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Editor's Note: The following are excerpts from the keynote presentation by Dr. Wolfson formally
launching the USCJ Jewish Living Now Campaign at the 1995 United Synagogue Biennial Convention.
1. Offer Warm Welcomes and Extend One of the many things I love about Brad
Invitations. Artson's new book, It's a Mitzvah, is that he
presents a series of small but important concrete
Many people begin their journeys with a first steps into each mitzvah.
phone call or visit to one of our synagogues.
How are they greeted? Have you been to a 3. Open the Access Roads.
shopping mall recently? What's the first thing
that happens to you when you enter a store? We know when most Jews, even the most
There's an employee standing at the front uninvolved and unaffiliated, intersect with Jewish
entrance whose entire job it is to warmly greet living.When do they come to synagogue? Rosh
you -- to help you find what you're looking for, to Hashanah and Yom Kippur. When else? When
direct you to the right person, to just say "Hi." they're invited -- especially to a lifecycle event,
such as a bar mitzvah, a wedding, or a funeral.
How are people greeted in our congregations -- We've gotten better at providing explanations of
when they call on the phone, when they walk Jewish practices as we do them. We need to
into the office, at the entrance to our take the next step and offer easy access for
sanctuaries? Who is there, not just to hand them these visitors to consider their own Jewish
a humash, but to sit with a family getting up from journeys. How many of us know of people who,
shiva to say Kaddish with the community? Who because they said Kaddish for a parent,
is there to help someone build a sukkah for the renewed their involvement in the synagogue and
first time, to kasher a kitchen, to make a Seder, Jewish life? These are opportunities to make
to ensure a minyan. Jews -- let's use them.
How many of our synagogues end the Shabbat 4. Give Good Directions.
morning service like the Library Minyan of
Temple Beth Am in Los Angeles, where When we want to adopt a mitzvah, we ask all
members who have brought guests are invited sorts of questions, looking for direction. And
to introduce them to the congregation and an because we are a pretty smart bunch in most
announcement is made by a volunteer family things, if we have to ask a question about
that if someone is in need of an invitation to Jewish practice, we often precede the question
Shabbat lunch, they are the designated hosts? with something like, "I know this must be a
Warm, personal greetings are indispensible stupid question, but..." On Jewish journeys,
beginnings for Jewish journeys. there is no such thing as a stupid question.
2. Plan Long Journeys, Take Small Steps. Have you ever wondered why most parents of
religious school kids drop off their children, a
The Jewish journey can seem as intimidating condition my colleague Rabbi Jeff Salkin calls
and complicated as the most detailed road map. "carpool tunnel syndrome?" Why won't they get
But that's the genius of the Triptik -- organizing out of the car? I think they are scared: scared to
the trip in small, do-able segments. We need to ask a question about something they think they
provide people with their own personalized should know; scared to be embarrassed,
Jewish Triptik, to help them assess where they especially in front of their children. So when
are on their Jewish journey and where they someone asks a Jewish question, it's an
might take that next step. opening, and how we respond will often
determine whether the journey continues or not.
foreign language that is difficult, even in
transliteration. For those with no Hebrew ability,
even a short blessing can be intimidating. That
5. Use Guidebooks. is why I applaud the Federation of Jewish Men's
Clubs renewed Hebrew Literacy Campaign, a
Like the office of Triple A, our Jewish Living Now perfect complement to the Jewish Living Now
offices need to be equipped with the guidebooks project. In the meantime, we need to let people
that can help chart the journey. I am always so know that they can get started on the road to
thrilled when people tell me they have found the Jewish living with transliterations and English,
Art of Jewish Living books helpful to them in although Judaism in translation is a pale shadow
taking the next steps in their own celebrations of of a rich tradition.
the holidays or in helping them formulate the
words and actions of comfort for mourners. And Time is another huge roadblock. We all live such
there has been an explosion of user-friendly, frenetic lives, with many of us in dual-career
easy access books and resources for the families. Who has time to prepare a traditional
multiple routes onto the highway of Jewish Shabbat meal? Who has time to come to
living. synagogue? And yet, time is perhaps the most
valued commodity we have -- time for reflection
I've already mentioned Brad Artson's marvelous on the meaning of our lives, time to spend with
guidebook, It's a Mitzvah. Then there's Danny our families, When we take a journey, how to
Siegel's new book Good People; Daniel Gordis's spend our time is one of the most important
guide to Jewish spirituality, God Was in the Fire; decisions we make. Our goal is to live Jewishly
David Wolpe's Why Be Jewish?; Alan all the time, but for many, finding the time is a
Silverstein's sensitive volumes on dealing with challenge.
interdating and intermarriage; and many more.
Another roadblock: Conflict. Have you been on a
6. The Road Between Synagogue and Home trip where the people with you disagreed about
Is a Two-Way Street. where to go next or how long to spend in one
spot, or where to stay or what to eat or any
We've spent the last half of the 20th century number of decisions that need to be made when
building magnificent institutions where we can travelling with others? Well, many people who
gather as a community to celebrate Judaism. are on a Jewish journey live with others who are
We assumed that families were living Jewish on one, too. And sometimes, there are
lives at home, when, in fact, they were becoming disagreements about how fast to travel on the
increasingly dependent on the synagogue as the road of Jewish living.
place to go to be Jewish: You need a Shabbat
dinner experience? We've got one for each The Jewish journey can be filled with these
class, once a year.You want to sit in a sukkah? detours, and there are no simple answers,
We've got one. No need to build your own. except to undersc ore the importance of
dialogue: keeping the conversation open,
Certainly, we want people to come to the looking for consensus, sometimes
synagogue to celebrate together in community. accommodating and compromising, sometimes
And they come, often in large numbers, to a not. But, most importantly, there must be an
Shabbat Seder dinner or a Model Passover understanding that when we travel with
Seder. But we also want them to be able to take someone else, there may very well be curves in
home what they learn about Jewish celebration the road, and itwill take sensitive steering to stay
so they can enhance their Jewish living the course. People need support along the
experiences there as well. This has guided our journey, especially when they run into a detour
work in Jewish family education at the University or a roadblock.
of Judaism's Whizin Institute for Jewish Family
Life. 8. Permission and Empowerment.
Dr. Ron Wolfson is Vice-President and Director of the Shirley and Arthur Whizin Center for the Jewish
Future of the University of Judaism in Los Angeles. He is principal investigator of "Synagogue 2000: A
Transdenominational Project for the Synagogue of the 21st Century" and author of The Art of Jewish
living Series, published by the Federation of Jewish Men's Clubs and the University of Judaism and now
available from Jewish Lights Publishin.