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September 22, 2000/22 Elul 5760, Vol. 52, No.55
Humanistic Jews explore 'bold option'
BARRY COHEN
Community Editor
At a time when candidates are professing their religious identities with the public; when Orthodox, Conservative, Reform and Renewal congregations are hustling to attract the unaffiliated; when "God" and "faith" are becoming badges of honor, hundreds gathered in New York City earlier this month to show there is another option.
Four members of Or Adam Congregation for Humanistic Judaism represented Phoenix at the International Federation of Secular Humanistic Jews' eighth Biennial Conference Sept. 8-10. The conference theme was "Choosing to Live as a Secular Humanistic Jew: A Bold Option for Modern Jewish Identity."
"We want to improve and increase membership so that it is better known, to be one more alternative, (one more) choice in the Jewish community," said Susana Brat, an Or Adam congregant and a board member of the national group.
"It was refreshing to see our numbers increasing in the country and around the world," she added.
The national organization counts some 50,000 secular Humanistic Jews living in 12 countries.
The conference featured a number of prominent leaders including U.S. Poet Laureate Robert Pinsky; former Israeli Minister of Education Yossi Sarid; film director and writer Lawrence Kasdan; Lucette Valensi, professor at the School for Higher Studies in Social Sciences in Paris; Ruth Calderon, founder and executive director of Alma Hebrew College in Tel Aviv, established in 1996 to promote study and advancement of Hebrew culture; and Yehuda Bauer, Holocaust scholar and chairman of Yad Vashem International Institute for Holocaust Research in Jerusalem.
"It was absolutely fascinating," said Sharon Lagas, another delegate from Phoenix. "There were dynamic speakers."
For her the highlight was Calderon, who shared her experiences growing up a secular Jew in Israel. "She single-handedly started a university," said Nadine Schwartz, past president of Or Adam. "She is working hard to develop the secular movement in Israel."
Lagas said what surprised her most during the conference "is how unorganized (secular Israelis) are." Brat said what the secular humanists want most in Israel is a separation between church and state. "Most Israelis are secular, but face the challenge of living in a theocracy," she said, referring to the powerful religious base in Israel.
Schwartz was most impressed by Valensi, who described that as a child in France, she considered herself to be French. However, her fellow citizens continually reminded her she was Jewish.
Schwartz anticipates many Or Adam congregants will be able to relate to Valensi's experience.
"How do we fit into mainstream America?" Schwartz asked. An ongoing challenge is "finding a place to fit in, a comfort level." Schwartz plans to apply what she learned at the conference to Or Adam's adult and children education programs.
Lagas said she has shared the information she gleaned at the biennial with an adult education class, where students meet monthly to explore "our secular humanistic identities (and) where it fits in the world."
She wants to use what she learned in New York to address secular Humanistic Judaism's biggest challenge in Phoenix - indifference.
"We need more professionals, leaders, teachers, rabbis," said Lagas.
Last year, the International Institute for Secular Humanistic Judaism ordained its first rabbi. Three more are slated for 2000.
Brat said she enjoyed hearing "from public personalities how they deal with the subject of secular humanism, and how they integrate it with their public life."
In most situations, Brat remarked, "I need to relegate secular ideas to be more careful with how I present them because there are some negative views in society in general ... about what 'secular' means."
At Or Adam, Brat said, she has learned "to connect Jewish identity with my philosophy of life."
At the biennial, delegates passed a declaration, reading in part: "In a free society Jewish identity has now become a matter of choice. ... One of the most important options in contemporary Jewish life is choosing to live as a secular and Humanistic Jew."
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