“A Lifetim e of Learning” - Partnership for Excellence in Jewish ...

daism. Should conversion not take place, the chances that childrenwill be raised exclusively as Jews are higher in marriages where theJewish spouses have undergone more extensive and intensive Jewisheducational experiences. In other words, even in the event of initialintermarriage, accumulated Jewish education serves to furtherchances of Jewish continuity, either by increasing the likelihood ofconversion (making the intermarriage an in-marriage) or by increasingthe likelihood that the mixed married couple will raise its childrenexclusively in Judaism.PROMOTE EDUCATIONAL PARTICIPATION:LINK EXPERIENCESClearly, the Jewish community has a strong interest in promotingJewish education. The question is how to do that. In recent years,organized Jewry has indeed expanded participation in most majorforms of Jewish education, including Jewish pre-schools, dayschools, Israel travel, Jewish studies courses, and adult Jewish education.Advocates for Jewish education have increased capacity (moreschools, more camp beds), lowered costs (vouchers, free trips to Israel),enlarged personnel training programs, supported teachersalaries and benefits, developed better marketing, and strengthenedboards. One approach yet to receive much attention is that which focuseson improving the linkages among various educational experiences— that is, expanding the flow of students between and amongdifferent venues for Jewish education. This policy seeks to expandrecruitment by turning to the most likely candidates for more Jewisheducation — those who already experience some education.Participants in one form of education are likely to participate in simultaneousor succeeding forms. Those who attend pre-schools arefar more likely than others to move on to day schools, and eventuallyJewish camping, youth groups, and Israel experiences. Dayschool students disproportionately participate in the informal Jewishteen experiences, just as campers and youth group membersoverlap, and both are likely sources of participants in high schooltrips to Israel. Many youngsters certainly move from one experienceto another, but the rate at which they do so is far from universal andleaves much room for further expansion.PROSPECTS FOR THE FUTUREAbout half of all American Jews 22-39 years old are unmarried.Synagogues, JCCs and Jewish organizational life generally exertlittle appeal for them, leaving a majority of this demographicsegment institutionally unaffiliated. But their lack of affiliationshould not be taken as a lack of engagement with being Jewish.After all, if past behavior is any guide, the vast majority (over 90%)will marry; about half of those who marry will marry Jews; and, ofthese in-married, over 80% will at some point affiliate with a Jewishinstitution. Of the half who will marry non-Jews, most will reportfeeling positively about being Jewish, although the evidence regardinghow they raise their children shows that positive feelings forbeing Jewish do not generally translate into effective behavior thatsustains Jewish continuity. At the same time, notwithstanding themajor differences between in-married and intermarried, we shouldnot be led to believe that the in-married’s Jewish future is assured.For the non-married, synagogues, JCCs and organizational lifeare not particularly effective in bringing these Jews together. Thus,cultural events and social service opportunities may offer the bestalternatives for performing that function. Of course, one can (andshould) make other arguments on behalf of a culturally rich andsocially engaged Jewish community; but the social networking functionalone would seem to justify these endeavors as worthy of Jewishcommunal and philanthropic support.No single program or social policy offers the possibility of sweepingand immediate change in outcomes. No magic bullet will guaranteea culturally vital Jewish community in America that will engage thevast majority of Jews. Rather, the cumulative and interactive effectof the multiplicity of instruments of Jewish education and socializationcan have a profound impact on American Jews as a whole, asthey do now for only select numbers of American Jews. To take oneexample, the combined net impact of day school, youth group,Jewish camp, and Israel experience upon intermarriage amounts toapproximately 30 percentage points, enough to more than halve theA P U B L I C A T I O N O F Y I T Z H A K R A B I N H I G H S C H O O LUnfortunately, most professional directors of pre-schools, dayschools, camps, and youth groups seem to make little effort to recruiton behalf of other educational experiences that may coincidewith, or follow upon, their own. Much more can be done to mobilize,motivate, and incentivize the directors of the respectiveeducational agencies to encourage their students and participantsto consider other forms of Jewish education. Of all theas yet untried techniques for increasing enrollments in dayschools, camps, youth groups, and Israel experience programs,this route may be the most effective.“ A L i f e t i m e o f L e a r n i n g ” • P A G E 21