Reversing The Tide of Assimilation

Study Shows Success of RAJE in Reducing Intermarriage to 6%

Assimilation is like the weather. Everyone discusses it, but no one does anything about it. Well, it appears that another supposedly inviolate axiom may have fallen by the wayside. A front page article in the January 7th issue of ‘The Jewish Week’ reports that of the 35% of RAJE alumni who have married since completing the RAJE Fellowship program, a remarkable 94% found spouses within the faith. This 6% intermarriage rate is far better than the 17% found among Russian Jews in New York and a dramatic improvement over the 28% for Birthright alumni. Currently, about 11% of Russian Jews in Brooklyn, males and females between the ages 18-30 have participated in the program, and if the organization receives the needed backing, there is every reason to believe that the vast majority can be reached. These results come from an extensive study by the Research Institute for New Americans led by Sam Kliger, director of Russian Jewish Community Affairs at the American Jewish Committee. In addition to the heartening marriage statistics, the study found that RAJE alumni were also heavily involved in Jewish philanthropy, observing religious practices and were active supporters of Israel; http://www.ajpa.org/news/211141/Research-Institute-for-New-Americans-RINA.htm all indexes of connection to the faith.

The influence of the RAJE initiative extends beyond curbing rampant intermarriage. The study also found that 22% of the alumni had become fully Shabbat observant, a very impressive figure, when considering that virtually all the students entered the program with almost no religious background. In all, 67% of RAJE alumni consider Shabbat observance integral to Jewish practice, a major attitude shift for a community quite removed from any form of Mitzvah observance. In addition, 59%have attended some Jewish educational program or class in the past year. Another telling statistic is that 38% celebrated Shavuot at RAJE’s all night learning program. Truth be told, the assorted cheesecakes and ice creams were also quite appealing and really that’s the key to RAJE’s success, understanding how to reach their young charges.

Before crunching the numbers, let’s take a closer look at this incredible institution which has; in just its first decade, bucked the odds and demonstrated that its paradigm, bringing people closer to Judaism through Jewish education, is a model that works. RAJE, which stands for Russian American Jewish Experience, was founded in Brooklyn in 2006 by Rabbi Mordechai Tokarsky a product of the Rabbinical Seminary of America (Chofetz Chaim), who was born in the former Soviet Union. Rabbinic Ordination in hand, he recognized the need to reach out to his fellow émigrés, most of whom had scant knowledge of their Jewish heritage. Rather than trying to reinvent the wheel, Rabbi Tokarsky took inspiration from the existing Birthright program, which offered free trips to Israel and used a similar incentive to attract college aged Russian Jews. What he added however, was a structured curriculum of Jewish education disseminated by a staff of carefully culled educators who present the religion in an extraordinarily positive light. Most of the staff have a similar Russian immigrant background so they are acutely attuned to the needs and interests of the students. It’s also important to note that the RAJE Israel trip is both longer, 15 days, versus 10 for Birthright and is far more educational, with many hours of classes and interactive learning experiences. Essentially, those who enroll in the RAJE program experience a half a year of Jewish education, as opposed to Birthright which is a 10 day engagement largely devoted to Israeli sightseeing.

As for the numbers themselves, well they don’t lie and they behoove us to ask, ‘Why haven’t other outreach organizations followed RAJE’s approach?’ I would suggest that many such organizations don’t have the proper attitude towards the beauty and relevance of true Judaism. As the renowned school administrator Marvin Schick noted in his analysis of the Pew Report, the message of love and acceptance without educational substance, has made little inroads into curbing the scourge of assimilation. Rather than providing more than 250 hours of Jewish learning, as does RAJE, others provide “bread and circuses” focusing on social events such as Challah baking, Purim parties and the like, with an occasional simplistic lecture of little substantive content. What they’re really selling is ‘bagels & lox’ Judaism, lacking real depth an approach which doesn’t resonate in our turbulent times.

As to be expected some would seek to dismiss the evidence of RAJE’s phenomenal results. The powers that be often feel threatened when a new approach works better than the “accepted system.” Some have tried to claim that the 11% of all 18 -30 year old Russian Jews in the NY area who were attracted to RAJE since its inception, are not representative of their peers. The Jewish Week article quotes the opinion of unnamed experts who suggest that perhaps ‘the RAJE cohort is a small segment of the Russian Jewish community here, the majority of whom are not drawn to its intensive program’. This skeptical attitude is plainly contradicted by the study, as Sam Kliger asserted, in a recent interview for eJewish Philanthropy, “Data analysis (comparing data from Birthright participants of Russian background to RAJE participants) suggests that RAJE participants have Jewish backgrounds similar to their Birthright Israel counterparts, with the notable exception that RAJErs actually have significantly less formal Jewish education than those participating in the Birthright Israel trip. Only 32% of RAJE participants had any formal Jewish education vs. 55% for Russian Birthright alumni. For more than two thirds of those who enroll at RAJE this program is their first exposure to Judaism, but as we’ve demonstrated the experiences engender for most a lifelong commitment to the faith. Given these results, it’s time for the establishment to reconsider its objectives and reevaluate its assumptions regarding what works best in Jewish outreach.

To be sure it’s not easy to stem and actually reverse the tide of assimilation. There’s a second factor which must be addressed; to wit the negative stereotyping of Judaism promulgated by the entertainment media for the better part of a century. Whether it’s “Seinfeld’s” mocking of Jewish ritual, Woody Allen’s glorification of the gorgeous gentile, and going all the way back to Al Jolson rejecting his faith in the 1920’s to make it as an American icon, the message has always been clear – being Jewish is a nuisance, an onus no Jew asked for, and one which he’d be rid of, if the opportunity presented. To be sure, these attitudes die hard, but they can only be combated by taking the offensive and this is RAJE’s tack. Instead of being apologetic, it avers that being Jewish is a privilege, that it’s an enormous honor to be one of the Chosen Few and here’s the kicker, Torah study is tremendously enjoyable when properly presented.

If I disagreed with one point in the Jewish Week article, it would be Rabbi Tokarsky’s opinion; seconded by Steven Bayme of the AJC, that RAJE’s success within the Russian Jewish community can not be replicated among mainstream Jews. While it’s true that Russian Jews who were deprived of their heritage for much of the 20th century, are often receptive to learning about the faith while American Jews; having been inculcated with distorted versions of the religion believe that it has little to offer, but I believe we can reach all disenfranchised Jews, if we fully understand, as does RAJE, that pure unadulterated Judaism is its own best selling point. Whether it’s Talmud, philosophy Kabbalah you name it everyone can and must find his particular Torah niche and through it create a bond which no force can tear asunder

By Dr. Yaakov Stern