14 February 2011

It Seems the Kiddush Cup is Half Empty...

Why is it that all of the press and surveys of Jewish life always seem to begin with pessimism and doom and gloom?  The Jewish Daily Forward, while a great (re)new(ed) meeting place for American Judaism, seems to be doing its best to "disrespect" all the established American Jewish institutions.  Following up on its series of comparisons of how they are more expensive than comparative Christian organizations, and gratuitous slams on rabbinic and professional salaries, this past week brought an article on the crisis in "liberal denominations". (Maybe it's just reporter Josh Nathan-Kazis.)  First of all, the article mainly talks about what the Conservative movement is DOING to reverse a trend of decreased membership.  There is mention of a group of Reform rabbis (the "RVI" - more on this some other time) who are trying to influence where the Reform movement is going, and a passing reference to the Reconstructionist movement.  Even acknowledging that the focus of the article is on the United States - and can therefore ignore the growing appeal of progressive Judaism overseas - especially in the Former Soviet Union, Europe, and Israel - it seems unfair to focus on the problems when the incidence for the story is what the movements are doing in terms of self-reflection and change.  Now, I am reserving opinion as to whether the reorganization of the URJ means the strengthening of our congregational Reform arm, but I am not ready to abandon ship before I attempt to patch the holes and turn on the bilge pumps.    It seems to me that we should focus on what are the new insights and how we are repositioning and re-imagining to meet current and future challenges.

I am sure that much more on this subject will follow...