In this four-part Daily Kavanah, Rabbi Ron Stern examines the recently-released Pew Research Center survey of American Jews. To catch up with previous entries, click here.
When I was growing up in Morristown, N.J., all Jews were straight and Ashkenazi … at least that’s what I thought. If an Asian or Black person entered our synagogue, we “knew” (incorrectly, of course) they weren’t Jewish. And in all honesty, I didn’t know any openly gay people and certainly didn’t understand the many challenges LGBTQ+ persons confronted in those days. Of course, now I know differently, and the Pew Report affirms that awareness.
According to the survey, nearly 10% of U.S. Jews say that they are gay, lesbian, or bisexual; among Jews 18-29, 15% identify as something other than White; 17% of American Jews live in a household with someone who is Black, Hispanic, Asian, or another non-White ethnicity; 4% of Jews under 49 identify as Black, 13% are Hispanic, and 1% are Asian. Of course, there are gay Asian Jews, gay Black Jews and so on (see page 37 of the Pew report here).
How different our kids are from those of us who came of age in the ’60s, ’70s, and ’80s! Our kids, from a surprisingly young age, have had gay friends and are aware of gay family members. As adults, they have gay partners. They know Jews of all ethnicities, and many of their Jewish friends have at least one parent who may not even be Jewish, yet they live Jewish lives. Our awareness of who is a Jew today has become far more richly variable than it was in decades past. That is why Wise is so deeply engaged in building a more inclusive community, and I am happy to be personally involved with a thoughtful cohort of our members who are helping to guide the process.
Today is Yom HaShoah, our communal commemoration of the Nazi Holocaust. This day commemorates the absolute “othering” of the Jewish people, the Gay and Lesbian communities, and all those who were perceived to diverge from the perverse Nazi view of humanity. As a people who experienced the worst genocide in human history, it is incumbent upon us to not only ensure our continued survival and dignity by doing all we can for our uniquely Jewish identity to flourish, but also to fashion a radically inclusive view of humanity.
We experienced absolute hate, so we respond with love. We experienced murderous dehumanization, so we respond with the assertion of essential human dignity. We experienced the nearly overwhelming attempt to suppress our hope, so from our place of triumph, we embrace the deepest hopes of others; by turning outward and inward we ultimately strengthen ourselves.
My question for you today: Given the increasing diversity of our Jewish community, what can we do to ensure that all who identify as Jews (or seekers of Jewish identity) feel that our doors are open to them and once they step inside they feel a true sense of belonging?
—Rabbi Ron Stern