Engaging Younger Generations

Over 20 professionals and lay leaders spent the last few months learning with Rabbi Sid Schwarz, in Co-Creating Our Jewish Communal Future, and exploring innovative approaches to engaging the younger generations. Read what they’ve been reading … “The Jewish Marketplace: Introducing the New American Jew”
How might we describe the current “state” of the American Jewish enterprise?
How Jews are living their lives and expressing their Jewish connections have radically changed. How contemporary Jews are accessing information, creating “community” and building relationships within the Jewish eco-system represent a different paradigm. The changes underway are producing a new type of American Jew.
In this paper we are studying a number of factors, including the changing characteristics of American Jewry. Section I describes Jewish communal practice by employing a comparative analysis of 20th and 21st century institutional culture. Section II explores the generic changes one can observe within American society that have implications for Jews. In Section III we identify specific behavioral patterns that are evident today in Jewish life. Finally, in Section IV, we explore the attributes or characteristics of Jewish communal behavior that contribute to the shaping of the New American Jew.
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