by Jonathan Woocher
What does it mean to be Jewish?
For many Jews, being Jewish is about affirming a set of core values: care for those in need (tzedakah and chesed), pursuit of justice and repair of the world (mishpat and tikkun olam), community and responsibility (kehillah and areivut), and love of Israel and of all human beings (ahavat yisrael and ahavat habriyot). These values constitute the DNA and purpose of Jewish life.
We have learned, though, that these values are not automatically self-sustaining. Jewish identity needs to be nurtured and cultivated if these values and a community built upon them are to thrive. In recent years, a two-pronged strategy has emerged for tackling this challenge. First is strengthening the institutions and experiences that serve as powerful gateways for the growth of Jewish self-awareness and commitment. Second, it is powerful to identify and support new forms of Jewish self-expression and creativity that can engage individuals outside the boundaries of established institutions.
Both prongs of this strategy are essential in today’s world that is characterized by ubiquitous choice, permeable boundaries, and far-ranging journeys in search of purpose and meaning. When they are operating at their full potential, synagogues, day schools, camps, Hillels, JCCs, and Israel programs have a profound impact on the Jewish values and lives of the large numbers who connect to and through them. But these traditional settings for Jewish learning and activity also need to be supplemented and complemented by other contexts where individuals can explore and express their relationship to Jewish life and tradition through the arts, social action, new ways of connection and conversation, spirituality, and study.
Forging a Vibrant Jewish Future
Initiatives to foster Jewish identity and renew Jewish life are inherently messy. They mirror the enormous diversity that characterizes the Jewish community today, where traditional yeshivot, edgy blogs and e-zines, and everything in between, can legitimately claim to be part of forging a vibrant Jewish future. The work of identity-building and renewal is not about magic bullets or quick fixes. Nor is it about either-ors, forced (and usually false) choices (like inreach vs. outreach) that fail to recognize the many different ways in which individuals pursue and derive value and meaning from their Jewish journeys.
The essence of this work is multiplying the opportunities we make available to experience the richness of Jewish culture and Jewish teaching, and making these experiences as attractive, accessible, and affordable as possible. This is not a one-time initiative; it’s work that is ongoing and continuously evolving. In the spirit of Rabbi Tarfon in Pirkei Avot, it is work we may never complete, but — if we truly care about the values we affirm — it is also work we cannot afford to ignore. ♦
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