Len Saxe

Leonard Saxe is Professor of Jewish Community Research and Social Policy at Brandeis University. He serves as Director of the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute.

Saxe led the team of researchers who just last week published a study on the number of Jews in America. He was also the scholar concluding (in another study) that majority of children in intermarried households are being raised as Jews - a study which many concluded was a proof that outreach pays off.

Professor Saxe's current research on the Jewish community involves socio-demographic studies of American Jewry and a program of research on Jewish education and its relationship to the Jewish engagement (Full bio here). We will discuss Jewish demography and education and also answer the questions you can sent to rosnersdomain@haaretz.co.il.

Dear Len

Two things struck me in your last chronicle in Haaretz.

1. You suggest facilitating Jewish education for children of intermarried couples. There is a long way to go before that can be achieved. Ironically, it is easier for these children to be accepted by hyper-religious groups, than by atheist or crypto-socialist groups.
When my youngest daughter attended, for the first and last time, a "Bundist" summer camp several years ago, she was ostracized by the her peers because of her "mixed" parents. The camp counselors were blind to the issue and we nearly had to rescue her from there because she hated the camp so much. I have to add that she is very "socially competent" and has attended many summer camps of all sorts with great pleasure. In fact, the Jewish camp experience was very traumatizing and she buried the trauma deep within her. I only learned about it recently, years after the fact. I should add that this experience made me feel very guilty (but that's normal: it is what Jewish mothers teach "Jewishkeit=guilt"!)

2. As for your observation that Jewish mothers in mixed couples are usually more effective in raising Jewish children than Jewish fathers, I would propose a similar idea. Instead of educated guesses about mothers being more concerned than fathers by ruach and kabala and Jewish soul and Jewish shmoul, I would suggest that it is almost impossible to be Jewish (=to belong to a Jewish community) if your mother is not Jewish. Here again Loubavitcher and Marxist Jews join in a unique ideology: Jewishkeit is rooted in maternal (mitochondrila ? X-linked ?) genes! As a geneticist, I like the suggestion.
Respectfully yours,

Jacques

The limitations of my comments are that
i) They apply to France and I don't know whether they apply equally to you.
ii) They are based on personal experience, and I am not sure how much they could be generalized. My contacts with my American relatives favor the hypothesis that it is the same here and there, but my spectrum is quite narrow. How is it in Israel?

Jacques H. Camonis, MD, PhD
Directeur de Recherche au CNRS
Equipe d'Analyse des Réseaux de Transduction (ART)

To Jacques:

You asked two related questions: In essence, can children of intermarriage ever be accepted by the Jewish community, particularly if they don't have a Jewish mother?

In the case of your daughter's negative experience at camp as a result of being the child of "mixed parents," she clearly wasn't the problem - her peers acted inappropriately and the camp staff failed to create a safe environment. Even if your daughter wasn't regarded as Jewish because of her mother, one doesn't have to be a talmid chacham to recall that Abraham rushed out of his tent in the heat of the day to welcome strangers. Whatever our view of halacha, it's not our way to ostracize someone simply because there is something different about their backgrounds. The situation you describe says less about the possibility of Jewish education than it does about unhealthy attitudes. I would like to think that such attitudes are an ocean away, but there are likely some in my community who hold similar attitudes. But even if it were normative, that doesn't make it right.

In terms of Jewish mothers married to non-Jewish fathers, I don't know whether or not they are more effective than men in parallel circumstances. What we know (at least in the United States) is that Jewish mothers in intermarriages are more likely to raise Jewish children. As I suggested above, even if some in the community don't accept the children of intermarriage - particularly when only the father is Jewish - that does not mean such children do not have a right to educate themselves and live as Jews. I'd rather try to change attitudes than to give up on those who wish to be part of klal Yisrael. As to whether being Jewish is genetic (and linked to two X-Chromosomes), from its origins Judaism has always accepted converts. Our tradition is to treat converts no differently than (genetically) born Jews.

Dear Professor Saxe,

Could you speculate on the possible effects on Jewish demography in the U.S:
1 - If offspring of either a Jewish father or a Jewish mother were to be considered Halachic Jews according to Orthodox Law.
2 - If there was a strong secular community framework for absorbing non-Jews who want to throw in their lot with the Jews.
3 - If conversion were made easier and there was a serious attempt at outreach, if not at proselytization.

Thank you.

Sincerely,
Ami Isseroff

To Ami:

As a social scientist, it's beyond my expertise to comment on interpretations of halacha. What is clear, however, is that at least some of the problems faced by the children of intermarriage are the result of widely held attitudes. An empirical answer to your question is, perhaps, reflected in the success of the Reform Movement in the United States (which accepts patrilineal descent if the child is raised as a Jew). Although we don't have very good data about how different types of families participate in Reform synagogues, the movement is growing overall, and interfaith families appear to be an increasingly large segment of the membership of Reform synagogues. I presume that inclusion and acceptance of children of Jewish fathers (married to non-Jews) is increasing the likelihood that these born Jews will continue to live and see themselves as Jews; and, as well, that their children will also be more likely to identify as Jews.

I do not share the concerns of some that broader criteria for inclusion will lead to a dilution of Judaism and, perhaps, be counterproductive. The greatest danger faced by Diaspora Jewry is the lack of engagement of those who are born as Jews. Being more inclusive can't but help expand our numbers.

B'shalom,
Len Saxe

Dear Prof. Saxe,

How do you reconcile what you say about intermarriage and the findings of Prof. Steven Cohen (recently published in Rosner's blog) that intermarriage children aren't raised as Jews at all?

Thank you for your answer,
Yoram Koch


Yoram,

Statistics are, unfortunately, being used as weapons in a divisive debate about intermarriage. No one, however, maintains that the rate of children of intermarried parents being raised as Jews is zero. In the U.S., reported estimates in the last several years hover around 35 percent. In addition, the same studies report that an additional 15 percent or more intermarried families raise their children "Jewish and something else." Importantly, the reported rates appear to be increasing. Our recent Boston study is just the latest survey to have found the rate above 50 percent. (As noted in an earlier response, we estimated the rate of children being raised as Jews as 60 percent, with an additional 4 percent being raised Jewish and some other religion.)

Steven Cohen has long argued that intermarriage is a grave threat to Jewish continuity. Not surprisingly, he believes that there must be an anomaly in our research protocol (for the Boston study). But what we did was straightforward and was confirmed by other data. Our question asked parents to identify in which "religion" they were raising their children and allowed for multiple responses. Our question was actually more stringent than that typically used, where parents are asked whether their children are being raised "Jewishly." Evidence that our question did not bias the results is backed up by our respondents' description of the Jewish education their children are receiving. Children of in-married and intermarried families are just as likely to receive formal Jewish education (at least until bnai mitzvah).


There is no question that intermarriage is changing the face of American Jewry (and Jewish communities throughout the Diaspora). But the evidence suggests that intermarriage is not the cause of the problem. The underlying issue is that many Jews do not grow up experiencing a rich Jewish home life and their Jewish education is ineffective and, too often, distancing. A colleague who is a Jew-by-choice recently joked that it was easy for him to embrace Judaism - he didn't have the baggage that born Jews did of a having had to "suffer" in Hebrew school as children.

The solution to what the perceived intermarriage problem is to improve our diaspora system of Jewish education and to create more opportunities for our children to participate in Jewish camps, day schools, and Israel experience programs. My bet is that what will be effective for children in inmarried families will also lead more intermarried families to give Jewish education to their children and insure that they lead Jewish lives as adults.

Len Saxe

Professor Saxe,

Would you give us your observations/opinions on the phenomenon of non-religious Jewish groups, as atheist-Jewish societies and humanist and ethical culture groups, which appear to consist mainly of Jews?

Respectfully,
Milton Franks-Lhermann,
Petach Tikva


Shalom:

There's no question that many Jews, as well as those of Jewish
background, consider themselves secularists. Some are atheists, some are secular-humanists, and some are secular participants in
synagogues and other Jewish religious organizations. It is interesting that you framed your question in terms of membership in groups, rather than identity. Being part of a community is central to Judaism; and it should not be surprising that Jews seek to affiliate with groups, even if they believe that Jewish tradition does not speak to them.

Part of the secular phenomenon is increased interest in the rich cultural heritage of Judaism. It's noteworthy that one of the fastest growing areas of scholarship at American universities is Jewish studies. No doubt, courses about Judaism attract religious Jews, but they also attract secularists and non-Jews. My hope is that we can do a better job educating about Judaism and that it will lead to more Jews wanting to be part of the Jewish community.

Thank you for your question,

Len Saxe


Dear Len,

We might have better knowledge now of the number of Jews in the U.S. - but how about the trends deciding if this number is declining or actually growing. Can we draw any conclusion from what we know by now as to the numbers of the future?

Best,

Rosner


Shmuel,

The number of individuals who identify as Jewish seems to be growing in the United States. Although it's difficult to be very precise about this growth -- it is said that since 1654, when 23 Jews arrived in New Amsterdam (New York), we haven't had a good estimate of the Jewish population -- I'm confident that we had 10% or more growth between 1990 and 2000. In the next phase of our research, we'll be able to draw trend lines and understand better the reasons for the growth. That American Jewry is growing should not be surprising. In the last 10-15 years, not only has there been renewed interest and investment in Jewish education, but we have experienced substantial Jewish immigration to America, "baby boomers" began to have grandchildren, and lifespan has been extended by medical advances.

As to what the recent growth portends for the future of American Jewry, it's hard to know. In contemporary society, one chooses to be Jewish (or not). I'm very optimistic that Jews will continue to flourish in America and that the current generation of those born and/or educated as Jews will want to remain engaged with their religious-ethnic identity. But whether or not it happens depends, in part, on the response of Jewish institutions to current challenges. Thus, for example, the number of Jewish babies born each year is not simply a matter of what religion the parents were born to, but how well the community engages those parents. Even more relevant to Haaretz readers is the current role of Taglit-birthright israel. By the end of the year, nearly 100,000 U.S. young Jews will have spent 10 or more days in Israel as part of Taglit programs. Interviews and surveys of tens of thousands of these participants make clear that many of them would have been "lost" to the Jewish community without this opportunity.

My central learning from our socio-demographic and Jewish education-identity studies is that we have the ability to shape the future. American Jews have not abandoned their connection with Judaism and Klal Yisrael, even if the nature of their engagement with the community has changed. The question is whether Jewish institutions can respond to the needs of contemporary Jews and create a meaningful basis for their on-going connection.

Shavua tov,
Len


Dear Prof Saxe,


When you say the number of American Jews is growing, is this because more children from intermarriage are being raised as Jews? If so what percentage of these children are halachically Jewish?

Joe Feld

Joe,

Several data sources indicate that more children in intermarried
households are being raised as Jews. This is likely one of the
reasons that the population has not declined. The "arithmetic of
intermarriage" is such that even small changes in how intermarried
households raise children can have major impact. It's difficult to
determine what percentage of children are halachically Jewish,
although my guess is that it's a very high percentage. The basis for
this assumption is that raising Jewish children seems to be
significantly more likely when the Jewish partner in an intermarriage
is the mother. Thus, for example, in our recent study of Boston Jews
- where we found that 60% of the children in intermarried households
were being raised as Jews (by religion) - the trend was almost
universal among Jewish women. It's not clear as yet whether it's
easier for mothers to raise Jewish children (because they are more
widely accepted in the Jewish community), whether women develop
stronger Jewish identities than men (and are, thus, more likely to
want to raise their children as Jews), or whether women are simply
more spiritual/concerned with religion. All of these reasons likely
play a role and one of next challenges to understand this phenomenon better.


Len Saxe