The Haredi World Wide Web, continued…

Posted by drdan on May 18, 2012 in End Of The Jews, MISChegass, North America | 0 comments

In Part Three (aka “the Future”) of End Of The Jews, I write about how the Haredi community, despite the many, vituperative protestations otherwise, is fired and wired.

On May 20, CitiField will be filled with ultra-Orthodox Jews angry about the interweb.  (Apparently, the klakyisroel twitter account opened to promote the event [as reported by the Forward here] cannot be found… hmm…)

That the event is being advertised online and that tickets may be purchased via email (oh wait, the tickets are sold out – but worry not, the overflow crowds can watch on simulcast from the 20,000-seat Arthur Ashe Stadium nearby) did not strike anyone as ironic… but what did strike some as definitely ironic was the following item on eBay - scalped tickets for the Asifa!! 

Kippah-tip to Dan Seiradski for the link …

Read More

A Jewish day school thought experiment

Posted by drdan on May 16, 2012 in North America | 1 comment

Inspired by Aurora Mendelsohn’s open-ended FB question about coming up with “a list of ways stuff that is taught in the classrooms of day schools is ignored by the day school community”, I thought of a different thought experiment…

With the malaise of Jewish education still as thick as malaise-ess (with its viscosity increasing exponentially since the 1989 Tikkun piece by Isa Aron on this subject), this is as good a time as any to start a free-wheeling discussion about the potential of a Jewish day school education.

But first, some rules of engagement.

Participants must agree that the tuition model as it currently exists is unsustainable, classist (But what’s wrong with being classy?) and excludes so many families from meaningfully engaging Jewish tradition on a daily basis.  So there is no need to further consider, discuss or condemn it any more than we already have…  We have other gefilte fish to boil.

Participants must agree that day school education is a content-rich linchpin for the future of a viable Jewish community.  (Summer camping is another…)

Participants must agree that despite all the hand-wringing, slickly produced brochures or Federation ads along Bathurst, day school education needs a good tweak, if not a solid kick in the pants.

So, let us call this imagined school BlueSky Jewish Academy.

Where would BJA be located?

Which aged-children would attend?

How much would it cost?

How would classes be organized?

What is the flow of a typical day?

What would its building look like?  (Is this important?)

Should there be a flag flying from the roof?

What innovative practices would it adopt?

What aspects of existing school paradigms would it incorporate?

What would elements of the status quo would it dispense with altogether?

If there are more questions I did not ask, feel free to add them below.

Let the collective yiddishe köpfe begin to knock into each other and shake the earth with its profound wisdom and guilt-ridden indignation!  I look forward to the ensuing hilarity.

Read More

A (late but) fitting tribute to Adam Yauch (aka MCA)

Posted by drdan on May 15, 2012 in MISChegass | 2 comments

I was deeply saddened when I heard about the passing of Adam Yauch on May 4.

He is one of the first musicians of my generation that I admired – and the first that died.

I imagine this is how fans felt when they heard Elvis was found dead in his washroom in 1977.  (I was seven at the time.  I think I knew who Elvis was.)

“License to Ill” may have been purposely stupid, but “Paul’s Boutique” was a masterpiece of obscure samples and clever lyricism.  I have two copies of “Paul’s Boutique” (on CD!!) – one that I have listened to so much that it is practically a liquid and the other, still wrapped in its original plastic wrap where it will remain in pristine condition until the End of Days.  I could go on, but suffice it to say that, for me, the Beasties’ oeuvre, from “Check Your Head” to “Hot Sauce Committee, Part 2″ command a prominent place in my aural consciousness.

So in the spirit of Yauch’s artistry and goofiness, I present the following clip in tribute… “Sabotage” (off “Ill Communication”), reshot with kids.  May Adam Yauch’s soul be bound up in the bond of eternal life.  Amen.

Read More

A moral argument for day school affordability

Posted by drdan on May 14, 2012 in North America | 2 comments

To say that day school tuition is breaking the Jewish middle class is not a contentious assertion.  It is practically axiomatic.  And yet… and yet…

So here is yet another cry for relief and a proposed solution – this time, from Rabbi Aryeh Klapper.

And, like the earlier proposal from Aurora Mendelsohn, it is based on a form of tithing.

Where Rabbi Klapper’s argument differs is not in outcome, but in tone.  His argument in favour is solely a moral one.  We must do something about day school affordability because inaction will destroy the community Jewish day schools are supposed to foster and nurture.

Rabbi Klapper explains:

Imagine that someone proposes a new Jewish practice that would have these consequences:

a. Parents take second jobs, or work longer hours, that deprive them of almost all weekday contact with their children and leave them too exhausted to make Shabbat meaningful.

b. Almost half of households are transformed, for years, from community contributors to charity recipients.

c. Children aspiring to intellectual, creative, or service work, such as teaching (especially Torah) or other helping professions, are told that these are not options because they will not produce enough money to sustain a committed Jewish lifestyle.

d. For economic reasons, families choose to have fewer children.

We would consider such a practice stunningly irresponsible.

Yes we would – and yet, as Rabbi Klapper argues, this is what happens when we weigh down the Jewish middle class with skyrocketing day school costs.

Rabbi Klapper plays out the costs and benefits of the tithing scenario here.  It is very worth reading and considering.

One more point which really kicked me in the kishkes:

The system also undermines the schools’ Jewish effectiveness.  If our children lack Jewish passion, doesn’t that bespeak parental exhaustion?  If they are materialistic, isn’t this related to their being told that their career paths are limited because they are poor?  When they show signs of being “at risk,” doesn’t this reflect lessened parental involvement?  How can children internalize the core Jewish value of human dignity and the spiritual value of financial independence when their schools make them dependent?

Ouchies.

I suppose we could continue on this path, arguing that the status quo has its problems but seems to be working just fine as we continue to bankrupt Jewish families and, as Rabbi Klapper argues, the values of the community in the process.

One can almost imagine, if the clamor grew loud enough, a letter from the local federation diplomatically addressing Rabbi Klapper’s argument.  The letter would empathize with the vast middle struggling to pay, agreeing that, in principle, yes, there is some financial distress out there.  (Would the letter also state that families must make sacrifices for Jewish education? – I wonder…) One can also imagine how further down the page, the letter would indicate the unprecedented levels of funding for day schools and how, with decrease in support for federation, funding could not increase any more than current levels.  One can also imagine no reference at all to Rabbi Klapper’s moral argument.

We have seen letters like this in the past and they are wholly besides the point.

Rabbi Klapper is not talking about philanthropy.  He is talking about fairness and equality – two consummate Jewish values. He is making the same argument that Occupy Wall Street made in Zuccotti Park (which was later adopted by Barack Obama under the guise of the “Buffett Rule”) and François Holland proferred during his run for the French presidency: Those with more need to pay their fair share – which means more.

If we are to have a community (and having one is another one of those pesky Jewish values), then we must ask ourselves what kind of community it will be if the price of admission ultimately turns away more people than it attracts.

Read More

Live tweets from End Of The Jews launch

Posted by drdan on May 11, 2012 in End Of The Jews | 0 comments

Read More

Let’s do launch – 7pm tonight!

Posted by drdan on May 10, 2012 in End Of The Jews | 2 comments

Perhaps this is the first time you have attended a book launch.

Do not be afraid.

Book launches happen all the time in all kinds of venues with few discernible side effects.

Tonight, End Of The Jews launches at the Miles Nadal JCC at 7pm.

Come early as delays at security can be considerable and seating is limited.

Here are seven five quick and easy tips for you so you can have a successful launch evening without causing harm to yourself, close family members or the environment.

1. Drink heavily before 7pm.  Alcohol is a great social lubricant.  It will promote feelings of solidarity and levity with fellow audience members.  More importantly, alcohol will give the impression that everything the speakers say is incredibly funny and insightful which will heighten the experience of excitement and joy.
2. Bring money to buy at least four copies of the book.  The End Of The Jews book launch is an event designed to promote End Of The Jews.  To participate fully in this event, you, too, will be called upon to help promote the book.  The best way to promote the book is to buy many copies (at least four is considered polite, but five is recommended) and give it to people you know with the following solemn admonition: “This book changed my life and you need to read it if you want to be happy and successful.  Seriously.”
3. Nod vigorously from your seat.  Nodding vigorously at the launch participants as they speak lets them know that you are listening and taking in what they are saying – and, most importantly, nodding indicates that you are in complete agreement with everything they say.  This is critical if the evening is going to be successful.
4. Avoid noisy snacks.  If you insist on eating during this important, life-changing event, refrain from eating food in plastic wrappers as they cause distraction and can potentially annoy the launch participants.  Fruit is generally acceptable because of its noiseless packaging, but eating snacks is really besides the point.  You are here to (a) listen [and agree] (see tip #3) and to (b) buy many copies of the book (see tip #2).  Stay focused!  Eat later.
5. During the Q&A, ask the launch participants easy questions.  Questions like “Is this book made of paper?” or “What is your favourite page number?” or (my favourite) “Do you know how much I love this book?” are welcome because they are not too challenging for the launch participants.  Remember, book launches are not venues for cheap, gotcha-journalism-type hectoring or penetrating conversation or insightful discourse whatsoever.  (See tip #2.)  The only exception to this tip is fawning compliment-making or queries about where else one can buy the book when copies run out.  It is best for you to prepare your questo-tainment info-queries before the event so the concluding portion of the program does not drag too long.

If you stick with these easy-to-remember tips, you and your spouse/friend/colleague will have a lovely evening filled with laughs, silent snacks and great gifts for unsuspecting peers and distant relatives.

I look forward to seeing you later!

Read More

Your buildings are empty because we are in the park, continued

Posted by drdan on May 4, 2012 in End Of The Jews, North America | 0 comments

Gary Rosenblatt has a piece this week in the New York Jewish Week about the war in Chicago between the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago and the University of Chicago’s Hillel.   Click here to get caught up on the back-story.

I highlight this piece because, in essence, it is the first concrete example of conflict between pre-radical-break Jews and Next Jews.  And I am loathe to portray it as a “conflict”, except that it is.

As Rosenblatt reported:

The Hillel board, in a March 28 letter to the federation, sought to restructure its relationship with federation and make the Hillel an “independent entity,” asserting that federation left it “in the position of either having a building without a program or a program without a building.”

The Hillel folks clearly preferred the latter while the Federation, it seemed, advocated firmly the former.   And when I say “advocated firmly”, I mean “forcibly enforced” as in, the federation fired the University of Chicago Hillel board and executive director Daniel Libenson on March 30 for their insistence on preferring programming over infrastructure.

Was preferring programs to buildings a misguided position?  After all, what is Hillel (or the Federation or Temple Beth…) without its building?

Libenson disagrees.  His greatest campus success – Shabbat dinners – is but one example as to why he prefers programs.  It also intimates to where Next Jews are going – and it’s definitely not into establishment edifices.

When Shabbat dinners happened in the Hillel building, Libenson pointed out, 30 students would come. However, when Shabbat was welcomed in a regular dining hall rented by Hillel, 200 would take part.   (That’s a 566% increase in attendance in case you were wondering.)

I will be talking more about this developing story at the May 10 book launch.  And I will be blogging here about the others that will inevitably follow as Next Jews begin to assert their own needs and, sadly, their predecessors ignore them.

Read More

#beinartvgordis and the marketing of Jewish education

Posted by drdan on May 3, 2012 in North America | 0 comments

I was live-tweeting the Tablet sponsored Beinart-Gordis debate last night.

If you like, you can search #beinartvgordis on twitter and sift through the madness or just watch the debate here.

I might have blogged about the exchange itself but, well, we all know better than to do that…  but I digress.

Toward the end of the debate, someone posed the following question to both interlocutors:  If you were in an elevator with a Jew totally disaffected with Israel and Jewish tradition, what would you say to her?

I should say that, generally, I am not a fan of Daniel Gordis.  But something he said really resonated with me, especially in light of the piece forwarded to me by Chuck English – which I will address later.

Dr. Gordis recounted the story of the ger (lit. “stranger” although some translate it as convert) who came to Shammai then Hillel and asked each to explain the whole Torah to him “on one foot”.   In the Babylonian Talmud (Shabbat 31a), as the story goes, a cheeky ger decides to have some fun with the two greatest luminaries of his day.  So he goes to Shammai’s house first, pounds on the door, rouses the elder to pose the question: “Explain to me the Torah on one foot.”  Shammai chased him away angrily.  (Shammai always was a bit of a hard-ass.)  Hillel’s reaction is less hard: “Do not do unto others that which is hateful to you.  The rest is commentary.  Now go and learn.”  And the ger did.

Gordis explained that the ger’s question was obnoxious and insulting:

I wouldn’t take two minutes to try to convince someone to be a moral human being … I wouldn’t try to explain why loving someone is more complicated, but worth it. Two minutes isn’t enough to take the place of years of upbringing. We are too used to trying to fit big ideas on an iPhone screen.

To ask anyone to sum up in two minutes or less everything that gives one meaning in life (and then try to convince someone else of its meaningfulness) can only reduce that thing to meaninglessness.

In other words, (and gird yourself for a leap) marketing is the apogee (or nadir?) of superficiality.  Furthermore, reducing complex, human experience and feelings into anodyne soundbites is nothing less than soul crushing.  (Unless it is on an iPhone … then, it may be soul crushing, but still wicked cool.)

Was that a bit strong?  Then how’s this, toned down from eleven?

Marketing has the potential to suck the life out that which it is trying to sell – and it generally does.  Perhaps, then, we should not use marketing techniques to “sell” Judaism…?

And the story makes that point too… sort of… because, the tale, as generally recounted, makes for a nice sermon about being nice and welcoming (it’s how Chabad rolls…) – but it is a corruption of the story as it appears in the sources.  There is not one ger but three.  The first came to Shammai and said he would convert to Judaism but only on the condition that he be taught only the written Torah.  “I believe you with respect to the written,” the ger says, “but not with respect to the Spoken Torah.”  (As an educator of pre-adolescents, I cannot bring myself to say ‘Oral Torah’.)  Shammai “scolded and repulsed him in anger.”  Hillel used a different method: trickery.  He taught the ger with one method on one day, then used a different method the next.  When challenged, Hillel replied (and I am paraphrasing): “As your teacher, I guess you trust me as to what these letters are – so why not trust me on matters of Torah?”  The second ger was the Torah-on-one-foot guy.  The third ger, an ambitious fellow, came to Shammai and asked to be converted so he could, one day, become the High Priest.  Shammai “repulsed him with the builder’s cubit which was in his hand.”  Hillel agreed to teach him.  Eventually, the newly minted Jew realized that not only he could not be High Priest but neither could King David – so he was in good company.  The happy ending: Some time later, the three converts met up and agreed: “Shammai’s impatience sought to drive us from the world, but Hillel’s gentleness brought us under the wings of the Shechinah.”

So perhaps a pithy rejoinder is enough to make a difference … if only Daniel Gordis had a really good copywriter with him in the elevator… (Peggy, where are you when we need you?)

However, what sermonizers tend to elide in their telling of this tale is that after the quick-witted Hillelian quips, the gerim actually sit down and learn. (Perhaps they do so under false pretences as Hillel does resort to trickery in two cases, but that is a blogpost for another time.) The tale obscures all the hard, oftentimes mundane work – but does acknowledge that, after many years, the gerim accumulate enough cultural capital (if I may wax sociological for a moment) to be literate, functional Jews.  Hooray!

So what else might be learned from this oft-cited tale besides the need for a sexy quip?  A sexy quip might attract you (or at least not repel you) but it is merely the opening sentence of a longer, millennia-long epic.  And this epic, if it is to be engaged-with seriously, demands commitment – and, as in the case of Jewish education today, a lot of money.

So here comes Chuck English with a new marketing widget for 21st century education: Parents still want 20th century metrics so give them what they want.  Perhaps I am reducing his argument to a sexy quip, flattening out its complexity and sucking the life out of it.   But I re-read his piece again.  And, really, there is very little more to it.  Yes, there is some acknowledgement of the value of 21st century educational goals, to create learners nimble enough to contend with challenges as of yet conceived.  But, as he quotes Seth Godin from Stop Stealing Dreams:

Parents don’t ask their kids, “what did you figure out today?” They don’t wonder about which frustrating problem is no longer frustrating. No, parents have been sold on the notion that a two-digit number on a progress report is the goal—if it begins with a 9.

So rather than try to educate parents and encourage them to transcend the old tyranny of the two-digit number, English advises (Jewish or independent school) educators to ostensibly give in: “We can’t be deluded by our own marketing material.”  Tell parents what they want to hear about the school and their kids… just get them in the door.  And then, like Hillel, do the ol’ bait and switch.

Where Shammai would chase away the disaffected with a stick and Daniel Gordis would not attempt to engage in light breeziness,  Chuck English espouses Hillelian pithiness, empathy and… duplicitousness (?).

Is there a fourth path?  Could we conceive of campaign where a well-crafted, blingy tagline attracts parents, but does not obscure or hide the school’s core Jewish values and pedagogical approach?  Do tell – in the comments section below.

Read More

Toronto Jewish Book Festival – June 4th at 1pm

Posted by drdan on Apr 30, 2012 in End Of The Jews | 0 comments

Join me on June 4th at the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library, 789 Yonge Street (at Bloor).

View Larger Map

From the Festival Program:

1 PM | $5 at the door
Reinventing Israel and the Jews: David Berlin and Dr. Dan Mendelsohn Aviv
David Berlin is an Israeli-born journalist who grew up in Canada but served his Israeli military duty as part of Ariel Sharon’s reconnaissance unit. He has taught at several universities, founded The Walrus and was editor-in-chief of The Literary Review of Canada from 1998-2011. The Moral Lives of Israelis – Reinventing the Dream State, is a blend of memoir, reportage and original thinking about Israel in the world. Berlin asks: how can Israel move forward?

Dr. Dan Mendelsohn Aviv has been engaged in Jewish learning as an educator, lecturer, professor, and published scholar for almost twenty years. He has recently returned to his greatest passion: classroom instruction at the Toronto Heschel School. In End of the Jews: Radical Breaks, Remakes and What Comes Next, Aviv writes that the Jewish people have weathered radical breaks with their past and are doing so again in the present moment. Who and what is the next Jew?

For information about the Book Festival, click here.

Read More

End Of The Jews launch panelists are three amazing individuals

Posted by drdan on Apr 30, 2012 in End Of The Jews | 0 comments

I am VERY EXCITED to be sharing a table with these people on May 10.  VERY EXCITED.

Lisa Goldman writes here and tweets at @lisang …

Janis Seftel blogs here and tweets at @martineseftelle …

Find Isaac Kates Rose here.

Read More