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April 2, 1999/16 Nisan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 27
Marketing Judaism: Is it right?
MARTY LATZ
Special to Jewish News
I was working at home recently when the doorbell rang. Not expecting anyone, I peered through the peephole and saw two young women who, while unfamiliar, looked relatively harmless. So I opened the door.
The brunette introduced herself and asked if I had a minute. Curious, I said, "sure." She then asked me if I had "found Christ, our Lord." Without really waiting for a response, she handed me a pamphlet. My phone rang, I thanked her politely and shut the door.
I immediately threw the pamphlet into the recycle bin. That sort of thing is OK for other faiths, I thought, but not for Judaism. I felt fortunate our faith isn't so aggressively preachy.
That is, until I read Joseph Aaron's column (Jewish News, March 26) in which he argued we "need to market Judaism like Coke and McDonald's."
This offended me - as did much in his piece. He began innocuously, saying that the most important question facing Judaism today is "Why be Jewish." We do need to think about this question and consider how Judaism enriches our lives.
But Aaron then progressed to denigrating the special qualities many find in Judaism. Our unique value system. Israel's special nature. Our long and proud history.
For example, he wrote,"Is identifying one's self as Jewish the ticket to a carefree society? No. Are there Jewish leaders and heroes alive today that one would gravitate to? No. Is being part of the Jewish community . . . the simplest way of life? No."
These apparently represent - to Aaron - reasons not to be Jewish. But is our goal to get a "ticket to a carefree society" or to find "the simplest way of life?" No. And what about heroes like Elie Wiesel and Gerda Klein? They lived through the horrors of the Holocaust and have spent their lives educating the world about the consequences of hatred.
Aaron also stated that for "most of our history, we were stuck - stuck with each other, stuck with being Jewish. ... You were Jewish because you were Jewish and you had no say and no choice."
Even if it were true - and I don't believe it was - what's so wrong with being "stuck" as a Jew? I'm proud to be Jewish, and so, I suspect, were most of my ancestors.
Aaron apparently feels we have a choice. "Judaism," he states, "instead of being a destiny, is now an option." So we "need, more than anything, a marketing campaign. Selling Judaism to Jews."
What baloney. Sure, as I recently argued here, we must reach out to disconnected Jews and those in interfaith marriages and "enlighten them as to the warmth, spirit and joy of the Jewish experience." And we should communicate a "positive message and inspire them with what Judaism offers."
But this is light-years away from "marketing Judaism like Coke or McDonald's." Judaism is not a product to be hawked in 30-second commercials. Its success is not measured by how many "buy" it. We shouldn't use our time and hard-earned money to pitch Judaism door-to-door, banking on converts to maintain our faith.
No. Aaron is dead wrong and his attitude toward Jews, our values, our history, our choices, and our leaders will ultimately be destructive to our faith.
Aaron concludes with what he believes is the second most important question facing Judaism today - whether Jews will take up his challenge to market Judaism like McDonald's. I certainly hope not!
Marty Latz is a Valley attorney and negotiation consultant. Send comments to mlatz@negot.com.
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