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December 5, 2003/Kislev 10 5764, Vol. 56, No.11
Secular string attached to gift
JOE BERKOFSKY
Jewish Telegraphic Agency
NEW YORK - If Felix Posen had his way, American Jewish schools would teach the Bible less as a holy book than as a classic work of literature.
"You teach Judaism as a culture. You start with the Bible, the first piece of literature we Jews created," Posen said. "God is not dead; he is a literary hero like Anna Karenina."
Some may consider that heresy, but Posen maintains that about half of American Jews who identify as cultural Jews and do not affiliate with any religious denomination would agree with him.
That led the millionaire donor from London to become the first Jewish philanthropist to answer Wall Street wizard Michael Steinhardt's recent call for others to match his own $10 million pledge toward a $100 million Fund for Our Jewish Future, which would focus on Jewish education.
On Dec. 1, the Center for Cultural Judaism in New York, backed by the Posen Foundation, which is based in Lucerne, Switzerland, pledged $10 million to Steinhardt's proposed fund - provided that about half of the total money goes to teaching secular and unaffiliated Jews about Judaism from a cultural, non-religious viewpoint.
Steinhardt said he wanted to study the proposal further before commenting.
Posen and the center, which he supports and which serves as the clearinghouse for the Secular Humanistic Judaism movement, say the money would reverse a decline in Jewish activity by addressing the educational needs of those who consider themselves culturally Jewish.
Posen hopes his donation could be used to teach Jewish culture - whether it's modern literature, history or even Jewish holiday customs - from a non-religious perspective in Jewish schools, after-school programs and Hillels.
It's unclear whether other major funders who might want to contribute to Steinhardt's proposed fund would agree to Posen's conditions.
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