Fact is, it’s cool to be a Jew these days—here and elsewhere—among kids, among non-Jews, among people who think they might have Jewish roots.
Talk of the dwindling number of Jews in the United States and the weakening of their bonds to Judaism always makes me feel as if I live on a different planet. I understand the reasons behind this Jewish fascination with statistics: the weighty historical and political significance, a minority’s natural tendency to find comfort and strength in numbers, and the need to keep an eye on Israel’s demographic trends. Such doom and gloom talk, however, seems out of sync with what I see going on where I live in Washington, DC.
Fact is, it’s cool to be a Jew these days—here and elsewhere—among kids, among non-Jews, among people who think they might have Jewish roots. I see Jewish ideas everywhere I look, and not just in traditionally Jewish places. Non-Jewish children read books infused with Jewish values and culture, books that have become part of mainstream American life. Yiddish, it seems, has melded with English. And there’s no lack of Jewish influence in the arts. A friend, a teenager who isn’t Jewish, recently asked me if I had ever listened to Matisyahu, the Orthodox reggae rap singer. Let me assure you he discovered this music through his peers, because it is hip and good, not because it’s “Jewish.” To me, this says something about the reach of Jewish culture.
I see Jewish children who are drawn to traditional Jewish programs at synagogues and community centers. Others, motivated by their interest in Jewish thought and values express their Judaism in different ways. My son is interested in the Holocaust and deeply concerned about the ongoing slaughter of innocent people in Darfur. On Martin Luther King Day he attended a Save Darfur Coalition rally. It wasn’t a Jewish event per se, although my son was thrilled to see his rabbi in the crowd, and to meet David Rubenstein, the coalition’s Jewish executive director. Yet, like other Jewish youngsters there, he came away with a greater understanding of tikkun olam. (It is Moment’s commitment to tikkun olam that has prompted us to ask high school students for essays answering the question: “What can be done to prevent genocide?” Three grand prize winners will receive $500 apiece. For more information go here.)
None of this is to say that the “Jewish is cool” phenomenon extends beyond the nation’s big cities and that there aren’t large swaths of America where people barely know what Judaism is, let alone consider it hip. That pockets of latent anti-Semitism remain is artfully revealed by the British Jewish comedian Sacha Baron Cohen in his film Borat. Nor do I mean to imply that we don’t need outreach programs and creative thinking; after all, what we’ve been doing as a community over past decades may be responsible for where we are today. But on my planet, I’d like us to pause for a moment to observe the good and celebrate our many successes.
That’s why this issue is dedicated to children of all ages and the spirit that keeps the Jewish people moving forward.
Take Sergey Brin, the 33-year-old co-ruler of the online empire Google, a company worth more than Disney, General Motors and McDonald’s combined. When Brin arrived here from Moscow at age six, he tried and abandoned Hebrew school but still, like so many of us, grew up to be Jewish and proud of it. In this Moment exclusive, Mark Malseed, who has written extensively about Google, interviews Brin and his parents, giving us a glimpse into the mind of an unconventional entrepreneur now worth something like $15 billion.
As you’ll also see in this issue, Jewish lessons can come from the most unlikely places. I’m a diehard fan of children’s literature so it was a treat for me to discover that two of the most popular kid’s series of all time have Jewish themes. We bring you a hilarious conversation with Lemony Snicket, a.k.a. San Francisco writer Daniel Handler, about the Jewish secrets that lurk beneath the surface of his best-selling A Series of Unfortunate Events. In a savory interview with Dov Krulwich, author of Harry Potter and the Torah, J.K. Rowling’s books come to life in Jewish ways that I never could have imagined.
And, for those of you who need your fix of politics, Ha’aretz writer Lily Galili shares a glass of not-so-good wine with Israel’s new deputy prime minister, unabashed right-winger Avigdor Lieberman. You’ll also have a chance to go into the studio with former Nightline reporter Dave Marash to learn what it’s like to be a Jewish anchor at the controversial new TV network Al Jazeera English. Former National Public Radio correspondent Michael Goldfarb takes his toddler to a London park where he reflects on the state of anti-Semitism in Britain.
Before I sign off, I want to remind you to take a look at the winning book reviews from our Publish-A-Kid contest. Read them and see how insightful children can be. In fact, there were so many good choices, we’ve posted more on our web site.
Also, please fill out our survey. The information you provide us will help to make Moment even better. And, because getting to know you is so important, we’ll thank you by sending a free gift subscription to a friend—in your honor. Thank you!
