Shalom Kitat Dekel!
Here is a link to the article that I handed out in class: http://www.timesofisrael.com/thriving-us-indie-communities-roll-up-their-sleeves-to-do-judaism/
The questions you posed are:
Why do you think alternative services grew so quickly? Will these new/different types of Tefilah continue to grow? Do you have other ideas to positively involve the Jewish People living in the diaspora?
For homework, please enter your answers in the comments section.
Shabbat shalom,
Evan
Shabbat Shalom,
ReplyDeleteI think alternative services grew so fast due to appealing to a group that has not had something that appealed to them. Although many branches of Judaism exist, not everyone can associate with one of them. The Reform movement might be more “loose”, but there are people out there who think it is still too strict. All these people look for is a strong and supportive community, which is the goal of such alternative services.
I also believe that this new way of prayer will continue to grow, but not at the same rate. Firstly, there are only so many people left for it to get the attention of. Secondly, movements follow the same pattern nearly every time. At first things are slow, but pick up once the word is spread. From there it grows like wildfire. But after so long, the rate of new members will slowly start to die down due to engaging all that wish to be engaged. It has so far been very successful in involving thousands of people who previously chose not to be involved. Since the alternative prayer is still new to the world, people will continue to join rapidly. But eventually it will run out of people interested in joining and will slow down.
As for other ways to engage people, all I believe there is left is to continue what we’ve already been doing. By this I mean create new styles of Judaism with the hopes of engaging all sorts of people. So many movements have been created so far with this intent, but many more are possible. Everyone has something different that they enjoy, and these things are the keys to (success) increasing participation in Judaism.
I think that alternative services became popular among young Jews because they had difficulty relating to traditional services. Many people prefer these alternative services because they are "lively and musically oriented" and everyone is welcome. These types of Tefilah will continue to grow as the Jewish population's interests change. The need for alternative services is based on what young Jews can identify with. In order to positively involve the Jewish People, there must be engagement at services to keep their focus and interest.
ReplyDeleteI think that alternative services have grown quickly because it presents something new and more interesting than a classic service. I know that many jews are bored with their own religion, myself included some of the time. Many people are forced to have a bar mitzvah by their parents and then they quit going to hebrew school or even stop going to services of any kind. Having a platform like this where the program is not very restrictive, people appreciate the freedom of expression that they are given. This freedom makes it less judaism less of a chore and more of a positive, personal experience. I think that as these communities become known by more people they will continue to grow, capturing people who have been bored by their old communities. I think many times people become alienated from prayers in the diaspora and do not really know what they are saying. Learning more about what they are part of will connect people at a deeper level and those who do not feel part of it, will leave, and create an all the better community for those who are still in it.
ReplyDeleteI think that alternative services have grown so quickly because the world has changed so much so quickly, and people find a desire to adapt their religion to that. I think they'll continue to grow in the sense that as the world changes more, a greater number of jews will find that they need/want to adapt. This is really the basis of conservative judaism, and reform is the same, but not just changing once, actually continuing to adapt. I think jews living in the diaspora should visit Israel and Jerusalem in particular, at least once. Having been in Israel myself for the past couple weeks, I feel it has already changed my views a bit and it will continue. If people can look to just see how others experience judaism in Israel, I think it's beneficial for everyone to stop and look at how others conduct themselves.
ReplyDelete1. I think the services grew so quickly because they were new and interesting.It also seems like something that would appeal to the younger crowd promoting more people to attend the services.
ReplyDelete2. I think these new types of tefilah will continue to grow because of the newer generations who influence their communities. Also tefilah will adapt to the changes of our society in order to keep people coming.
3. I don't really have any ideas to positively involve the jewish people living in the diaspora. I think we are doing fine on our own and we can change if neccessary.
1) I think alternative services grew so quickly because young adults want to be involved in their temples and be Jewish but not in a very religious way
ReplyDelete2) Yes I believe these types of Tefilah will grow because more and more people want to be jewish and practice but in a new less religious and casual way that is different then going the normal synagogue.
3) I don't really have ideas to positively involve the Jewish People living in the diaspora, they are doing what they want to do and if the Jews want to join a synagogue or do what ever they can!
I think it was inevitable that the way people pray and practice their Judaism would change too. Because Jews are so spread out in the world, and because society has drastically changed, the way people function day to day will change, and yes that means that the way people practice their religion will evolve with the rest of the world. Despite the fact that yes, the way people are practicing Judaism is going to change. It's an ancient tradition, so sometimes modernizing it isn't the worst thing. And frankly when I was younger and attended Hebrew school and Shabbat services, I had very little connection to my Jewish identity, and it wasn't until I started celebrating my Shabbats at camp dancing and singing for hours at a time when I realized that being Jewish is who I am so proud to be. And The NFTY/ camp community is growing which means that people are getting involved and making that Jewish connection younger, in fact I think its amazing how many teenagers want to spend their summers away at camp instead of being home. I could on for hours about this, so I guess I'll leave it like this, I admire how Judaism is changing because it's being appreciated more by people, younger people, around the world.
ReplyDelete1) I think that alternative services have grown so fast because we live in a world that always wants the shiny new toy and that these services feed the publics hunger for new experiences.
ReplyDelete2) New types of tefilah will continue to grow because there is always going to be new ways of doing anything.
3)I feel that having different sects of Judaism will always be a problem when confronting the issue of connecting Jews.
1. I belive alternative services grew so quickly because people were getting tired of what they have been doing for so long, they start looking for new and more exciting ways to practice their beliefs. As the world gets more and more modernized, the way people practice religion will change too, so they are just changing and evolving with it.
ReplyDelete2. I think new types will continue to grow since the world is always changing and people will always be looking for ways to change with it. Some people always want the newest version of anything so I think it will keep growing, for people to be interested in it.
3.I don't have any ideas on it, I believe that it is fine if that's what the want but it shouldn't be forced in anyway.
1. I think alternative services may have grown so quickly due to being a new thing and it seeming like more of a fun thing to do than what they have been doing
ReplyDelete2. I think they will continue to grow just because they are something new to most people, I do think they may continue to change as well.
3. I don't have an opinion on this.
1) I believe that alternate services grew so quickly because people wanted change. Young people felt that being apart of a traditional temple was just that, traditional. They wanted to be more casual and laid back about their religion but still wanted a place to be Jewish.
ReplyDelete2) I think that these type of Tefilah will grow. I believe that this will become a trend for younger people to come who will then have children who will grow up in this environment and keep going to these same new places.
3) I do not know how to positively involve these people but whatever they do choose we should be accepting of because everyone has their own way to express their religion.