United Press International

February 20, 2003

Relearning to be Jewish

By Uwe Siemon-Netto

UPI Religion Editor

WASHINGTON, Feb. 20 (UPI) -- Being Jewish in America often seems a

contradictory existence. On the one hand, said New York Rabbi Ephraim

Buchwald, there is a "growing hunger for participation in Jewish life."

Immediately after Sept. 11, 2001, this phenomenon even took on a strong

spiritual dimension, which has since lost much of its thrust, Buchwald,

founder of the National Jewish Outreach Program, told United Press

International Thursday.

Nevertheless, he went on, the "hunger for participation, can lead to a

longing for God" that seems to parallel the increasing "thirst for God" many

Christian ministers have discovered.

On the other hand, the number of Americans identifying themselves with

Judaism is shrinking, primarily due to assimilation. Recent surveys show

that 54 percent of America's Jews have taken spouses from other religions.

In other countries, related NJOP spokesman Richard Dukas, "this situation is

even worse." In France, 70 percent of the Jews wed gentiles, in parts of

South America even 80 percent.

In the United States, the number of people declaring themselves as Jews has

gone down from 5.5 million to 5.2 million in the last decade, and of those

only one-third is affiliated with a temple or synagogue.

So how do you square the circle? If the "hunger" for Jewish identity is

there, so is the inhibition of many to enter a house of worship, observed

Buchwald. "A lot are afraid of walking into a synagogue because of the

stigma of religion. Many don't understand a word of Hebrew. It's often quite

alien to them."

What all this boils down to is this: "Who gets there first -- the secular

forces or the positive joyous experience of being Jewish?" asked Buchwald.

If the latter option is to prevail, this "joyous Jewish experience" has to

be learned, which is why six years ago Buchwald started an extraordinary

program designed to introduce Jews with little background in observance to

what he calls the joy and comfort of the Sabbath.

Titled Shabbat Across America, once a year this program links in celebration

almost 700 synagogues and other institutions, including Jewish chapels at

military installations such as Offutt Air Force Base in Nebraska. The next

celebration is scheduled for March 7. According to Buchwald, some 80,000

people participate each time.

In the sense, Shabbat Across America endeavors to let Jews who are still

distant from their religion sample its delights -- the richness, beauty and

meaning of the ritual, all of which provide an antidote to the pressures of

war and terrorism right now, Dukas said, or in fact to the of life at any

time.

This is how it works: Jews trying to learn more about their faith dial

1800-44HEBREWS or 1888shabbat and are directed to a "user-friendly service

at a local congregation," Buchwald explained.

As they enter, in Buchwald's words, "the portals of a synagogue with

trepidation," they are received by trained members who act as their guides.

They give the newcomers a skullcap, a prayer shawl and a hymnal and

accompany them into the sanctuary, where they stay with them to explain the

ritual to them.

The prayers are partly in English, partly in Hebrew, and in the latter case

the texts are transliterated into Roman script. During the half-hour service

the newcomers may ask questions at any time.

Then the hosts guide them to the traditional Sabbath dinner and explain the

theological meaning of the dishes. Why gefilte fish, for example? "Because

the bones were winnowed from the fish beforehand, which is to remind us that

on the Sabbath work, such as separating the chaff from the wheat, is

forbidden," said Buchwald.

In an era when people wolf down their junk food while rushing from one

appointment to the next, this utterly different Sabbath experience also

attracts Christians, said Maj. Kalman Dubov, a Jewish chaplain at Offutt Air

Force Base, who participates in Buchwald's program.

In fact, Buchwald said, there are Christians who seek the advice from the

National Jewish Outreach Program to organize similar celebrations in their

own churches.

Sabbath celebrations are an extraordinarily feminine event, the rabbi

explained. The Friday night hymn depicts the Sabbath as a bride or a queen.

One of the most important texts read at the celebration is the Ode to the

Woman of Valor from the Book of Proverbs in the Hebrew Bible.

"The service praises the women who worked so hard to set the Sabbath meal."

Remains the question: will such heart-warming experiences prove just a

one-shot deal? What about the rest of the year?

Buchwald said he sometimes had the feeling that "we are fighting a nuclear

war with a peashooter." Still, he is of good cheer: Many of the Sabbath

hosts invite newcomers to their homes the following week. Some of the

newcomers then attend services more regularly, especially young couples when

they have children.

But, the rabbi cautioned realistically, "We still have a long war to go."