Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 25, Ed. 2 Thursday, September 20, 1990 Page: 47 of 158
one hundred fifty eight pages : ill. ; page 15 x 10 in. Digitized from 35 mm. microfilm.View a full description of this newspaper.
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OF THE JEWISH HERALD-VOICE - 1-9-9-0
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PAGE 45
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7
*
Pamela K. Anders
David Ballard
Harry Bryan
David Cardus
Norma Cohen
George DeLoach
Julie Devodier
Vick Downing
Elena Fedorchenko
Karen Gamer
Elaine Hayden
John Hayes
Steve Houck
their parents' generation.
Jewish women are beginning to
maximize unprecedented oppor-
tunities for involvement in Jewish
religious life. To be sure, these in-
dividuals - many of whom are ac-
tive in havurot or small commu-
nities of intensive Jewish learning
and corhmitment - do not out-
weigh in numbers those who are
disaffiliating. They serve, however, «
Lois Keith
Anne Krueger
Bob Murdock
Kirk Newton
. Jerry Perlmutter
; Janice Ratliff
- Michelle Stogo
Glenn Strickland
Barbara Terry
Betsy Urbrock
Mark Veit
Brenda Venable
enriching their Judaic knowledge.
Even greater opportunities pre-
vail for intensive Jewish elemen-
tary and secondary education. Ev-
ery Jewish community in America
with a population of greater than
5,000 Jews hosts at least one Jew-
ish day school combining secular .
and Judaic studies under one
By SHOLOM D. COMAY and STEVEN BAYME
(Copyright 1990, Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Inc.)
est of standards for Jewish educa-
tional accomplishments.
Too many Jews know abysmally
little of the heritage, values and
precepts - to say nothing of the
languages - of the Jewish experi-
ence.
However, one need not accept
a pessimistic outlook as absolute:
Considerable resources of vitality
and pockets of energy do exist
within the Jewish community to
counteract these currents. As
studies indicate, Jewish renewal
is, indeed, a meaningful term if
defined as Jews who are far more
involved in private and public "
Jewish life than their parents ever
would have anticipated.
Orthodox Judaism, once con- .
sidered moribund, is enjoying an
unprecedented revival. Moreover,
the most dramatic illustration of
Jewish renewal may be found
among the ba'alei teshuvah, or
in recent years has grown to
120,000 - a critical mass from
which a reservoir of future lead-
ership maybe developed. Inter-
' i
To be sure, American Jewry
' does face considerable dangers
of communal erosion. Intermar-
riage rates are unacceptably high
- approximately 30 percent - and,
absent conversion, intermarrieds
and their children participate
minimally at best in Jewish com-
munal life.
New Years Greetings
to You
and Your Family
Judge
Joe T. Terracina
County Criminal Court
at Law No. 12
9
Jews have the smallest numbers
of children of any other American
ethnic group, suggesting a "gray-
er" Jewish community with fewer
future members.
Perhaps most precarious for
communal vitality is the astonish-
ing rate of Judaic illiteracy. The
"People of the Book" have re-
mained precisely that with re-
spect to secular education, yet
content themselves with the low-
, V
estingly enough, the central com-
•'plaints about dayschools do not
pertain to the quality of educa-
Periodically, American media
attention focuses upon dire jere-
■ miads forecasting the decline if
not the disappearance of Ameri-
can Jewry. Thus, we are treated
occasionally to articles bearing the
titles of "Vanishing American Jew"
or "U.S. Jewry Slipping". Con-
versely, other commentators in-
form us that we need not fear the
allegedly widespread periods of
assimilation and intermarriage.
As we approach the Rosh Ha-
shanah holiday, it is a good time
to sit back and reflect: Where, in
fact, are we? Are we to believe
the prophets of doom or the pol-
lyannas of renewal? Is the cup
,s,gj 1 i
PoL Advypaid for by Judge Joe T Terracina Re-election Campaign,
Carol S Vance, Treas, 6511 Country Club, Houston, TX 77023.
' ■■ ■ ' 1 ’ ' 7 ; .. ■
wish you a homeful of
happiness in the New Year!
BERNSTEIN REALTY
932-1032
1
American Jewry:
Erosion or Renewal?
1 Amy Bernstein
and Associates
*
for future Jewish continuity rather
than erosion.
Similarly, Jewish scholarship in
America stands at an unprece-
dented peak. Only one generation
ago, Jewish studies'was present
only at schools under Jewish aus- «
pices and at a select handful of -
elite universities.
Today, virtually every major
university proudly showcases a
distinguished Jewish studies pro-
gram among its catalogue offer-
ings. Over 1,000 faculty members
currently engage in advanced
Jewish scholarship and enable
college students to enjoy un-
precedented opportunities for
"returnees to Judaism", in Ameri- roof. L
can and Israeli Orthodoxy. The number of pupils enrolled
Even far more numerous are
Jews in Conservative and Reform
synagogues who have become
both more communally active
and personally observant than
. ) ’
1
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Samuels, Jeanne F. Jewish Herald-Voice (Houston, Tex.), Vol. 82, No. 25, Ed. 2 Thursday, September 20, 1990, newspaper, September 20, 1990; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1582956/m1/47/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; .