You may have heard about the Pew Report of 2013 that presented a relatively pessimistic outlook for American Jews. The Pew Report of 2020 is far more expansive, understanding that we define aspects of our “religious” life differently than those of other faiths. In the latest report we were divided between “Jews by religion” and “Jews of no religion.” The former state they are Jewish, but 27% of Jewish adults don’t identify their religion as Jewish but consider themselves Jewish by ethnicity or culture or family background. The bad news is that 40% of those between the ages of 18-29 say they are religiously Jewish which is twice that of Jews ages 50-64.

The writer of the article I read is on the staff the Forward, a periodical to which I’ve strongly suggested you subscribe. It’s as old as our great-grandparents at least. But be that as it may, he states that the figures are “evidence of the innovative and ever-changing ways Jewish religion is practiced, not grounds for panic.”

This is based on trying to squeeze a round peg in a square hole…in a sense. You see, we cannot fit the pattern of typical Protestants, as an example. We’ve always viewed our identity somewhat strangely. Remember when I spoke about the “Pintele Yid”? It’s that teeny pinpoint of Jewishness which comes to the fore sometimes in the most unexpected ways. OK, you weren’t there to remember, but I mentioned how a young man almost cut off my head when I suggested to him that because he obviously was “less Jewish” than his fiancé was Christian, he consider converting out. He was furious at me which I knew he would be. I explained the “Pintele Yid” to him and his fiancé…while he never entered a synagogue after his Bar Mitzvah, he was a Jew through and through, and I shouldn’t forget it!

The question is how long will this definition dilemma maintain our people? Yes we are shrinking in numbers regardless of “innovation” and “ever-changing ways Judaism is practiced.” We need more of us, more of us who identify strongly as Jews.