Being Jewish? Too easy!
The image above came up in a Google Image advanced search (free to use or share) for “Why be Jewish?”.
The image speaks to the casual nature of being Jewish, and some might think that it actually pokes fun a bit…after all, how many Mountain Jews do you know?
The fact that we might just accept this image without even thinking twice, kind of makes my point.
Answering the difficult question “Why Should Our Teens be Jewish” is an extreme challenge for parents and Jewish educators.
It’s a basic question that we will need to grapple with for several reasons:
1. In today’s open society, Jewish values resemble good old-fashioned American humanistic values.
Kindness to animals? Check.
Respect for the elderly? Check.
Caring for the environment? Check.
Social and humanitarian causes? Check.
Well, you get the idea. Our teens are so much a part of the American (Judeo-Christian) value system, that selling them on Jewish values is tough.
Not only that,
2. Jewish teens don’t perceive themselves as different from their friends, nor do they want to be different.
Religion is pretty much a non-issue among friends. In high school, most kids aren’t staying up into the midnight hours talking theology.
Chem? Yes.
Advanced Physics? Totally.
God? Don’t think so.
3. Jewish teens aren’t so much interested in doing things that are devoid of personal meaning, and many rituals connected with Judaism have not passed that test for them. What’s been missing is context.
Ritual without it is pretty empty, since there isn’t the automatic compulsion to follow ritual for halachic (Jewish legal) reasons.
You can try this. Just ask them how important it is for them to….say Kiddush. Motzi.
Thought so. (We’re talking about most Jewish teens here, not those for whom a context has been provided).
4. Back to the God thing. In high school, Reason is King. They haven’t delved far enough into the sciences to really, really comprehend the mystery of it all, which when they do, (later, in college perhaps) can be an awesome and spiritual experience.
Yes, they’ll talk string theory, and quantum physics, but won’t really be able to absorb all of its implications. (Check out my earlier post: Thinking about Religious Truths and Scientific Lies, ). In short, they’re not there yet.
So, we have a job to do. Far more than even worrying about Bar and Bat Mitzvah drop-off.
We have to get them to want to be Jewish. They need to Love Being Jewish.
The very first step, is letting them see how much we love it.
Photo credit: Deviantart.com “MountainJew” by grenadah
Related articles
How We Are Shortchanging Jewish Teens (ruthschapira.wordpress.com)
How to Make Jewish School Cool for Jewish Teens (ruthschapira.wordpress.com)
He Said / She Said: Engaging Synagogue Youth (ejewishphilanthropy.com)