Tomorrow! Tomorrow! I Love Ya Tomorrow!
I had a conversation with a Rabbi recently. He was upset because a cantorial colleague of his had decided to strike out on her own, performing “destination B’nai Mitzvah”, divorcing herself from synagogue life, and setting up private Hebrew schools in community club-houses. He fretted that this is antithetical to the idea of community and affiliation. He felt that to be a true part of the Jewish community, one needed to belong to a synagogue. He continued, pointing out that he knows that times are changing, but he is concerned that the future of Judaism “may bear no resemblance to the Judaism that we are familiar with.” I looked at him, paused, smiled, and said, “I certainly hope so.”
At the recent Judaism 2030 conference, Jonathan Woocher, Chief Ideas Officer of JESNA, asked participants to share their visions for Judaism in the year 2030. I always get nervous about future oriented questions like that. A lot can happen in the next 19 years. In the past, the face of Judaism has unpredictably and unalterably been transformed in shorter spans of time. Yes we need to keep our eyes on the target of long term goals. For me I guess I’d want to see inclusive, engaged and vibrant Jewish communities both in and outside of Israel. But I also think we need to be very careful that in our rush to embrace our visions, we don’t ignore the realities of what our students need today. After all, what will be is built on what is. At a recent NATE webinar on the “History of Identity and Technology” facilitated by Ari Kelman, this very theme was brought up. By engaging our students in the process of creating their own Jewish knowledge databank today, we can shape how their Jewish practice might look in 2 decades
The reality in America today is that we are in the midst of an era in which supply side economic theory is victorious and has trickled down to what we do as Jewish educators. It’s become all about lowering “regulatory” barriers that prevent individual expression. No longer does the synagogue determine what it means to be Jewish. Parents and kids are searching for ways to engage in Judaism on their own terms - a free market mentality. The Judaism of tomorrow will be very different from what we, our parents, and grandparents are familiar with. It will be shaped by what we do today.
There is no one answer, one tool, one technology that can prepare us for this mission. There are many answers: learning via camp-like experiences, digital platforms, family programming, Day schools, Hebrew charter schools, even old-fashioned congregational schools. These are what we are familiar with now. I expect that more approaches that we haven’t thought of yet will arise. All we do know is that we must be open to the idea of choice. Rather then reject we must be prepared to embrace. We educators must be given the resources to retool and re-envision our profession. “Teaching” as a concept is undergoing a metamorphosis, reflective of new modes of learning that are embedded in what Eisen and Cohen called “the Sovereign Self”. We need to reconcile ourselves to this today. If we don’t adjust how we “teach” and “lead”, we’ll render ourselves obsolete.
At the recent Judaism 2030 conference, Jonathan Woocher, Chief Ideas Officer of JESNA, asked participants to share their visions for Judaism in the year 2030. I always get nervous about future oriented questions like that. A lot can happen in the next 19 years. In the past, the face of Judaism has unpredictably and unalterably been transformed in shorter spans of time. Yes we need to keep our eyes on the target of long term goals. For me I guess I’d want to see inclusive, engaged and vibrant Jewish communities both in and outside of Israel. But I also think we need to be very careful that in our rush to embrace our visions, we don’t ignore the realities of what our students need today. After all, what will be is built on what is. At a recent NATE webinar on the “History of Identity and Technology” facilitated by Ari Kelman, this very theme was brought up. By engaging our students in the process of creating their own Jewish knowledge databank today, we can shape how their Jewish practice might look in 2 decades
The reality in America today is that we are in the midst of an era in which supply side economic theory is victorious and has trickled down to what we do as Jewish educators. It’s become all about lowering “regulatory” barriers that prevent individual expression. No longer does the synagogue determine what it means to be Jewish. Parents and kids are searching for ways to engage in Judaism on their own terms - a free market mentality. The Judaism of tomorrow will be very different from what we, our parents, and grandparents are familiar with. It will be shaped by what we do today.
There is no one answer, one tool, one technology that can prepare us for this mission. There are many answers: learning via camp-like experiences, digital platforms, family programming, Day schools, Hebrew charter schools, even old-fashioned congregational schools. These are what we are familiar with now. I expect that more approaches that we haven’t thought of yet will arise. All we do know is that we must be open to the idea of choice. Rather then reject we must be prepared to embrace. We educators must be given the resources to retool and re-envision our profession. “Teaching” as a concept is undergoing a metamorphosis, reflective of new modes of learning that are embedded in what Eisen and Cohen called “the Sovereign Self”. We need to reconcile ourselves to this today. If we don’t adjust how we “teach” and “lead”, we’ll render ourselves obsolete.
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Comment by Erica Korman on June 2, 2011 at 12:18pm -
While change is needed to improve long-term Jewish involvement, I don't want to see us as educators "sell out" and teach something that has no resemblance to the tradition for the sake of participation levels. Perhaps this Rabbi's sentiments were not meant in a way that insists Jewish education must continue in the same path. However, how different is too different?
It was quite deviant when synagogues started using musical instruments in their services. However, this is something the congregations wanted. When synagogues started holding services on Sunday mornings instead of Saturday mornings, as some still do today, they went too far. In many cases, congregants would appreciate Sunday services better. Attendance levels would rise because more people are free at that time. However, molding the Jewish institution to the confines of something non-Jewish is a problem. As a Jewish institution, it is the synagogue's responsibility to provide quality Jewish services and content. This type of change would inimically contradict the synagogue's purpose.
Absolutely, Jewish education needs to change, but where is the happy medium? There was a similar discussion of this in a recent thread on this site, which asks, "At what point have we gone too far away from the tradition?" I completely agree that change in the system is necessary. However, is this a discussion of method or content? The method needs a change. The content - that's the Judaism. Since Judaism is expressed through action, changes in the method can mean changes in the content.
For example, at JESNA we talk a lot about "person-centered education." If a particular community has the time Sunday morning instead of Saturday morning to come to synagogue, it is logical to then have the largest service on Sunday mornings. This type of change, in my opinion, has gone too far. Admittedly, it is a change based on the people's needs and is done in order to enable more people to share in our beautiful tradition. However, Shabbat services can only be held on Shabbat. What was meant to be a change in practice has now changed the content. Congregants then recite prayers blessing the sanctity of the...weekday? Therefore, a solution to this theoretical situation would be to hold Sunday weekday services when people can attend. The synagogue could hold a service on Sunday that emphasizes the weekday rituals of sacred Jewish life and still add special activities that are fun and engaging. This meets some of the spiritual needs of the people at a time that is more convenient for them. However, it is just silly to pretend that Sunday can be Shabbat. The tradition should not have to suffer because of scheduling conflicts.
Perhaps taking the community aspect out of Jewish life is similar. People are busy and cannot always meet and come together to appointed classes. Hiring a private tutor that works according to the client's schedule and not the institution's schedule is much more convenient. However, communal life goes back to the Israelites' camp in Exodus. They did everything together. Each person offered a unique contribution to the community. If just one person was missing, the entire camp could not function properly. As a private tutor myself, I know my students are not getting the full communal experience. I encourage the parents to have Shabbat meals with other families and attend events at their local synagogue. However, when these children start preparing for their B'nei Mitzvot, they must go about it with the support of a community and other families going through the same process. I will not enable them to go about it alone.
There are some physical aspects that are indelibly linked to the tradition. Community is one of them. A Jew without a community or some kind of support is like a Shabbat service on a Sunday. I believe change is necessary. However, we must be careful in how we implement it.
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