American Judaism is all but doomed, if we are to believe the recent Pew survey. And the quickest to the doom are the liberal denominations, with Conservative Judaism leading the pack. Conservative Judaism, in some 20 years, has dropped from about 55% to 18% of American Jewry. The Orthodox alone are gaining, with a greater birthrate and a younger cohort. So say the Pew numbers.
If we may leave the national scene aside, we may confirm, once again, the independence of Judaism in Colorado; although, to be sure, certain trends noticed by Pew are present in Colorado. But leave that for a moment. Start with Conservative Judaism. Denver has two main Conservative shuls. At least in terms of members, one is flourishing; there is no other word. Another holds steady, as does a smaller one. The national measure of doom is not paralleled in Denver.
And Reform? Temple Emanuel has some 2,000 members. Temple Sinai, more than half that. Har HaShem in Boulder is not far behind. What about JCCs? In Colorado they’ve grown dramatically. Again, the national measure of doom — in terms of numbers — finds no resonance here.
Where the Pew numbers do tally with Denver is the growth of the Orthodox community. The number of Sabbath-observant families (a typical barometer) has more than tripled in the past 30 years. The number of elementary day schools has doubled; the number of mikvehs, quadrupled. Thirty years ago there was no eruv; now, there are three. Thirty years ago, there were no outreach organizations; now, at least three (depending on how you count). In the southeast, there was no Orthodox synagogue; now, the shul there is the biggest Orthodox synagogue in the state. The biggest Orthodox community is on the East Side, with seven minyans; thirty years ago, there was one. In Colorado, Chabad has grown from one center to 17.
One would be blind, however, to say that Judaism in Colorado is thriving as it should be. First of all, long ago there were thriving Jewish communities in many cities throughout the West, from Cheyenne to Pueblo. Despite their heroic efforts to hold on, these communities are shadows of their former selves. Second, many shuls have merged or closed. Third, membership at a synagogue is not necessarily equivalent to participation. Many of our larger shuls are often empty. Fourth, the Orthodox community may have tripled, but it is still a tiny fraction of the whole. Fifth, there are other ways to measure Jewish life besides membership. One significant way is tzedakah. What the total tzedakah output of Colorado Jewry is, is impossible to measure; but if we measure by the funds raised by the centralized bodies, it has dropped relative to population growth.
Bottom line: The effort to render Judaism a meaningful part of all Jews’ lives in our area is still an uphill battle. At least, apparently unlike much of the rest of the country, we are waging it.
Copyright © 2013 by the Intermountain Jewish News
