In 2008, 2.7 million Americans called themselves religiously Jewish, down from 3.1 million in 1990. Wouldn’t the central challenge of American Jewry be to encourage the broadest range of people (including the intermarried, like me) to identify as Jewish and to raise Jewish kids?
focused mostly on the plight of the Orthodox, more likely to be poor than Conservative or Reform Jews, and who, because of their strong commitment, often pay more. According to his calculations, an Orthodox Jewish family with three children could expect to spend between $50,000 and $110,000 a year on school fees, synagogue dues, summer camps, and kosher food. He argued that the fate of American Jewry rested on increased and enthusiastic support from philanthropists and activists to enable these families to live, as he would say, “Jewishly.”
The Orthodox seem to find the money. Among the ultra-Orthodox (Haredi), to be sure, the quality of yeshiva education in secular subjects is notoriously poor, but that is a different matter.
Lightly-affiliated Jews, it appears, are less likely to pay for synagogue membership than observant Jews. Two thousand dollars is a lot to pay for Jews who might attend services on the High Holy Days, if at all. That leads to a vicious circle in declining congregations, where a smaller number of active congregants must absorb the fixed costs of operating a synagogue. Outreach surely is a good thing, and Jews surely should encourage the intermarried to raise Jewish children. But all the demographic evidence weighs against the notion that a superficial commitment to Judaism has much staying power.
July 12th, 2010 | 10:12 am
Quick question for this uninformed Christian…
Are synagogue dues charged per family or per person? If per person, when does a child become “counted”: birth or bar/bat mitzvah?
July 12th, 2010 | 11:07 am
Synagogue dues typically are charged per family irrespective of the number of children. Instructional fees for day or afternoon schools are assessed per child in addition to dues. Some synagogues offer an individual membership at a lower cost. Every synagogue I know will waive dues for a regular worshipper with limited means. No synagogue I know pays its expenses with dues, which typically cover 40% to 60% of expenses. Contributions cover the rest. Every synagogue opens its doors to all worshippers irrespective of membership. In practice, membership only has the benefit of securing a seat for the New Year and Day of Atonement when all synagogues are in overflow. Most synagogues also have extensive adult education and other programs which are open to non-members. And synagogues typically are quite hospitable to Gentile visitors.
July 12th, 2010 | 11:32 am
Synagogue dues are an issue for families whose budgets are already stretched thin by high day school tuitions, but as Mr. Goldman pointed out that is mainly the Orthodox who have the highest rate of synagogue attendence (100%), so clearly that is not the real issue here. It is being used as an excuse by less committed Jews for their nonmembership. Chabad does provide a much needed service, though, by encouraging participation in religious life without formal dues (they ask for voluntary contributions instead). This makes it less embarassing for a modest income family to attend without going through all sorts of financial aid requests.
However, the main exception I have to Lisa Miller’s essay is her contention that synagogues should be encouraging more Jews to join regardless of their commitment level. This strategy, pursued in the 1950′s through 1980′s by the Reform movement, is now leading to its demise, while the opposite strategy pursued by the Orthodox has led to its resurgence. What the Jewish community needs are more committed Jews, not more nominal Jews like Lisa Miller. Committed Jews are far more numerous today than 40 years ago, although the nominal number may have shrunk a bit, but more of them are in the Orthodox camp and that is where the future of Judaism lies.
As Jacob Neusner once commented, “We are not competing with the Chinese.” Judaism survives because of the high level of commitment and knowledge of a small group of people, not the low level of commitment of a large group of people. That has been true for thousands of years, and the American situation is no different than all the others.
July 12th, 2010 | 1:45 pm
Thanks, David, your 11:07 am post was very informative. I wasn’t sure how all of that worked.
July 12th, 2010 | 2:15 pm
Ellen,
I don’t know Lisa Miller’s level of observance and mean no disrespect to her personally. But there is something entirely misplaced in examining the marginal utility of religious affiliation.
Suppose I offer you a share in HaOlam HaBa-ah (the World to Come) for $2,000 a year. If you think the World to Come is a fairy tale, you won’t pay $200 a year. If you think it is part of God’s promise, you’ll pay whatever you have to.
July 12th, 2010 | 6:00 pm
I think this post (and the comments by Ellen) will be very helpful in giving non-Jews an insight into Jewish American life.
My wife and I have sent our four children to Modern Orthodox Jewish day schools since kindergarten. Fees are generally $10,000 per year for K to 8 and $20,000 per year for 9 to 12. Tuition is generally higher in the most expensive metro areas (NYC, LA, etc.). It is obviously a tremendous burden*, but as David notes, how much are you willing to pay for Olam Habah (or even Jewish continuity)? It should also be noted that there is often some form of private financial aid available.
I grew up in a fairly unobservant Conservative Jewish household and originally began to study with Orthodox Jewish outreach groups in order to a become better Jew in a Conservative environment. I eventually came to the painful conclusion that it is mostly only Orthodox Jews who promote effective Jewish continuity and engagement with the God who expresses himself through our Torah (Torah understood as not just the Pentateuch, but the whole body of traditional Jewish learning and worship). Orthodox life is difficult, and I consider myself a follower of Rosenzweig’s “Not Yet” approach. My wife and I jumped and swam for Orthodox Judaism as the only lifeboat in a stormy sea.
Sadly, among non-Orthodox Jews, there are only small pockets who are sincerely interested in engaging with our Torah (for example some small minyanim (prayer groups) organized by alums of JTS).
It’s my impression that, outside of Orthodoxy, the organized Jewish world blows with the winds of fashion in elite opinion. This is not to say that there are not tremendous problems within Orthodoxy or that there are not Reform, Conservative and secular Jews who are wonderful people who do great things for the mankind and the Jewish people. I just don’t think that they will have too many Jewish descendents.
* for those who enjoy irony, we were able to afford the last few years of day school tuition due to my generous salary as an advisor to the US Army in Iraq
July 12th, 2010 | 6:49 pm
MarcH,
Kol hakavod! As a late in life baal tshuvah who came to Orthodoxy after many years at Conservative shuls, I’ve been in the same boat (and in the same deep water). All I can add is that the more mitzvot I’ve taken on, the happier I’ve been.
July 12th, 2010 | 10:38 pm
“I think this post (and the comments by Ellen) will be very helpful in giving non-Jews an insight into Jewish American life.”
Really? I’m more confused than ever.
There are 6.5 million Jews in America.
The fact that “In 2008, 2.7 million Americans called themselves religiously Jewish, down from 3.1 million in 1990.” brings on the question: Who is a Jew and what is it that makes a person a Jew?
July 13th, 2010 | 12:00 am
David – Baruch Tihyeh. One more point about the est. $300,000 that my wife and I have spent so far on day school for our four kids … as an investment it has held up better than our mutual funds.
Walter – The answer according to traditional Jewish law is that a Jew is anyone born of a Jewish mother or lawfully converted to Judaism (for a fuller explanation you will have to consult a qualified rabbi). Of course that basic definition indicates almost nothing about any particular Jew’s familiarity with or affinity for Judaism. Perhaps a helpful analogy might be American citizenship. A person can be a native born American citizen but still be entirely estranged from traditional American values and hostile to American interests.
July 13th, 2010 | 12:18 am
[...] PressReform and Conservative Jews fuming ahead of Knesset vote on conversionsHa’aretzFirst Things (blog) -Ynetnews -Jewish Telegraphic Agency (blog)all 205 news [...]
July 13th, 2010 | 4:19 am
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jewish Ideas Daily, DNC DUDES. DNC DUDES said: Cut-Price Judaism? Puh-leeze!: Newsweek religion commentator Lisa Miller complains that the cost of synagogue… http://bit.ly/9327Ob #tcot [...]
July 13th, 2010 | 10:16 am
[...] conversion bill moves ahead, draws angerThe Associated PressHa’aretz -First Things (blog) -Ynetnewsall 211 news [...]
Links
Blogs
Find Us
Contact