stimulating ideas

Peoplehood is Here to be Re-Envisioned, A response to Steven Windmueller

CJPE, Opinion

“There is no question, as Windmueller’s analysis shows, that American Jews are phasing out of the Peoplehood paradigm that dominated the post WW2 and Six Day War era. And yet concepts and categories of Peoplehood still frame the conversation regarding Jewish collective ethos, meaning and destiny. In that respect, we still live very much in a Peoplehood condition. One whose essence is still being envisioned and content being figured out, but should last as long as Jews wrestle with the meaning of Judaism”

Jill Blair: Why Are We Still Here?

CJPE, Opinion

“I have had the good fortune of participating in the Jewish Peoplehood Conversations convened by Dr. Shlomi Ravid, director of the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education. These discussions have helped me begin to visualize a through-line between our past and our future as American Jewish communal institutions – as essential elements of Jewish civilization. These discussions have brought to light some beliefs that inform my efforts…”

Peoplehood Papers 17: Engaging Millennials with Jewish Peoplehood

CJPE, Opinion2 Comments

The Jewish establishment’s anxiety regarding the Jewish identity of millennials is not unfounded. The emergence of a new generation of Jews who were born and raised in open society with a freedom to choose their Judaism does not necessarily promise continuity. Furthermore, individualism, egocentrism and criticism of existing establishments, tendencies associated with Millennials, created room for additional concerns. These concerns…

Generation Me is Here to Stay!

Opinion

Taken straight from the headlines: Website Offers Virtual Seder Dancing Bar Mitzvah Boy Donated his $36,000 gift money to Charity Virtual Judaism: Finding Second Life in Online Community Should Auschwitz be a Site for Selfies? When you read these headlines are you confused? concerned? angered? Or are you curious? hopeful? inspired? If you were one of…

Bubblehood vs. Peoplehood

Opinion

The most overused and abused word in the Jewish world must surely be “community.” Here in Los Angeles, we’re often told that we’re all part of some grand “Jewish community,” but deep down, we know better. If by community we mean a group of like-minded people whose company we enjoy, then the only communities we…

The Blasts of Jewish Peoplehood

CJPE, Opinion

Every High Holiday season a powerful sound momentarily causes we who experience it to pause. Tekiah. Shvarim. Truah. Tekiah Gedolah. Those sounds, stirring and dramatic, lead to personal reflection about how we missed the mark in the previous year and how we want to improve in the coming year. But shofar is about more than…

Can Jewish Peoplehood Have a Future?

Opinion

In a recent talk Noam Pianko, a contemporary scholar of Jewish Peoplehood, and professor of Jewish Studies at the University of Washington, offers a stimulating and thoughtful challenge to those of us interested in the future of Jewish Peoplehood, both as a concept and as a way of building collective Jewish identity. See here for…

Jewish Peoplehood: A Contemporary Midrash

Opinion

Check out David Zvi Kalman’s contemporary midrash (Jewish legend), published in the Peoplehood Papers volume #13, in which he imagines the Jewish People standing at Sinai and receiving the Torah. In this modern midrash, Kalman uses his imagination and knowledge of Jewish texts to create his own interpretation of one of the central collective memories of…

Sustainability and Jewish Peoplehood

CJPE, Opinion

We are delighted to introduce you to the latest edition of the Peoplehood Papers. This 14th edition is dedicated to Sustainability and Jewish Peoplehood. We decided to provide the Siach Network a public platform to grapple with the challenge of sustainability through the Peoplehood lens. With focus on shmita (the Sabbatical year – which has just begun)…