Rishon Rishon

Jinnderella and the Jews

Jinnderella has written a very touching post in support of the Jews:

I want Jews to be cherished and respected citizens of the world. I want them to be able to go on vacation without fear of their hotel being blown up, to be able to get on a bus or go to a restaurant without death stalking them. Last week six Jews won the Nobel prizes for Physics and Chemistry. Think of the contributions made over time to literature, science, government and arts by Jews. Species Homo Sapiens needs these people badly.

The only way I can think of to avert "Secret Israel" is to stand for the Jews. Never tolerate an anti-semetic slur. Never avert your gaze. Be fierce against anti-semitic language. It cannot be tolerated. Our government must do the right thing for Israel. Who cares what the UN thinks? They all hate us anyways. Write letters, cancel subscriptions, buy kosher. But stand for the Jews, stand for Israel. And stand strong.

I must say that I am very glad to have her on my side! But she also says some things that, I think, would give most Jews a rueful smile:

So Judaism is a religion without modern defectors. A religion so appealing to its constituency, and to "outsiders" looking in, that it needs no safeguards against defection.

It is true that defection to another religion is rare, but it is my impression that this is true of most religions – in the last century, at least. The primary means of defection is passive, not active – an apathy toward Judaism which usually results in lack of transmission of Jewish consciousness to the next generation. While in Israel, these people can remain nominally Jewish indefinitely; in the US they quickly become indistinguishable from the nominally Christian.

However, it is my impression that within the last two generations we have reached a kind of stability within the Jewish world. There is now a clear distinction between observant and non-observant Jews (observant of halakha, or not), and it is a question in my mind whether non-observant Jews have a Jewish future outside of Israel. Not that I am ruling it out, it’s just a question! On the other hand, the observant community is strong, and as jinderella says, has few defections. Of the 13 million Jews in the world, probably 1.5 million are observant. While non-observant Jews are assimilating quickly (a 50% intermarriage rate is a good indication of this) and are reproducing at below the replacement rate, as is consistent with their non-Jewish peers in the west, observant Jews have a fertility of about 4 children per woman. Do the math.

So, barring catastrophe, which is by no means impossible, especially with a nuclear-armed Iran, I am optimistic about Jewish survival. But why should I care, aside from chauvinism? It is because I do think that Jews have something unique to contribute, something not restricted to Nobel prizes and scientific advance. It is our unique point of view.

It is a pedagogical principle that knowledge is transmitted in three ways: hearing, seeing, and doing. Teachers of children try hard to design their lesson plans to include all three. But in the adult world the last is severely neglected. We think we can gain understanding by reading, talking, and listening. No doubt we can understand much, but there are some things you can understand only by doing. (Marriage is one such thing: the reason to get married is not what you expect before you do it.)

I think there are things you can learn only by living a Jewish life. I try to communicate some of them in this blog.

Posted by David Boxenhorn at October 14, 2004 02:25 PM