Jay Michaelson tries to hit the engagement nail on the head…
But bangs his own thumb!
Michaelson writes an essay in the Forward that in part I found excellent. Some really great points on tackling Jewish engagement. But he also makes some serious mistakes.
And then he swerves into far-Left land.
First of all, Michaelson claims,
“Steinhardt, an atheist, has spent a decade funding synagogues and religious institutions — and now he complains that they aren’t reaching atheists like him. Why is this a surprise? What’s needed is a belief in culture: artists, arts organizations, magazines, independent publishing, cultural education.�
This is complete nonsense. Even outside of Birthright, Steinhardt spent much of his largesse on cultural institutions like Makor, Hillel, and Jewish music festivals.
“No think-tank of white, straight men over 50 is going to create a Jewishness for smart, diverse, often multi-faith young people who shape their lives in the age of the iPod.�
I understand the “over 50� jab, but I do believe there were important women in Steinhardt’s organization and among his consultants, but if that wasn’t the case, fair enough.
But you are upset that there were too many white Jews, Jay?
What exactly do you think this is, a government sponsored initiative where “underrepresented minoritiesâ€? must be present in order to even start the meeting? Where “diversity” is trumpeted above all else? This is actually at least in part about promoting endogamy. At least in part. And the fact that there are gay Jews does not obviate that concern about Jewish continuity.
And we are dealing with the future of Jews. Not the future of South East Asians or Blacks or Hispanics.
Look in the mirror and deal with it, Jay. Hey, you don’t mind if I call you “Whitey,” do you, Jay?
I Like Jay Michaelson, and I think he is a smart guy. But when he gets on stage, he plays to the same, small fringe time after time. For instance, when I went to a Zeek release party, Jay instructed us to close our eyes and meditate on a string bean. I am sorry, but this is not for everyone. This is not for many people. This is not even for many JewBus.
Jay Michaelson creates exactly the type of “self-congratulatory bubbles� Michael Steinhardt is sick of pouring money into.
5 comments
Much credit goes to Steinhardt for his grand vision. I agree that Michaelson unfairly thumps him for the same reasons you stated, DK.
However, as someone commented on the Forward site, factors that are missing include education. Dayschools all over the country are struggling for funds and buildings- but especially for students. If a Steinhardt were to push Jewish schooling- and fund a wide range of options… ah, to dream.
By funding mostly pop culture, feel-good stuff, we’ve baked a cake made of icing- which tastes good for a moment, but is ultimately forgettable.
Your point about Jewish education is absolutely correct. It is insane to talk about Jewish continuity without Jewish literacy, and their is no Jewish literacy without Jewish education, and that means subsidizing private dayschools.
And we need quality Jewish educators. Not kiruvniks. And to cultivate non-haredi teachers (haredi teachers are a dime a dozen) we need stipends, scholarships, and better salaries.
It is deplorable how little the people of the book value Jewish education.
I LIKED the string bean medititation! precisely because it was so un-artsy, as opposed to some of the food/sex poetry that came before it… It felt religious instead.
This just in, C-Girl:
M.S. started the Partnership for Excellence for Jewish Education, funded DeLeT, funded the Grinspoon Steinhardt Awards.
That’s really great. But where are the teachers that have been through these programs and won these awards? I’m only seeing haredim in my neck of the woods.
The other issue we need to fix is finding ways to make dayschool education attractive and affordable.
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