Thoughtful discussion needed from all parts of the community

BY LARRY LEVIN

Last weekend I was asked to give a D’var Torah by the kind members of Brith Sholom Kneseth Israel congregation. The parshah was Noach, and I was asked to talk about the relationship of this portion to modern environmentalism.

The basic thrust of the D’var related to elements of the debate rabbis have had for centuries concerning Noah. Sure, he follows God’s orders to the letter in his ark preparation and animal gathering. But he expresses no outrage about the destruction of the world that precedes the flood.

Noah’s obeisance has been interpreted by some as troubling: Though he was described in the Torah as a righteous man in his time, it seems that Noah’s brand of righteousness is a narrowly proscribed one, doing only what God specifically asks of him. There’s nary a suggestion that he is capable of using that most precious of God’s gifts — free will — to assert himself regarding the impending doom of all humankind.

It is in this context that I’ve contemplated Barry Rosenberg’s piece on the thriving of the St. Louis Jewish community. As past weeks’ respondents have noted, Rosenberg is to be commended for raising the issues critical to our future success.

Rosenberg outlines nine areas of concern that emanate from four key goals. It’s apparent from the responses so far that certain of these areas — particularly encouraging young Jewish adults to stay in or come to St. Louis — resonate more than others with our analysts to date, who comprise rabbis and lay Jewish and community professionals.

If you read Rosenberg’s piece and the responses, then you realize that this is not a mere hypothetical exercise. If the desired outcome is ultimately to match scarce human and financial resources to key priorities, then we need to have a hardcore community debate about those things we deem most critical to our prosperity.

It is easy for us in the communications business to encourage and even facilitate the debate, but to do so is no guarantee of success. You as community members represent the fulcrum that will push the dialogue in a constructive manner. Maybe the initial stages will feel uncomfortable, but I am not aware of any successful decision-making process that didn’t struggle through the voicing of various opinions.

Perhaps you believe your voice will make no difference. Perhaps you’re jaded in your conception that leaders or funders have guided the agenda for so long that your opinion will be ignored. Perhaps you are a member of a subgroup of the Jewish community that has been the focus of criticism from others within this same community, and you have “checked out” on participation.

My response to all of these concerns falls within the prescription of tough love:

Get over it, jump in and tell us what you think.

Believe me, I understand that we as a community haven’t always handled our discussions in the most respectful way. We see that reflected sometimes in the harsh language of letters to this publication.

But as we’ve noted in these pages previously, the only path to achdut (unity) is through dialogue and fair debate. Otherwise, we will by our inaction allow the path to be defined by a small number of folks who have, through resources, committed involvement or other means of influence, guided the process in the past.

That won’t pass muster this time. Rosenberg isn’t answering the questions, he’s posing them. If he, in conjunction with his lay Federation leadership, is asked without input to decide which of these nine areas gets the gelt and the attention, then we only have ourselves to blame if the roads taken or results reached are inadequate.

If you allow Rosenberg to both ask and answer the questions, then you haven’t fulfilled the responsibility that accompanies free will. And our community will be diminished by your lack of involvement.

Our St. Louis Jewish community will only be as strong as the collective wisdom, energy and resources that are invested in it by all of you. It’s your time to speak and speak loudly. Don’t ignore your chance.

Larry Levin is Publisher/CEO of the St. Louis Jewish Light.

Making the world thrive through tikkun olam

BY KAREN KALISH

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

I am a tikkun olam junkie. Finding stuff to do in the community — especially the Black community — that repairs it, empowers it — makes my socks go up and down. I love tutoring little Leon at Confluence Academy and training police recruits and Sigma Aldrich employees to read with kids in the St. Louis Public Schools.
While I know I’m but one of many Jewish volunteers in our community, what if we all stepped it up? What if we all performed more mitzvoth and g’milut hasadim (acts of loving kindness) and gave a little more tzedakah (justice and righteousness)? What if, as a community, it became a way of life for more of us?
Tikkun olam and relationship building are my answers to questions posed by Barry Rosenberg last month in the Jewish Light: What is our vision for the future of St. Louis and American Jewish life? What must we do today, to ensure we thrive in the future?
For us to thrive, everyone has to thrive. And how do we make that happen? By having our Jewish community see tikkun olam as our responsibility. By pitching in and doing our part. Our responsibility to change, improve, and fix our earthly surroundings is powerful and huge — no question about it. It implies that each of us has a hand in working toward the betterment of our community, as well as the lives of future generations.
Tikkun olam means working in all communities, not just Jewish communities. We Jews are members of the wider community, and as such, our actions must not be limited to our own communities. Helping those who are in need, no matter in what capacity, is crucial and “holy” work.
It is said that the ultimate goal of mitzvot is for moral and religious values and deeds to permeate the Jewish people and ultimately the entire world. A vision of social justice is rooted in the Jewish commandment to remember the experience of slavery and the Exodus from Egypt because “we are all harmed by oppression directed at any group or individual.”
And make no mistake. We still have oppression in our region. Disparities and inequities permeate all aspects of our society - economic, social, and psychological, and affect education, healthcare, the criminal justice system and economic development. Our community needs to change. We need to be more inclusive, decrease bias and discrimination and increase equality.
I’m proud to know that we American Jews have a rich history of championing the cause of social justice in our country, like when we were at the forefront of the Labor movement and the Civil Rights Movement. The problems we have today — racism, poverty, illiteracy, lack of healthcare for all — are just as great, if not greater, than they were during the Jim Crow era, though not as visible to many of us in our self-segregated neighborhoods. But out of sight is not out of mind and too many people in our community need our help. There is no end to helping all people who don’t have our opportunities.
Opportunities for service to repair or perfect the world are endless: There are so many times we need to stand up and speak out; there are too many students who read below grade level who we could tutor; we all have neighbors who need a ride to the doctor. What about going with your family to help build a house, volunteer at the Kornblum Food Pantry, serve at a soup kitchen. Doing these things, especially with our families, sets an example and is as important a lesson as piano, or gymnastics or even Hebrew!
To thrive we need to have “the right people on the bus” to use a phrase from Good to Great. We are the right people. It’s our mandate to pursue social justice and righteousness. Tikkun olam is right up our alley. Tikkun olam is G-d’s work. It is tzedakah. It gives us a world where everyone thrives, including the Jews.

Karen Kalish is founder and executive director of Cultural Leadership.

Bringing Jews to area is key to future

By Rabbi Mark L. Shook

Planning for the future is risky business. Barry Rosenberg’s paper on the future of the Jewish community in St. Louis is therefore an act of courage. Someone needs to take the first step, and who better, than the person who provides the professional leadership of our Jewish Federation. But therein hides a potential problem. Federation leadership cannot afford to alienate sectors of the community. Strategic planning ideas cannot anger major donors or potential major donors, even when those ideas have great merit. In an effort to be all inclusive and diplomatic, it is difficult for Mr. Rosenberg to talk tachlis — to say what is truly on his mind, or to propose solutions that may work but disappoint dedicated community volunteers.

Toward Thriving is also an unbalanced approach to the future of Jewish life in St. Louis. There is an emphasis on developing strong and effective St. Louis ties to Israel. Some may question the assumption that Rosenberg accepts as a given, that Israel is the center of Jewish civilization. I have no problem with calling for the promotion and celebration of Israel. In measuring the creativity of all aspects of Jewish culture, Israel is far from being the exclusive center. In a sense, it appears that the driving purpose behind Mr. Rosenberg’s paper is to create a Jewish community that will not shirk its responsibilities toward Jewish philanthropy. Certainly a very worthy goal, but without Jews there will be no Jewish donors.

It is only when he discusses the need to retain and attract young Jews to St. Louis that he touches on the true heart of the matter. Developing strategies that bring more Jews to St. Louis should be the priority. Everything else, with careful planning and execution will follow. The Midwest is losing demographic ground to the South and the West. Jewish schools of all types cannot exist without Jewish children. In spite of Mr. Rosenberg’s effort to leave external factors out of the discussion, they can only be set aside at our peril. Our world is growing smaller everyday.

Rabbi Mark Shook is Senior Rabbi of Temple Israel.

Opportunities for growth

BY RABBI HERSHEY NOVACK

“Who is wise: One who sees what will become.”
— Mishne Avot.

Barry Rosenberg, Executive Vice President of the Jewish Federation, must be credited for crafting an essay laying out his ideas for the future of the Jewish community in St. Louis. As the focus of my work is geared toward developing accessible and meaningful Jewish educational experiences for college students and young adults, much of the essay is beyond the scope of my work.
I wish to add two ideas to the discussion. A comment on attracting young Jews to St. Louis based on my discussions with young people; and a thought on a topic dear to me — and quite relevant to a thriving Jewish future — the need for increased Jewish literacy and education.
For St. Louis to be a “preferred community for young Jews,” the region as a whole must thrive.
Young Jews who come to St. Louis for college are mobile and unlikely to stay in St. Louis after they graduate if they will be unemployed or underemployed. Evidence backs this up — each year we survey grad students about what it would take to keep them in St. Louis after they graduate and the most common response is “jobs.” These jobs will emerge out of the overall health of the St. Louis regional economy. If our regional economy is sluggish, it will be that much more challenging for us to compete with larger Jewish metropolises such as New York, Chicago, and Los Angeles to attract young Jews. On a macro level, there is little we can do as an organized Jewish community to influence these external processes — instead, we ought to engage with civic progress groups to strengthen the general economic base, which, in turn, will directly influence the future of the St. Louis Jewish community.
Jewish literacy and education are topics near to my heart, and I think about them every day.
Much of what ails the Jewish community, such as declining affiliation, philanthropic shrinkage, societal assimilation, can be understood as symptoms of a larger problem — a lack of relevant Jewish education. We must reposition Jewish education as a centerpiece of our community, for investment in Jewish education pays dividends in many areas: leadership development, decision-making, and philanthropy, to name a few. Professor Steven M. Cohen sums it up well: “The results are in: Jewish education works. Studies of specific experiences (e.g., camps, or day schools, or Israel experiences) as well as studies of combinations of experiences document the impact of Jewish education in almost all its varieties shows a striking correlation between Jewish education and involvement.”
Let us develop a culture that values Jewish education of the young, old and everyone in between. Together, we can reclaim knowledge of the treasure-trove of literature that make up our rich spiritual and cultural legacy. This would translate into deepened communal involvement and a greater potential for a thriving Jewish community in St. Louis.
“It is not upon you to complete the task, but you are not free to idle from it,” — Mishne Avot. May we together stride into a Jewishly bright and literate future.

Rabbi Hershey Novack, is director of Chabad on Campus – Rohr Center for Jewish Life.