The Miracle of Jewish Pandemic Giving
Long criticized in certain quarters for being, in essence, too Jewish, Jewish donors have risen admirably to the coronavirus occasion, proving their value once again.
What the Coronavirus Has Shown—and Concealed—about the Long-Term Health of America's Many Synagogues
No one should confuse the short-term impact of the pandemic with the decades-long erosion of Jewish religious participation.
How Will Synagogues Survive?
It’s been a year since most American synagogues closed their doors. Will the practices they adopted to survive undermine their prospects when the pandemic ends?
American Judaism's Old Dinosaurs Roar Again
After being written off for years as slow and outmoded, Jewish federations and other large institutions are proving themselves indispensable in their response to COVID-19.
Podcast: Jack Wertheimer on the New American Synagogue
In the third and final episode of our podcast series, the eminent scholar of American Jewish life brings us into the typical synagogue to show how deeply it’s changing.
Podcast: Jack Wertheimer on the Many Rapid Changes in the Religious Life of American Jews
Reform, Conservative, and Orthodox look much different from the way they appeared fifty years ago. In part two of our conversation, we look at what’s changed.
Podcast: Jack Wertheimer on the New American Judaism
The eminent historian of American Jewish life stops by to talk about the findings in his latest book The New American Judaism: How Jews Practice Their Religion Today.
American Jews: Doomed to a Thin Culture with No Future?
To avoid that fate, rabbis and synagogues might begin by acknowledging where and how Judaism differs, and proceed from there.
The New High Holy Days
What happens when, once a year, the urge to accommodate every consumer fashion meets massive Jewish cultural illiteracy?
Israel: The Canvas on Which American Jews Project Their Hopes and Fears
From the founding years to the recent years of strength, American Jews have always seen in Israel what they wanted to, not what was necessarily there.
American Jewry's Great Untapped Resource: Grandparents
They’ve got time, money, and love to spare, and there are more of them than ever. Why isn’t the Jewish community enlisting their help?
No Apology for Alarm
Are there any data capable of persuading our critics that something is seriously amiss with American Jewry?
The Pew Survey Reanalyzed: More Bad News, but a Glimmer of Hope
Last year’s survey of American Jews brought dire news—rising intermarriage, falling birthrates, dwindling congregations. Our reanalysis confirms the message, and complicates it.
The Unresolved Dilemmas of Modern Orthodoxy
Everyone agrees that the movement needs to rethink and revamp. Very few agree on how.
Can Modern Orthodoxy Survive?
The culture wars have come to the Modern Orthodox movement. Is a schism on the horizon?
Great Expectations—A Reply to My Respondents
Encouraging more Jews to marry Jews and more intermarried families to convert to Judaism.
Intermarriage: Can Anything Be Done?
The battle is over; or so we’re told. A half-century after the rate of intermarriage in the US began to skyrocket, the Jewish community appears to have resigned itself to the inevitable. But to declare defeat is preposterous.