I’d like to offer a much simpler proposal: Just stop dumbing down Judaism. American Jews overwhelmingly receive excellent secular educations; they are exposed to the most challenging, rigorous, thought-provoking material available in science, philosophy, history, and literature. Yet they rarely encounter Judaism at a level more intellectually challenging than a kindergarten class. And as long as that’s true, Judaism will never be able to compete with the secular world for their attention.The author goes on the attribute the sustaining power of Orthodoxy to the seriousness which we devote to study. She writes:
But in the non-Orthodox community, Jewish education never comes close to the intellectual rigor of secular studies. Almost every American Jew who has attended a non-Orthodox Hebrew school can attest to this; just last week, the Forward ran a piece by an associate professor, Michah Gottlieb, deploring the lack of opportunities for serious Torah study at his childhood synagogue. My own experience is equally typical: During 12 years of Hebrew school, the numbing boredom was punctured by only two classes that offered comparable intellectual stimulation to my secular public schools–and both were taught by Orthodox rabbis. The difference was that they took classic Jewish texts seriously, insisting that we read, analyze, and debate them with the same rigor I encountered in secular history or literature classes.
The problem is that it’s hard to make the effort to delve into texts when you’ve been constantly told that these same texts reflect no more than the imaginative fancy of misogynistic, homophobic, xenophobic, superstitious males whose agenda was the preservation of their own power within a hierarchical and patriarchal system. When you are so busy reforming and reconstructing what you don't like about Torah and mitzvos, it's hard to make an about face and think that there is something there worth paying attention to.
"...insisting that we read, analyze, and debate them with the same rigor I encountered in secular history or literature classes."
ReplyDeleteNow if only they would allow that in chareidi yeshivos.
While I think it's necessary, and our neglect of aggadita (including Nakh) is deplorable, I don't think it had anything to do with assimilation. (As for yeshiva, there is a strong tradition of critical thought. The problem is that it is relegated to halakhah velo lemaaseh. So a talmid [on the upper half of the bell curve] wants to be convinced the lomdus he's taught really works, but still don't know whether he believes that Hashem is in shamayim or everywhere, whether Torah is more about sheleimus or achieving deveiqus, or even that these are two of numerous dialectics -- probably resolvable -- he already believes both sides of and should put thought to.)
ReplyDeleteHow many people commit to something because they see it's subtle and complex and has an abstract intellectual beauty?
How many people come to Carlebach minyanim?
Just before I was at Aish-Yerushalyim, they did an experiment and accepted 6 Boro Park post-high-school kids into the intro program. Full Chareidi: chinuch, malbush, families, the works.
DeleteAfter a few months, the kids left, saying they still didn't believe in Hashem.
BTW, many come for the Carlebach and stay for the abstract intellectual beauty. Because beauty is in the heart, and sometimes you need Carlebach to open the heart.
I did not want to throw any cold water on the credit the author gives the orthodox community, but ain hachi nami, there are flaws. My wife and I discuss this all the time based on what we see our kids learning, which seems so watered down compared to classes we had, which I am sure were watered down compared to what previous doros learned. That being said, even if a Carelbach minyan attracts you more than a R' Chaim, I think when push comes to shove almost everyone would be modeh that it's the R' Chaim's that are the serious stuff.
ReplyDeleteI was מתלבט for quite a while about this post [I can't think of a concise english word or phrase for that], but in the end: the R' Chaims are certainly significant [although the hakdama of the shiurei da'as might indicate otherwise], but it is the R' Tzadoks that are the serious stuff.
DeleteMe: "While I think it's necessary... I don't think it had anything to do with assimilation."
ReplyDeleteRCB: "[A]lmost everyone would be modeh that it's the R' Chaim's that are the serious stuff."
I see agreement. My point was only that while Ms Gordon found a real issue, I disagree with her that it's a major cause of the high departure rate.
The first thing to do is lose the whole "No Jew left behind" attitude. Sorry to sound harsh but that's why everything is dumbed down. The Rav in my shul does exactly that, presenting a harmless, fun Judaism devoid of any obligations or depth because he's worried that if he does so someone will huff "Well I'm not interested in Orthodoxy!" and leave.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if this Gordon is related to the maskil poet that used to calumniate about the Kelmer Magid, Reb Moshe Darshan. Of course, it's just as likely that she's related to Reb Leizer, or, for that matter, Flash.
ReplyDelete