Lots to contemplate from yesterday’s OU Emerging Communities Fair.
The scene was somewhat chaotic, with individuals and couples circulating randomly around the closely-placed tables of the 23 featured communities, but I’m not sure it could have been done any differently. I think that over-regimenting, by requiring specific registration for specific tables, would have been counter-productive. And there just wasn’t a better way to use the space.
Some communities emphasized their amenities; Dallas, for example, had a well-done brochure outlining all of its offerings. Others emphasized the way its young couples take active roles in the community; Memphis had life-size cut-outs of actual young families, for example. Ours was more of a collection of amenities and opportunities for involvement and jobs and we-aren’t-that-far-from-New-York.
Not everyone who visited was looking for an immediate move. Some people were there to do research for the future; others were investigating possibilities for an eventual could-be we-might relocation. And one or two were just there to have a good time, asking bizarre questions to amuse themselves and wasting the time of the sincere, earnest people staffing the booths.
Some people were looking but didn’t want to make it known… particularly those who came as representatives for one community but visited other tables, handing out resumes. A photographer there told me about couples who were afraid their families would find out they were considering leaving New York.
One thing’s for sure: Job ranked over every other factor for those who were seriously looking. Based on my conversation with dozens of the people making the rounds of the tables, most of them were simply looking for work, and anywhere they could get it. Not only in the obvious fields of finance and marketing, but in normally-solid fields like medicine and law.
YU’s Center for the Jewish Future did a survey (“Community Growth Initiative”) of young couples two years ago, to find out how they would choose a community. They offered 12 options, and asked participants to rank them by importance. This was the way the ranking worked out:
1. Hashkafa
2. Choice of Day Schools
3. Affordable Housing
4. Job / Higher Education
5. Young Couples
6. Eruv
7. Values
8. Mikvah
9. Convenience
10. Proximity to Family
11. Rabbinic Leadership
12. Kosher Restaurants
I have a lot of questions about the survey and the surveyed, but at the moment I’ll just say that if the survey would have been re-taken at the Fair yesterday, Job would have been #1, and there would not have been a #2.
Showing posts with label Jewish community: OU. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Jewish community: OU. Show all posts
Monday, June 15, 2009
Sunday, June 14, 2009
Allentown: An Emerging Community
[First: A great new edition of Haveil Havalim is available here!]
I expect to be at the OU's Emerging Communities Fair for a few hours today, marketing my community of Allentown, PA - even as we are moving to Toronto in August, Gd-willing.
I know it sounds odd to be marketing a community as you are leaving, but (1) No one is in position to talk about a community like the shul rabbi is, and (2) I believe it is an emerging, strong community.
Of course, the ideal 'emerging community' is in Israel, where new communities are constantly emerging, where there are great schools, where you can find a great quality of life, etc. But for those who cannot make the leap for family, medical, financial or other reasons, Allentown is a great option.
Among other things, we have:
A warm, united community;
A community where everyone can come in and make a real difference in the shul, school, Federation and more;
A beautiful shul with a meaningful davening;
Morning and evening minyanim;
A ton of learning, from Daf Yomi to Conversational Hebrew;
A great new mikvah;
A well-maintained eruv;
Great parks and playgrounds;
NCSY and Bnei Akiva programming;
A great community Day School which tries to meet the needs of all students;
Lots of jobs;
Proximity to New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
That my family is leaving is largely a function of the absence of a Jewish high school, but for those for whom high school is not yet a factor, Allentown is worth a look, and then some!
So please stop in at our booth at Lander College, 277 W. 60th Street, today! I look forward to seeing you there.
I expect to be at the OU's Emerging Communities Fair for a few hours today, marketing my community of Allentown, PA - even as we are moving to Toronto in August, Gd-willing.
I know it sounds odd to be marketing a community as you are leaving, but (1) No one is in position to talk about a community like the shul rabbi is, and (2) I believe it is an emerging, strong community.
Of course, the ideal 'emerging community' is in Israel, where new communities are constantly emerging, where there are great schools, where you can find a great quality of life, etc. But for those who cannot make the leap for family, medical, financial or other reasons, Allentown is a great option.
Among other things, we have:
A warm, united community;
A community where everyone can come in and make a real difference in the shul, school, Federation and more;
A beautiful shul with a meaningful davening;
Morning and evening minyanim;
A ton of learning, from Daf Yomi to Conversational Hebrew;
A great new mikvah;
A well-maintained eruv;
Great parks and playgrounds;
NCSY and Bnei Akiva programming;
A great community Day School which tries to meet the needs of all students;
Lots of jobs;
Proximity to New York, New Jersey and Philadelphia.
That my family is leaving is largely a function of the absence of a Jewish high school, but for those for whom high school is not yet a factor, Allentown is worth a look, and then some!
So please stop in at our booth at Lander College, 277 W. 60th Street, today! I look forward to seeing you there.
Tuesday, January 1, 2008
On Pressuring the Israeli Government: How much pressure is justified?
Imagine your brother owes one million dollars, doesn’t have the means to re-pay it, and stands to lose his home. You, for your part, don’t have the million dollars to help him; you give him tens and twenties whenever you can, you offer lots of moral support, but you just can’t afford anything more.
Then your brother comes up with an idea: He owns a family heirloom of great value. He wants to sell it, to pay off his debt. You are horrified; your brother inherited the heirloom, but it’s significant to the whole family! Perhaps it's the sefer hayichus (book of lineage) documenting your family's link to Dovid haMelech - something truly crucial to the family as a whole.
To make matters worse: Your brother thinks he'll get a million dollars for the heirloom, and so escape debt. You, on the other hand, think he won't get that price, and that in any case your brother will just land in more debt afterward.
When you protest - based on your personal investment as well as your suspicion that the sale won't be worthwhile - your brother asks, “So tell me – should I lose my house because you won’t let me pay my debt?”
The Torah-observant Diaspora Jewish community disagrees with the Israeli government all the time on issues halachic and political, matters of religion as well as matters of security. Every time these disagreements arise, the major bodies representing Diaspora Jewry ask themselves, “May we pressure the Israeli government through public dissent?” And our tendency, albeit with notable exceptions, is to shy away from public disagreement. Basically, the rule has been that we toe the Israeli government’s line until we don’t.
The question of Ehud Olmert’s Annapolis offer has raised this issue again.
Our brother is broke, and stands to lose his home; dare we insist that he not sell the family heirloom, even as we stand by and watch him lose his home? Dare we take out ads in newspapers, make critical statements to the press, and otherwise exert pressure upon him for the sale he is legally entitled to make?
The OU has decided that yes, it is legitimate to publicly demand your brother not sell the heirloom. Rabbi Hershel Billet has taken that stance as well in a column in the New York Jewish Week. Rabbi Michael Broyde has opposed this stance, writing against it as a matter of public policy.
I have two points to add to this discussion:
1. Yes, Diaspora Jews understand the issues in Israel, travel to Israel, and support it. But that's not the same thing as living under terror attacks.
To me, we are in the position of the person who will not pay his brother’s debt, and will not permit his brother to hock the family heirloom, either. We will not expose ourselves to direct terror and to economic disaster by living in Israel, but we won’t permit Israelis to try and solve the problem for themselves. The fact that we choose to live outside of Israel means that we abdicate the right to make certain decisions.
I have my reasons for being in the golah, and I feel they are strong reasons, but whence my license to demand the Israelis do what I am not personally willing to do?
2. What sort of pressure is justified?
More importantly, where does this license-to-protest lead?
How much pressure may I put on my brother? Newspaper ads? Gossipping to his friends? Challenging the sale of the heirloom in court? Picketing outside his house?
Do we stop praying for the Israeli government (with or without ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו)?
Do we discourage congregants from purchasing Israel Bonds?
Do we discourage people from attending the Salute to Israel parade - or do we tell them to show up at the parade with protest signs?
Do we picket outside the Israeli embassy?
Do we protest outside venues where Israeli government representatives speak?
Do we implement what amounts to Sanctions?
If the OU has decided that opposition is justified, how much opposition is justified?
In truth, we have always opposed Israeli government stances; it's only a matter of what we have done to demonstrate that opposition. And to me, that last is the real question.
Then your brother comes up with an idea: He owns a family heirloom of great value. He wants to sell it, to pay off his debt. You are horrified; your brother inherited the heirloom, but it’s significant to the whole family! Perhaps it's the sefer hayichus (book of lineage) documenting your family's link to Dovid haMelech - something truly crucial to the family as a whole.
To make matters worse: Your brother thinks he'll get a million dollars for the heirloom, and so escape debt. You, on the other hand, think he won't get that price, and that in any case your brother will just land in more debt afterward.
When you protest - based on your personal investment as well as your suspicion that the sale won't be worthwhile - your brother asks, “So tell me – should I lose my house because you won’t let me pay my debt?”
The Torah-observant Diaspora Jewish community disagrees with the Israeli government all the time on issues halachic and political, matters of religion as well as matters of security. Every time these disagreements arise, the major bodies representing Diaspora Jewry ask themselves, “May we pressure the Israeli government through public dissent?” And our tendency, albeit with notable exceptions, is to shy away from public disagreement. Basically, the rule has been that we toe the Israeli government’s line until we don’t.
The question of Ehud Olmert’s Annapolis offer has raised this issue again.
Our brother is broke, and stands to lose his home; dare we insist that he not sell the family heirloom, even as we stand by and watch him lose his home? Dare we take out ads in newspapers, make critical statements to the press, and otherwise exert pressure upon him for the sale he is legally entitled to make?
The OU has decided that yes, it is legitimate to publicly demand your brother not sell the heirloom. Rabbi Hershel Billet has taken that stance as well in a column in the New York Jewish Week. Rabbi Michael Broyde has opposed this stance, writing against it as a matter of public policy.
I have two points to add to this discussion:
1. Yes, Diaspora Jews understand the issues in Israel, travel to Israel, and support it. But that's not the same thing as living under terror attacks.
To me, we are in the position of the person who will not pay his brother’s debt, and will not permit his brother to hock the family heirloom, either. We will not expose ourselves to direct terror and to economic disaster by living in Israel, but we won’t permit Israelis to try and solve the problem for themselves. The fact that we choose to live outside of Israel means that we abdicate the right to make certain decisions.
I have my reasons for being in the golah, and I feel they are strong reasons, but whence my license to demand the Israelis do what I am not personally willing to do?
2. What sort of pressure is justified?
More importantly, where does this license-to-protest lead?
How much pressure may I put on my brother? Newspaper ads? Gossipping to his friends? Challenging the sale of the heirloom in court? Picketing outside his house?
Do we stop praying for the Israeli government (with or without ראשית צמיחת גאולתנו)?
Do we discourage congregants from purchasing Israel Bonds?
Do we discourage people from attending the Salute to Israel parade - or do we tell them to show up at the parade with protest signs?
Do we picket outside the Israeli embassy?
Do we protest outside venues where Israeli government representatives speak?
Do we implement what amounts to Sanctions?
If the OU has decided that opposition is justified, how much opposition is justified?
In truth, we have always opposed Israeli government stances; it's only a matter of what we have done to demonstrate that opposition. And to me, that last is the real question.
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