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March 23, 2007
Speaking of Judaism
Dues and demographics up for discussion.
BAILA LAZARUS
Family demographics are shifting, teens are losing interest in
Judaism and couples are marrying older – and these changes
need to be reflected in how synagogues carry out family programming.
That's the message Rabbi Richard Address gave at a recent seminar
at the Union for Reform Judaism's biennial Pacific Northwest conference
March 16-18. Hosted by Temple Sholom Synagogue and held in Richmond,
the conference – The Art of Jewish Living: Weaving the Tapestry
of Our Lives – included topics such as Jewish art and cinema,
sexual issues for youth, the future of Judaism and using prayer
to create healing for body and soul.
Address, director of Jewish Family Concerns for URJ in New York,
was speaking on Demographics and Implications of the New Jewish
Family. The URJ undertook a study in 2003 to see how the face of
the North American Jewish family is changing.
Address began by asking delegates, specifically the Canadian ones,
how adult members of synagogues saw themselves – as Jewish
first or as Canadian first. In the United States, Address said,
"we found that congregation members are good Americans,"
meaning they see themselves as American first.
Calgary Rabbi Howard Voss-Altman of Temple Bnai Tikvah said that
in his view, a 48-year-old congregation member sees the world through
Jewish eyes, more than Canadian eyes.
Conference co-chair and Temple Sholom board member Paul Becker agreed
when speaking about other cities, such as his home city of Montreal,
but in Vancouver, he pointed out, "more Jews are struggling
to identify themselves as Jewish."
That led Address to disclose a URJ finding that when it came to
instilling a sense of Judaism, the synagogue was having more influence
than teaching within the home.
"Your congregation has more to do with the Jewish future than
what happens in Jewish homes," he told the room of about two
dozen rabbis and synagogue representatives. "It puts a huge
responsibility on you guys because you have to create an environment
[in your synagogue] where, it's not just about whether the boilers
work or there are enough parking spaces – it has more to do
with whether there is a Jewish future in your town."
Address pointed to four specific challenges that are facing North
American Jewish affiliation: the "trend to older"; issues
of diversity; the challenges of an aging population; and non-denominational
or "post-denominational" Judaism.
In the trend to older, Address noted the older age at which many
Jews are getting married, moving from mid-20s to late-20s. Since
many Jewish youth become less Jewishly active after elementary or
high school, there's a tendency for them to disappear and not reconnect
with Judaism until they start to have children. But, "if at
33, they're looking for spiritual sustenance, and they pull out
the old synagogue card, they say, 'Forget about this,' " said
Address, explaining that the services they remember from 15 or 20
years ago are probably not going to be ones that reflect their needs
of today. And since they are just starting a family, their expenses
may be overwhelming.
"A membership to a synagogue that you might not use is disposable,"
said Address, to which a delegate responded, "Especially when
Chabad offers it for free."
This launched a discussion into whether synagogue outreach workers
should be calling up unaffiliated Jews and simply offering membership
for free, saying, "You are now a member of the community,"
then request, after a certain length of time, that they contribute
membership dues.
"You may have to restructure how people pay for the congregation,"
said Address. "This is very risky in congregation-land, but
congregations have to start looking at this."
On the second issue, Address noted that diversity in what constitutes
a family has changed. He pointed out that the faces of congregants,
especially children, are now from all over the world, representing
many different ethnic groups. The trend to older means that more
families are adopting because they are waiting longer to have children,
and these adoptions might be from foreign countries.
As well, there might be gay couples or single women with children
or even just single people. "There is no such thing as the
normative Jewish family," he said. "We [can] consider
a Jewish 'family' to be one person living by themselves."
Discussing the challenges of an aging congregation, Address cautioned
not to lump everyone over the age of 65 together. "Seventy-year-olds
are not 90-year-olds," he said, adding that empty-nesters may
represent a particular challenge because they have so many choices
of what they can do.
"Boomers represent a huge transitional generation," Address
said. "We have to figure out how to address their window of
affiliation."
To connect with potential congregants, synagogues need to create
vehicles and programs to respond to their needs, such as how to
help boomers deal with aging parents.
The final challenge Address brought up had to do with the explosion
of new congregations, niche Judaism, "communal seminaries,"
such as the Academy for Jewish Religion in New York and Los Angeles,
private ordinations and even new-age Judaism that focuses on studying
Judaism via the Internet.
"Our competition used to be the Conservative shul down the
street," said Address. "Now it's all the options open
to Jews."
Changing with the times
Keeping on the same theme of responding to changing demographics,
two rabbis spoke on how congregations can deal with change from
within in Comfort vs. Challenge in the Synagogue. Rabbi Michael
Cahana of Congregation Beth Israel in Portland, Ore., and Rabbi
Jonathan Singer of Temple Beth Am in Seattle, Wash., brought personal
experiences to the discussion of what types of changes to institute
within a synagogue, why and how.
Both rabbis agreed that synagogues needed to address issues of changing
demographics in their congregants, as well as a general loss of
interest in Judaism by re-examining their programs. "Large
or small [synagogue] is not the issue," said Cahana, but how
that change came about.
Cahana joked that many people believe that the Hebrew writing over
the ark in a synagogue stands for "We've never done it like
this before," a mantra for congregations who resist change.
Referring to his own experience, Cahana said he recently replaced
a rabbi who had been in his pulpit for 46 years. "[The synagogue]
discussed what kind of rabbi they wanted before they looked,
and they also told the rabbi what they were looking for," said
Cahana. "We have to manage these changes together. There has
to be some dreaming and some practical answers."
When it came to dreaming, Singer seemed to epitomize it when he
related the various trial changes he had made to his services, such
as getting people up and dancing during "Mi Chamocha."
"At first it was weird," he said. "Now, people expect
it."
On another occasion, as part of a service, they brought in a woman
who played a bowl. (Crystal bowls can be made to resonate in a way
that is said to produce healing effects.)
He also has a rotation of five different types of Shabbat services,
with different kinds of music, so people who may only come once
a month to synagogue will be able to have a choice of services.
The reactions are always varied, but people seem to appreciate the
effort the synagogue is making, he said.
Singer acknowledged that some older members might feel uncomfortable
without their traditional, consistent environment, so changes can't
just be about the next generation. But at the same time, it's teaching
congregations not to be nostalgic.
"We can't remain frozen," said Singer. "We have to
jump in and find the formula to change what's needed. We have to
embrace the ethos of a living Judaism."
Baila Lazarus is a freelance writer, photographer and
illustrator living in Vancouver. Her work can be seen at www.orchiddesigns.net.
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