Noah Feldman’s Post

Shalom Noah, I just read your Washington Post article. I think you missed the most significant difference between younger Progressive Jews and their parents and grandparents.  Younger Progressive Jews are statistically far more likely to be products of intermarried families and, as a result (see below), less connected to Judaism or Israel. According to the most recent Pew Poll among Jews who were wed before 1970, 17% have a non-Jewish spouse. Among Jews who got married since 2005 , 45% are married to a non-Jew. To Quote JTS Professor Jack Wertheimer: “Among those findings, as many as 2,100,000 Americans of some Jewish parentage – overwhelmingly the offspring of intermarried parents - do not identify themselves as Jews. Our analysis of Pew and other national and local surveys shows that intermarried families are considerably less likely to join synagogues, contribute to Jewish charities, identify strongly with Israel, observe Jewish religious rituals, or befriend other Jews. Exceptions aside, the large majority of intermarried families are loosely, ambivalently, or not at all connected to Jewish life." That is by far the most significant generational difference and the most plausible explanation for the phenomena you discuss.

Noah, Great job of listing of all the substitute ideologies Jews have chased in the past century and the most recent transformation. You are just missing the obvious. All these successive attempts that redefine Judaism to a man made idea are doomed to failure. You are desperate to deny that Judaism is built solely on a belief in G-D and His Torah . Any ideology based on human understanding, will be found flawed by the next generation. I hope this trauma we are experiencing opens our eyes to the true spriritual path which is the only function of the Jewish people. When false ideologies collapse, it can be very painful!

We are all Dreyfus

Congratulations, Noah! An important and timely work. I look forward to learning from it.