Last night I had the pleasure of attending the Shapiro Family Lecture Series at Temple Beth Jacob in Concord, where the featured speaker was Rabbi David S. Wolfman, a consultant, long-time Reform rabbi and avid observer of Jewish life in America today. During his talk Rabbi Wolfman offered observations and insights into the ways in which Judaism has changed over the millennia, highlighting key shifts in modes in Jewish thought, worship and identity from the time of Moses to the present day.
The central theme of his presentation seemed to be that Judaism has gone through a number of evolutions and iterations, and he outlined these changes by taking the audience on a journey through time and space, labeling the period of Moses as "Judaism 1.0" and laying out a timeline that includes the present, which he called "Judaism 4.0." The conversation about "Judaism 4.0" took us, naturally, to a discussion of what "Judaism 5.0", the next stage of Jewish life, might look like. On this last point Rabbi Wolfman emphasized the notion that just as the grandparents or great-grandparents of those in the audience might have found it impossible to envision Jewish life in 2013, that it is likely that current older generations of Jews may find future modes of Jewish expression equally opaque and inscrutable.
Over the course of the evening there were many things he said that rang true for me, others with which l disagreed and many questions which arose throughout it all. For example, Rabbi Wolfman suggested that however Jews in their 20's and 30's choose to express Jewish identity, that older generations will need to take a completely hands-off approach, allowing Jewish young adults to essentially create their own version of being Jewish. Speaking only for myself, but as someone who is part of this generation of Jewish young adults, I have to say that I think this is terrible idea and one which is not only unlikely to bolster Jewish continuity, but rather accelerate an already troubling trend of cultural atomization, which I believe is fueled in part by an intensely post-modern approach to identity.
A few years ago I wrote a piece for the website e-Jewishphilanthropy.com about a similar way of thinking about the next generation of Jewish donors and lay leaders, arguing essentially that to look at the next generation as divorced from previous and current leaders, creates a gap - a yawning chasm where there should be a bridge. The whole story of the Jewish people, I would argue, is one of continuity, of transmitting ideas and values from one generation to the next. Yes, each generation can and does make its own determinations when if comes to what their communities look like in for. And practice, but to suggest that there should be a break between generations, as opposed to a bridge, feels like capitulation to me. Instead, I would argue that every generation needs to work hand-in-hand to assure the continuation of the Jewish community, so that no one is left out of the process. Of course this is much more easily said than done, but I believe this is one of, if not the most, important challenges facing American Jewry today.
As I said, this is just one example of an idea that came up during the evening, and I really enjoyed listening to both Rabbi Wolfman and Rabbi Nafshi, as well as members of the audience, during a spirited and important conversation about the past, present and future of Jewish life. We need more of these conversations in the New Hampshire Jewish community, to provide opportunities for people to come together in community and have honest discussions. These events are vital because they give everyone a chance to talk about what being Jewish means to them, on both an individual and communal level. In my mind such discussions are absolutely vital and we will only succeed in strengthening Jewish life in the state if we can continue to talk about the common challenges (and joys) that we all share together.
Copyright Daniel E. Levenson 2013.
