The Future of Jewish Life in South Bend
Executive Director Moshe Kruger's Call to Action for the Next Generation
From Midrash Rabbah of Song of Songs 1:4
When the Israelites stood at Mt. Sinai waiting to receive the Torah, God asked them: “Who will be our guarantors that you will keep it and then I will give it to you.”
They replied: “Our ancestors will be our guarantors.”
God replied: “I find fault with Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Find me good guarantors.”
The people replied: “The prophets will be our guarantors.”
God replied: “I find fault with the prophets.”
The Israelites said: “Our children will be our guarantors.”
God replied: “Truly, these are good guarantors. I will give you the Torah.”
This month’s column is dedicated to our Young Adults and their children, who will craft an aspirational vision of Jewish life in South Bend.
Now, as the planning for the future of the South Bend Jewish community begins in earnest, we need to hear from our young people more than ever. Communal change is inevitable in today’s American Jewish landscape. But change doesn’t just happen to us—it’s something we can shape L’dor V’dor—from one generation to the next.
Young, old, or in between, we all have a special role to play in building community. Common wisdom says that it takes a village to achieve community well-being. The village concept speaks to our “all in” collective responsibility. However, as the profound truth in the Song of Songs elucidates, the “guarantors” and innovators of Jewish life cannot be from the past or even the present. Judaism can only be guaranteed by the next generation.
Our young people will proudly carry the Jewish torch into the future. To ensure this flame that represents our future stays ablaze, the Federation is committed to supporting a variety of opportunities to engage in conversation with our young adults in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. The centerpiece of this Young Adult initiative is a Forum Series titled: Voices for the Future (working program name). The program aims to:
Connect with young adults to understand which Jewish experiences they are seeking as the community creates new and different spaces for Jewish engagement
Empower them to reimagine our community as alive, dynamic, evolving and in conversation with the contemporary world; and
Strengthen their relationship to Jewish life in South Bend by making their voices heard in the planning and decision-making process
I’m proud that our Federation is at the forefront of this conversation with our young adults. We’re cognizant of this engagement needing to be implemented on their terms and in ways that make sense for their lives. The most powerful way to deepen Jewish engagement in the broadest and most textured way is to connect the past to the present, and the present to the future.
The Past
Throughout the first one hundred years of Federation service to American Jewry, change has been the hallmark of our organizational strength and continuity. With over a century-long legacy of diverse Jewish life in Michiana, our South Bend Federation has been the prominent voice in the region for everything Jewish over the last 80 years. Let us build on this strength.
The Present
Understanding where we are now is a prerequisite for developing a roadmap for tomorrow. Getting a firmer grip on the national and local data points relative to Jewish communal life is also vital to our planning and decision-making.
For example, Pew Research shows the American Jewish “liberal” population (Conservative and Reform), like other religious groups, is in flux with denominational affiliation waning. Yet, paradoxically and increasingly, many Jews in America want to identify Jewishly and desire Judaism in some form to serve that identity.
Locally, we share elevated concerns over decreasing institutional financial resources, declining memberships, and a shrinking leadership pool needed to sustain and support our community.
Jewish community leaders tracking this data see these national and local developments as inextricably intertwined and mutually reinforcing. From our various perches, on a more personal level, we’re all eyewitnesses to the tectonic changes in our evolving relationship to Jewish tradition, ritual, and ancient past.
The Future
Looking ahead to our next 80 years, what game plan and core principles are needed to continue the sacred work of creation? How do we engage with our magical inheritance in a concrete, meaningful, and joyful way to fulfill our need for connection—to our past, to our present, to each other, and to community?
The consensus view is that new organizational models in the modern era are essential to respond to the profound challenges facing Jewish communities of all sizes. The viewpoint I wish to articulate is—if we want to achieve the desirable bigger, bolder, and sustainable community outcomes, this requires more than tinkering around the edges.
Our moment for change is here, and we have a fiduciary responsibility to be clear-eyed about our future. Flashing warning lights alert us that we could well experience an irreparable setback if we fail to optimize all of our organizational synergies and resources.
Finding our collaborative groove among our communal organizations is within our grasp. Perhaps more arduous is refreshing the outdated modes, especially for young people, to connect Jewishly as the central existential threat to Jewish life.
The point of this article is yes, we need to work together, but we also must ensure that young people stay meaningfully engaged by building a sense of attachment to home and to their Jewish community. In other words, “place matters;” and this idea needs to be integral to our community vision.
Fundamentally, there are multiple sub-cohorts within the younger adult demographic and broader Jewish population, each making its own choices based on its own specific needs and interests. How we each choose to engage Jewishly speaks to my many “blue sky” conversations with community members about South Bend’s Jewish future and a concept called the “Campus for Jewish Life.”
The Campus enterprise rests on the foundation of three core priorities: to build community, to engage and connect, and to provide a safe oasis to be Jewish.
No matter what your background or experience, the heart and soul of the Campus model is to find inspiration and meaning in your Jewish journey.
The varied and innovative programming provide an à la carte menu of:
Jewish learning
Jewish arts & culture
Jewish social action to improve our community and the world
Jewish holiday celebrations and community gatherings
Jewish spirituality and well-being
Try this visualization exercise. Close your eyes and imagine the South Bend Campus for Jewish Life as a major development for the Jewish community. Visualize how the Campus offerings contribute to the revitalization of Jewish South Bend. Picture yourself on the 28-acre campus property, our greatest asset, past, present, and future—the central hub for Jewish life—providing space for a variety of programs and organizations, room to meet and convene, and a safe and nurturing space for our community to learn, celebrate, and connect.
Research findings demonstrate how spatial dimensions impact human behavior. Studies show it’s important to be attentive to the many aesthetic and functional factors when designing spaces for learning, playing, praying, working, and socializing. With our park-like setting, we have an exciting opportunity to develop the Campus landscape in a way to create balance, harmony, beauty, and purpose.
In conclusion, a comprehensive Campus plan that is intentionally designed, inclusive ideologically and religiously, rooted in tradition, yet innovative in practice will strengthen our community, make it more resilient, and drive lasting positive changes. A place where we all belong.
It’s time to shift our paradigm. It’s time to shift the shape of Jewish engagement in South Bend. This is why this Minute with Moshe is dedicated to our “truly good guarantors,” our young people.
Moshe Kruger
Executive Director
Jewish Federation of St. Joseph Valley
mkruger@thejewishfed.org