Too Many Young Jews Think Judaism is Irrelevant

I believe the commentators on the Frankfurt School largely summed it up. I have an observant wife who has given our children exceedingly Jewish names. I only wanted to return to Eastern Europe and live in peace. If I had one wish, it would be that none of my grandchildren are Jewish. Young people see nothing of value here because there is nothing of value. Israel is a train wreck.

If your Jewish and don’t have Judaism how do you have purpose and G-D in your life? Know who you were, are now and what you might become!

The article talked a lot about what we need to do. But who is the "we"? In my humble opinion we need to build a broad coalition of Jews who still care enough that they want to encourage the building of Jewish families. That means still holding strong against intermarriage, but stressing that Judaism will speak to different people in different ways. Let's start a crowdfunding campaign where people can donate money, time, ideas, contacts. Together we can make a difference. If not now, when?

Each Jew must decide. Am I a thermometer or am I a thermostat. We as a people must decide is being a movement enough- or can we become a Juggernaut. Stay strong.

I’m a jewish mellinial. All for of my grandparents were all Ashkenazim born in the states. I was raised reform, my grandparents were reform. I went to a Jewish day school, was bar mitzvahed, was in a Jewish fraternity and seved on the hillel board in college. I’ve been active in the Jewish community here in Boston as I’ve interacted with folks from the far left ifnotnow (dont agree with them) and litvaks (you guys-dont agre with The. Too. The issue is Judaism is a ethnicity and religion, many of us are culturally Jewish knowledge of history, food etc. But even after exposure to the religion of Judaism many of us just are not interested in it. We find it limiting, telling some one what they should est and who they should marry doesn’t bring any value to our lives. Why should we learn another language when doing so brings us no economic value, we would rather learn Spanish than hebrew. If we want value or jewish heritage we can take trips to Israel and read wilkipedia. While we may be jewish by ethnicity the truth is we no longer observe Judaism. It just is no longer bringing the value we desire or wer raised to appreciate

I work in Kiruv, and even before that felt a pull to share my enthusiasm about yiddishkeit. I don't know what to do, but I feel like I need to do something more.

It seems that these - "indifferent or ignorant to Judaism"- people have not been brought up with a Jewish education. A Torah education for all is the only solution. According to the 1990 NJPS (National Jewish Population Study) 98 of 100 Jews that went to a Torah Mesorah Day school married Jews. Compare that to the 30 out of 100 Jews that never went to a Torah School married Jewish. It is such an obvious solution - but unfortunately many organizations would rather support "Jewish Culture" than Torah Education. It's better than nothing - but put your money where there are results. On a personal level it teaches Jewish parents that want their children to marry Jews the importance of sending them to a Torah day school.

Each Jew should reach out to a fellow unaffiliated Jew to teach them some Torah. If a person wants to do something about it - invite them for a Shabbat meal, be a friend, give them a "Berakha / Food Blessing Card" or other Jewish material - that are found for free at http://www.jerusalemlife.com/?page_id=258 and explain it to them. There are so many daily opportunities to uplift a fellow Jew in Torah. One just has to care.

YES!!!!!

You can't be light of the world hidding your self,excluding ,judging unclean all the others ,it become discriminatory,racist as the kid said,new generations want to love their neighbor,make friends out of the family and religious circle, treat others with sincere respect and compassion,but their fathers spirituality is contradictory to all this, don't reflect LOVE not charity to others,especially in politics mingling with the far right ,the are not proud of it,I think the religion is good but it application to the other wouldn't let it be the spiritual light to the world,it's too excludent,too private ,as if it's only about money ,what you can give materially, buy and attract false ,selfish,wicked ,heartless people,and this Jewish youth is not willing to walk in the same path,so what do you do lament ,disown close your selves evento more or open up to the world ,show the beauty of your religião ,abandon and denie what it has become and the evil it has accepted or the bad use of it ,because I believe it's all about love ,can you prove me right ?

Thank you for this article. We are b’nei Noach. Torah iOS precious to us. It grieves ya terribly for any Jew to be disconnected from their purpose. I pray G-d lead and inspire how to reach this coming generation. Amen

The problem I think, speaking as a non Jew who keeps the Sabbath is this : Your beliefs are mainly cultural and not religious-that is you(as a people) do not believe in the existence of God-that He is real.Nor do you believe that the Bible is His word. Consequently you absorb this worlds (non jewish)secular mind set. Certainly Jewish people can be atheists and agnostic and they may be the parents of these children.What your people need is a spiritual revival-build a temple and believe your Biblical origins

Your offensive untrue comment is just thst - offensive and untrue.

Every Jew, regardless of level of observance knows the Shema, the L-rd our G-d, the L-rd is One.

A Jewish Neshama will always be a Jewish Neshama.

When most Jews in the US answered a poll asking what being Jewish meant to them by saying a sense of humor, this person's comment is exactly right. For most Jews, Judsism is something cultural. I do believe as you say that all Jews have a Jewish spark in their soul, but it may not ever get kindled. And when people feel it is racist to feel that you have a particular mission ( which if a black or trans etc. person said it, would be applauded, as when Justice Sotomayor said she would bring "a wise Latina's " point of view to the Supreme Court), there is a lot of educating to do. Especially as these new identity politics are ok for anyone but the Jews, as usual.

"Your beliefs are mainly cultural - you as a people do not believe in the existence of G-d."

This stems from ignorance. While it may not be offensive to you, it should not be simple acceptable.

To our great dismay and pain, Robert's comments are mostly correct.
I have personally met people born Jewish that are atheists. Some raised with Jewish education, others not.
Some say they are agnostic.
While it is true that on what we would term in secular language "at the subconscious level" it is true that these Jews believe in G-d, their stated/conscious lack of belief in G-d and/or Torah has a VERY real effect on themselves and the nation as a whole. I am NOT ascribing "blame" (most don't know any better) - it is simply the consequence.
The reality is that by-and-large it is incredibly unreasonable to expect that people raised without "Torah living" would have any commitment to Judaism.
I know people in kiruv as a full time job. It is known among such people that they consider themselves lucky if they have any affect whatsoever on one out of ten Jews they try to bring closer to Judaism.
I certainly agree that rebuilding the Temple will speed Jew's return to Judaism and Eretz Israel.

I understand what you are saying. Speaking for myself, if someone said to me directly, that as a Jew I do not believe in G-d, I would see it as a statment of hate. It is how I would feel, no different from other anti-semitic things I have heard, because to me Judaism is all about our relationship with HaShem, it is my faith, the center of my life.

I know many feel it is anti-semitic to criticize the state of Israel, their identity as Jews is very much related to Zionism. My identity as a Jew is that it is all G-d, all the time. Just my thoughts.

He's confusing ethnic Jews and religious Jews.

I was wanting to know more about cultural Jews, and I saw a quote "I worship Larry David instead of G-d, and I eat bacon." He is a comedian, but that aside, I didn't find it funny. It was upsetting.

I attend Modern Orthodox or Chabad Shuls, and never have felt at home or comfortable in a reform Temple when I have attended a Bar Mitzvah for example. But, I would never say a non-observant Jew was not a Jew. Or that an observant Jew was a better Jew, for lack of a better word.

But, Judaism is our Faith, first and foremost, with Torah as a guide and HaShem at the center.

I don't know what to say about cultural or ethnic Jews.

A Jew without G-d? This is foreign to me.

Here's a concrete idea. Come up with a "Jerusalem App," and it will become cool to learn about Judaism. Teach them in short fun video clips. They will digest the info and learn. Aish has a great video library. See what's already in there. It'll work. Good luck.

Here is my answer to "How can you tell me how to live? I resent that." - Do you really think you are not letting anyone else tell you how to live? You're letting celebrities, social media users and your peers tell you how to live, and you're doing it blindly, letting your choices be taken away from you because you don't even understand what choices you have. I have been part of the popular, secular culture, and now I'm trying to live a Torah observant life, and I can tell you which one is both illusion and slavery - and it's not Torah.

I am a member of one of your couples groups. Although I am not young, I thoroughly enjoy your seminars and feel you have a wonderful message to share with Jews of all ages. i am happy to say that altho not orthodox, both my daughters have chosen to follow the laws of Judaism. My both baby granddaughters attend Jewsish preschool and are already learning about Jewish history, and our message to the world.
I feel that we have much to do to heal these thoughts that you mention.

I am not a Jew, but I love God and Israel. People like me, want to see the light in the darkness, know God, enjoy His blessings. In the same time, I feel so sad when a Jew is not a good Jew. It hurts my heart and I think God's heart, too. Don't give up, keep teaching your children, and God will do the rest!

The future is peeping. Can the trend be reversed?

Sad, but terribly true. And it's hard to take a stand for Judaism because nowadays, anything that is NOT about "be whatever you want and do whatever you want" is not politically correct. Unfortunately, political correctness has gone mad. I'm glad that there are people who continue to speak and teach about Judaism. I admit that I'm not a fighter in that sense, but I can live a Torah lifestyle and set the example for my family and for others.

Just wanted to say that although I did not enjoy reading your article (it is
a sad commentary on the current state of affairs of Judaism in our contemporary American society) it did ring more or less true.

While we are all grappling with the answer(s) bringing attention to this issue is very important. Finding ways to address the questions of your audience is the next step. May those ways come at the appropriate time and soon :)

Shuva Tov,

Michael

Link our active intelligence with HaShem's, Then, find the 20 times like the example above where we are challenged to find the wisdom in the space between apparently disconnected lines. The act will involve active intelligence and thus relate to our Creator, the source of our intelligence. Multiple efforts will convince student of what he is missing from social tech trivia, slow him down and lead him to faith. The principle is useful for doctors, plumbers, anyone who is a trouble shooter. The skill will raise qualifications for science, humanities, social services.

This beautiful article brought tears to our eyes. Somehow we were not aware that our Jewish brothers are seeing the same rejection of Biblical values in the younger generation that we Christians see too.

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This is where I truly feel we miss the mark without teaching Kabbalah, that G-d lives within us, as our Soul, that we are here for a unique purpose and mission, to raise Holy sparks. When I Daven the connection overtakes me, and my very breath comes from HaShem, moment to moment.

I was at a workshop once and the instructor was a friend of a well known Buddhist spiritual teacher who was born Jewish, and said he left Judaism because it is spiritually bankrupt.

Before walking out, I said he should keep his comments to himself given his fame and his reach because the truth is, it is full of spirituality and it is sad it was not there for him at his Shul or family.

Mitzvot connect us to HaShem.

High school children? They’re not children anymore.

These kids will learn that to be Jewish is to be a part of a larger family. They will learn from anti antisemitism that they are different from the Jew haters. The more hatred the more they will realize who they are. It won't be from a religious point of view. It will be from a connection to a race of people that they belong.
They might at this time not have any connection to their people. That is because their parents or grandparents have not done their job in teaching the youth about heir connection to to Judaism and Israel. The parents or grandparents are hiding their true identity as if they are afraid to reveal who they really are. They want to be accepted by the non Jews as if they are one of them. But lo and behold they are not and will never be accepted as such.

Why do they feel that way?

Kabbalah and Jewish meditation are not taught in Jewish schools for the most part. For many years, Jews searched outside our faith for the spirituality and deep connection and nourishment they were seeking. They went to Bhuddism, which basically is No G-d, where Judaism is all G-d.

But, this was not their experience. The relationship to HaShem was not there. We are called now more than ever to Return, but it is falling on deaf ears, as anti-semitism rises at a fast paced rate.

Not enough families sit down together for Shabbos to nourish their Souls. Too many Temples taught Zionism, and created ambassadors for the Israeli state as their Jewish identity.

It is sad, but expected.

Parents and grandparents must take Judaism seriously if they expect their children and grandchildren to do the same. To quote Albert Einstein: “Setting an example is not the best way to influence another, it is the only way.”

Give the kids a satisfactory answer to questions such as "Does what I eat matter more than what I do?" and "Does Judaism hate gay people?".

Think for a moment how the average heder teacher or even congregational rabbi makes a to do of kashrut and marrying in , but ask to what purpose? God has had an odd way of showing His love of his people these hundred years - and does the joker exist anyway in a universe that is ever vaster? If the Bible - and Talmud - stories are supposed to be training material for surviving the World they need more imaginative teaching - to imagine or write of a modern equivalent or how would one use that moral of the tale nowadays. It is not entirely surprising that the young wonder for what traditional religion exists - apart from safeguarding certain interests i certain jobs. The holiday and entertainment aspect is often done better by many others and the ethical and moral education side is often done clumsily with the stick of fear in school ages and without the constructive rigour of a maths or science lesson. Finally we have to put the Holocaust into the box of an aspect but not the overclouding of our identity. Nobody wishes to be faced with a life of being cannon fodder for mad dictators. At this level our history course should be balanced with our Nobel laureates and successes in other fields.

G-d is trying to wake them up, He sent anti-Semites like Omar and her crew to shake us up to return to Him.
YOLO according to Judaism defines as, do what you were sent down to this world to do because, you only live once.
We need to make an effort to educate our fellow jews about what is really important and how to make G-d present in our lives. Perhaps then, will He save us and bring Mashiach.

Soy creyente del evangelio y por años fui enseñado en la doctrina católica, cuál es la diferencia? Los Cristianos evangélicos enseñan las escritura a los catoyque tienen una religión tibia, dejan la enseñanza a los sacerdotes exclusivamente, esto ha hecho que laicos tomen el reto de enseñar a todo aquel que no conoce de Dios y su plan eterno. Me pregunto si el pueblo Judío es el elegido por HASHEM, para ser luz en el mundo , porque nunca se ha acercado un judío a un gentil para hablarle de Dios y su escritura, solo lo hacen exclusivamente para ellos mismos. Cómo van a ser influencia en el mundo si no lo toman en cuenta. Veo hoy día Judios volviéndose a Jesús como el Mesías esto por la influencia que hacen los evangelistas de acercarse al pueblo judío. Pero veo cómo rechazan y hasta etiquetan de “enfermos” a los que creen en Jesús como el enviado. Si el pueblo judío es la luz del mundo es momento de que salga del cajón y se muestre sin preferencias y rechazos por creencias, el hombre puede verse limitado pero HASHEM es omnipotente y puede cambiar un corazón duro por uno conforme al de El. Finalmente El, es el creador y dueño del Mundo y su plenitud, todos le pertenecemos.

let the stupid money spent on sending to moon be spent on the earth

“Speaking to Jewish high school students I was alarmed by their ignorance and indifference to Judaism.” Product of today’s secularism. When 78% of Jews believe abortion is ethical, you know you are not getting through to them Or that 65% are against the first President in over 50 years that is more for the state of Israel than any other. Socialism via the Frankfurt school is infesting society.

Naziism's rise was the product of many factors. Most of which were quite frankly beyond any Jewish control or influence. But the extreme anti-Jewish hatred in Germany that facilitated the Holocaust was only aggravated further by the Frankfurt School. This society, composed totally of Jewish intellectuals, advocated basically the overthrow of western society & culture. Imagine how this went down in 1920s & 1930s Germany--one of the most conservative countries in the world.

And if this wasn't already harmful enough, there was also the Jewish-run "Institut fur Sexualische Wissenschaft" (Sexology Institute). This medical-counseling-&-surgical centre vigorously advocated for the LBGTQ agenda, "sexual freedom" in general. In fact, its leader Dr. Magnus Hirschield is believed to have performed the world's first male-to-female sex change operation. Again, in an extremey conservative & probably homophobic culture.

While considering all this, we must keep in mind that the vast majority of Weimar Germany's 600,000 Jewish citizens were just decent middle-class folks, concentrating on minding their own business & making a living. They were thrown under the bus by the arrogant, radically-leftist elitists who were part of the upper echelon of German-Jewish society.

So now...so many decades later...have we learned anything from this? Well, our highly esteemed ADL has recently published an insultingly anti-white pamphlet, intended to be used as a resource for schoolkids' lessons on "white privilege." What I want to know is, why has there been no outcry about this reckless meddling in America's current highly-sensitive sociopolitical climate?

As a student of the Bible I am not surprised by this attitude
It is forecast therein-a nation without God

and why after 74 years after becoming a nation is this the situation

MUST be down to the leaders-government, schools and the religious leaders
Look to the prophets to find your answer you will be one step nearer to finding your God and My God

Having worked both in a Traditional and a Reform PReschool and Hebrew School, I found that the criteria were; can you read and write Hebrew and that's it. Many were well-meaning but few of them knew how to inspire or control a classroom. The first goal of a Hebrew and Sunday school teacher is to inspire a love for Judaism, then a child's natural curiosity will lead them to yearn for more. Instead, I see an emphasis on the holidays and B'nei mitzvot prep and not on how Jews are supposed to behave in their daily life.

In the 1860’s, Reform Judaism sought to offer a brand for modern, culturally assimilated German Jews, and sixty years later, there were large swaths of indifference among German Jews, until...it was too late. We need, perhaps, to make Holocaust studies relevant again, one third from a historical perspective, and two thirds from contemporaneous displays of hatred to other communities, whether ethnic, racial, or both. Our government is fully onboard with hatred, although it used to quietly simmer on a back burner. It is only a matter of time until the culture of hatred turns against us. Ha’Shem’s commandment to beautify the world cannot take place until we address and eliminate the culture of hatred.

I thought that this article was spot on! We must be more overt in teaching Jewish values so that these values balance the distractions kids face in modern life. Jewish values must be seen as relevant, or we have not done our duties as parents and teachers.

I am the mom of a young adult son. He is single and not currently dating anyone. Of course, there are no guarantees in life, but he knows that I expect him to marry within our faith. I have many Jewish books in the house and he sees me walking to services on Shabbat. Hopefully I am driving home the issue of keeping Judaism alive and fresh.