Earnestly Jewish

Editorial

How important is being Jewish in your life?

The conundrum, posited in a United Jewish Communities report assessing the impact of Jewish education on Jewish identity, raises a crucial challenge. Drawing on data from UJC's 2000-2001 National Jewish Population Study, researchers looked at formal and informal Jewish education, including home environment, utilizing six measures of Jewish identity.

What they found is a direct correlation between Jewish education and Jewish identity, between children who are Jewishly knowledgeable and adults who seriously acknowledge their Jewishness.

This not-so-surprising revelation is a heartening confirmation of the value of our Jewish communal day schools and supplemental schools now opening their doors for another year.

The UJC study, which looked at adults age 50 and younger, and born to at least one Jewish parent or raised as Jews, showed that the longer the duration and more intensive the schooling, the greater the impact on Jewish identity. Variables ranged from inmarriage to synagogue affiliation to the acknowledged importance of being Jewish. Data shoring up the findings revealed:

96 percent of children who attended day school for seven or more years inmarried (married another Jew)
76 percent of children who attend supplementary school for seven or more years inmarried
42 percent of children who attended Sunday school inmarried
33 percent of children who received no Jewish schooling inmarried.

Interestingly, and perhaps predictably, the study suggested that Jewish identity is strengthened when formal Jewish education is combined with informal experiences, such as Jewish camp, youth group and Israel travel.

Nurturing Jewish children is demanding, expensive work. It requires a continuing commitment by the community to support existing institutions while encouraging innovative programs and funding strategies.

Our Student Tuition Organization, which provides day school scholarships through a state tuition tax credit, is one example, as is the Gift of Israel program. But camp scholarships, incentive grants for religious schools, subsidies for youth groups and wider participation in the STO would help us to multiply the options and parlay community dollars into a ready return on investment.

We know the importance of being Jewish; we need to stay the course in being earnest about it.

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