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AUG. 27, 2007 JUDAISM Judaism’s High Holy Days are a 10-day period of prayer and atonement that starts this year at sundown on Sept. 12 with Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year, and ends at sundown on Sept. 22, the close of Yom Kippur. Throughout this observance, Jews across the denominational spectrum, including many who are nonobservant, will attend synagogue, recite ancient prayers (often in Hebrew), and fast during certain times. This sacred period also provides an opportunity for reporters to reflect on the religious forces shaping Judaism. One of the most important trends, many experts argue, is the way Jewish spirituality and religiosity is being influenced by the relatively small but growing Orthodox Jewish community. Surveys show that Orthodox Jews account for about 10 percent of the 5.2 million Jews in the United States and about 20 percent of synagogue-affiliated Jews. (There are ongoing debates about the exact figures). But scholars generally agree that Orthodox Jewry has become more visible in recent years, and as a result its adherents have come to define Jewish practice for many both inside and outside the Jewish world. Moreover, demographic factors — high birthrates, regular religious observance, a low exit rate — all contribute to what some believe will be a more Orthodox future for American Judaism. Journalists will find many entry points into stories about Orthodox Jews (see "How to find an Orthodox congregation"). How are teens and young adults practicing their faith? What is drawing individuals and families back into observance, particularly after they have fallen away from it? In areas where few Orthodox Jews live, how do they maintain community and connect with others? What varieties of Orthodox practice exist in one area? How do Jews observe Orthodox traditions in a modern world, from kosher food laws to eruvs (See an Aug. 25, 2007, Dallas Morning News story about eruvs, the nearly invisible boundaries that allow Orthodox Jews to carry items on the Sabbath and that exist in nearly every major U.S. city.) Why it matters The Jewish community is viewed as a bellwether for trends affecting other religious groups. Issues involving religious identity, assimilation, intermarriage, worship practices, gender roles and the like have roiled Judaism in America since the first Jewish community was established here more than 350 years ago. Judaism also has a high profile in American culture despite its relatively small size. In the public square, the growth of Orthodox Judaism and its influence is important because there is evidence that Orthodox Jews tend to vote Republican, which is in marked contrast to the historically strong Jewish preference for the Democratic Party. Jump to: Until recent decades, the story of Orthodox Judaism in America was largely one of decline. Most Jews who arrived during the great wave of Jewish immigration in the 19th and early 20th centuries were leaving a Europe where traditional Jewish practice often governed religious life. The new arrivals sought to assimilate and often rejected what were considered outmoded, Old World customs of “shtetl” life. Surveys show that by a wide margin, older American Jews who were raised Orthodox left for another, more liberal movement, such as Conservative or Reform Judaism. In addition, World War II and the Holocaust brought the virtual destruction of European Jewry, including the Orthodox communities that predominated in Eastern Europe. Yet there were seeds for an Orthodox revival. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was largely the work of secular Zionists. But with so many dangers pressing in on the reborn nation, Israeli leaders had little time for debating matters of Jewish religious practice. So they effectively granted authority over religious matters - undergirded by government funding - to the small Orthodox segment of the Israeli population. Today, the Orthodox population in Israel has grown enormously in size and influence, and its monopoly - as secular and non-Orthodox Jews would call it - on religious life gives the movement an even higher profile. Yet there were seeds for an Orthodox revival. The establishment of the State of Israel in 1948 was largely the work of secular Zionists. But Israeli leaders effectively granted authority over religious matters—undergirded by government funding—to what was then a tiny Orthodox segment of the largely Israeli population. Today, while Israelis remain largely secular (up to 80 percent, by some estimates), the Orthodox population in Israel has grown to include almost all of the religiously observant Jews. Unlike the United States, the Reform and Conservative movements are tiny. The Orthodox oversight of religious life in Israel gives the movement an even higher profile. In the United States, meanwhile, Orthodox Judaism benefited from the nationwide interest in traditional religion that began in the 1970s as a reaction to cultural and societal upheavals. Even non-Orthodox Jewish movements, like liberal wings of other religions, have seen many of their members embrace traditional practices that would have once been unheard of. Many Reform synagogues, for example, once banned the use of ritual skullcaps (kippot) and prayer shawls (tallit). Now they are commonplace. The mystical teachings of Kabbalah and traditions such as the yearlong grieving ritual of kaddish, the ritual purification baths called mikvot, not to mention kosher products of all kinds, are growing in popularity, both inside and outside Judaism. The compactness of the Orthodox community may also augur a demographic turnaround, according to experts and surveys. Orthodox households, on average, have many more children than other Jewish families, and while the older generation of Jews left Orthodoxy, the Orthodox movement today is much younger on average than other movements. The Orthodox resurgence is so successful that Brandeis University historian Jonathan Sarna has called it the “great success story of late 20th-century American Judaism.” Many saw the choice of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman, who identified as a Modern Orthodox Jew, as Democratic presidential nominee Al Gore’s running mate in 2000 as another boost for Orthodox Judaism; Lieberman was the first Jew on a presidential ticket. Others note the seemingly unlikely popularity of Hasidic stars of the rap, hip-hop and reggae scene, such as Matisyahu, a Jew from Brooklyn who converted to Orthodox Judaism. At the same time, other forces are raising the profile of the Orthodox, experts say. One is that many American Jews, like many other Americans, are becoming less observant. That increases Orthodox Judaism’s weight among the remaining Jewish community because Orthodox Jews are more observant than other religious Jews. Also, there are indications that the “center” of American Judaism, long represented by the Conservative stream, is losing members. The effect of that shift is to leave the Jewish religious spectrum divided between a large Reform movement — Judaism’s most liberal stream — on one end and the Orthodox on the other. Moreover, experts say there is a tendency among Jews and non-Jews alike to view Orthodox practice as the “default mode” of what it means to be Jewish. In that sense, Orthodox Judaism sets the bar for Jewish religious life. Experts agree there are significant caveats to this scenario. Some question how accurately surveys have counted the number of American Jews, and whether Orthodox Jews have subsequently been overrepresented. Also, scholars note that there are many fissures within the Orthodox movement. Modern Orthodoxy was begun to help Orthodox Jews to find a way to live in the world rather than apart from it. Modern Orthodox constitute the largest number of Orthodox Jews, about two-thirds of the U.S. population of Orthodox Jews. The rest are often known as Haredi or “ultra-Orthodox.” These Jews are strictly observant and their various factions contend with each other for influence and the correct interpretation of Jewish law. Hasidic Jews are also included in the category of Haredi or ultra-Orthodox, but their movement has a particular history largely rooted in 17th-century Eastern Europe. The Hasids also have strong variants in beliefs among themselves and—with the notable exception of the Lubavitch—tend to stay to themselves in insular communities. Ultra-Orthodox Jews disagree sharply with Modern Orthodox on a range of issues. The strictest Orthodox Jews are often distinguished by their black garments, wide-brimmed hats, and peyas, or sidecurls of hair in front of the ear. How
to find an Orthodox community The National Jewish
Population Survey showed that although the Orthodox influence is felt nationally,
Orthodox Jews are concentrated
in urban Northeast areas to a greater degree than other Jews. In addition,
the 15 percent of all Jews who live in small
communities scattered around the United States tend to be less observant
and less likely to be Orthodox. Journalists can locate Orthodox communities
near them in two ways:
For more expert
sources, see ReligionLink’s issues on: • Allan
L. Nadler is director of Jewish studies at Drew University in New Jersey.
He was trained as an Orthodox rabbi but is now unaffiliated and writes and comments
extensively on Orthodox Jewish life. Contact 973-408-3941, anadler@drew.edu. • Yeshiva
University, based in Manhattan, is the flagship school of higher education
in Orthodox Judaism in the United States. Yeshiva is identified with the Modern
Orthodox movement. • The Association
for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry describes itself as “a cross-disciplinary
organization of individuals whose research concerns the Jewish people throughout
the world.” The association is a valuable resource for experts and the latest
research. SURVEYS POLITICS ARTICLES |
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