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Monday, December 08, 2008

Orthodox synagogues reach out to unaffiliated Jews 

For decades, Reform and Conservative synagogues across the Hudson Valley have strategized, plotted and prayed over how to connect with some of the many unaffiliated suburban Jews who have few ties to Jewish life other than Philip Roth books.

Now the smaller but fast-growing modern Orthodox community is joining the expedition.

The Orthodox Union, the influential representative of more than 1,000 Orthodox congregations, is working with three New York synagogues on novel ways to reach disconnected Jews — starting with small steps and a non-judgmental approach.

The three congregations are the Hebrew Institute of White Plains, the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation and the Bialystoker Synagogue on Manhattan's Lower East Side.

Stephen J. Savitsky, president of the Orthodox Union, said Orthodox synagogues need not concede that the more liberal movements are in better position to reach out to Jews who have strayed from observance but may have a curiosity about the religious lives of their ancestors.

"The only segment of Jewish life that's growing is Orthodox Jewry," Savitsky said. "When you listen to all the things that Jewish leaders talk about - why aren't we able to grow? Why aren't our kids more involved in Jewish life? - Orthodox Judaism has it going. If people opened their eyes, they would see that Torah is the glue that holds the Jewish people together. Without Torah, you cannot survive long term."

Savitsky spent Friday and Saturday -the Jewish Sabbath - at the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation, the only Orthodox synagogue in northern Westchester, which recently joined the Orthodox Union. The congregation almost shut down during the early 1990s, but was revived by a few members and is now thriving with more than 100 families.

Rabbi Aaron Goldscheider of the Mount Kisco Hebrew Congregation said his congregants were excited to be working with national OU leaders on new ways to reach Jews who have lost touch with their religious roots.

http://www.lohud.com/article/2008812080350

Comments:
I wish them much success. There are too few Orthodox rabbis who understand and accept people like me, a non-observant Orthodox person who is not comfortable in any other type of shul. I believe in the torah, but not in the emendations of rabbis.

 

The reason the Orthodox is growing is that they are having so many kids.
The non-orthodox have a birthrate that is so small that they are shrinking.
If the two birthrates were similar the picture would be very different.

 

9:14 AM:

At my shul and others (and of course, Chabad), we don't check your tzitzis at the door. If you want to daven, and you don't do anything overtly improper, you are welcome.

9:49 AM:

Regarding the logic employed in your post, or the lack thereof, I am reminded of that university professor who would write on essay answers using similar tactics, "And if I had wheels, I'd be a bus."

 

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