350 Years of Judaism in the Golden Land:
Being Jewish in the Golden State

In September of 1654, 350 years ago this month, a small boat sailed into the port of New Amsterdam, today's New York. Most of the 23 bedraggled and exhausted passengers were Jewish refugees from Brazil, who had been expelled when the Portugueze recaptured the colony from the Dutch. The captain refused to take the penniless exiles any further.
Of course, these were not the first Jews to ever set foot in North America. Some folks even think that Columbus himself might have come from Jewish stock. However, this group was different. They wanted to settle in New Amsterdam permanently.

This was the beginning of Jewish settlement in the United States. 350 years later, the American Jewish community, numbering over 5 million, is the largest in the world (although Israel will probably overtake us soon in Jewish population), and is also the freest, most privileged, most affluent, most educated secularly and by many measures the most successful Jewish community in history.

Looking at Judaism in America today-there are so many things to celebrate. But there are also many causes for concern. Is the glass half full, or is it half empty and draining fast? To understand, we must first look into our past and then look forward to our future.

From Revolutionary days, America was different. The Constitution guaranteed free observance of religion along with separation of church and state. Jews welcomed the invitation to freedom. There were three great waves of Jewish immigration to the United States. First came the Sephardim, then came the German and Central European Jews in the middle of the 19th century, many of whom went west and pioneered Jewish settlements in wild places like Texas and California.

The largest wave of immigration was that of the Eastern European and Russian Jews, who arrived at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th. These Jews, the ancestors of most American Jews today, came fleeing religious intolerance, persecution and grinding poverty, to pursue the American dream.

The 20th century brought turmoil that transformed our community. The Holocaust, the birth of the state of Israel and its triumph in the Six-Day War, and "universal causes" like civil rights all challenged and forged the nature of American Jewry. Later in the century, Judaism was transformed again by the advent of feminism and a renewal of Jewish spirituality.

So is the glass half full or half empty? If we look at the levels of secular education, prosperity, freedom and acceptance that American Jews enjoy, there's no question that the glass is not only half full, in fact our cup runneth over. In addition, this community is incredibly creative and productive from a Jewish point of view. At no time in history have thousands of books on Judaism been published in the vernacular for the general reader, until America. There are myriad academic programs in Jewish Studies. Women have greater opportunities for Jewish leadership than in any other time or place in history. There are more children attending Jewish day schools than ever before. There are great Jewish institutions in the area of philanthropy, culture and support of Israel.

On the other hand, our cup is also half empty. According to the Population Census taken by the Jewish Federation of New York every ten years, there are actually fewer Jews in America than ten years ago. Our population is aging, and we are marrying later and having fewer children than the national average. When population is surveyed, many Jews are included who are no longer observant of Judaism, and still the numbers have decreased. We attend religious services much less often than our Christian neighbors, and our levels of personal observance tend to be low.

There's a saying that Jews are just like other people-only more so. So Jewish life in California-the Golden State-is just like Jewish life in America-the Golden Land-only more so. As in many areas, the trends that we see in California Judaism may be a predictor of where American Judaism is headed. California is the home of great Jewish communities in Los Angeles and in the San Francisco Bay Area, but it is also the Western Frontier where Jews came when they wanted to get away from family ties and hereditary obligations, to assimilate into the larger society. It's the land of creativity, which often leads to new Jewish expressions, but it's also the land of "doing your own thing," which is often antithetical to Jewish ideals of communal responsibility.

In a sense, our Jewish community in Chico, here on the frontiers of West Coast Jewry, can function as a living laboratory for this great experiment of American Judaism. Will our freedom to choose the life we want to lead gradually result in total assimilation into broader society, or will we enjoy a renaissance of creative Jewish living?

We may be a small community on the Jewish map, but we don't have to think small-we can and must dream big. You know, the Jewish people are a small people, but that hasn't minimized our impact on the world. Although we compromise a fraction of a percent of the world population, we have shaped the moral foundations of Western Society. Our contributions are all out of proportion to our numbers-and so it will continue to be, if we continue our 4000 year heritage and assume the mantel of Jewish leadership for our generation. As David Ben-Gurion, first prime minister of Israel said about the Jewish state-to be a realist, one must be a dreamer. The same holds true for us, right here, today.

How can we do that here in Chico? What we have is wonderful, but we shouldn't be satisfied with the status quo. If we want to become part of a renaissance of Jewish life for the future, need to develop a vision of what this community will look like as it flowers and grows, and what kind of Jewish future our children will inherit as they reach adulthood. Tonight I would like to draw your attention to two crucial sectors of our Jewish population in Chico, our teenagers and our college students.

Perhaps you've heard the story of the mice that were overrunning the houses of worship in a small town. The local churches tried everything from pest control to prayer circles to get rid of them. To everyone's astonishment, the town synagogue succeeded of getting rid of the mice in a week. When they asked the local rabbi for his mice-control secret, he replied, "simple-I 'bar mitzvahed' the mice last week and they were never seen in temple again!"

Although this story brings a chuckle, it's really a sad reflection on a reality. In a country in which most Jews receive higher education (perhaps you've heard that Woody Allan called "a Jewish dropout" someone with just a B.A.), it's distressing that many teens drop out of their Jewish education at age 13. No wonder that many Jewish adults feel that they've "outgrown" Judaism-they have never learned about it beyond the Jr. High level. Some adults tell me that they haven't been in a synagogue since their Bar Mitzvah 25 years ago. That's like saying, "I had a wedding 25 years ago and never saw my spouse again!" The goal of B'nai Mitzvah is not a day, but a lifetime. If I can accomplish one thing in Chico, it will be to promote the idea that Bar or Bat Mitzvah is the first day of a young adult Jewish life. To that end, we have started two programs to engage our teenagers: B'nai B'rith Youth Organization (BBYO) and the Teen/Confirmation Class. Tonight I'm asking each young adult, parent, and community member to support these efforts.

Last year we began a teen/Confirmation class. This class is just twice a month-the second and fourth Wednesday at 4:15. I know that our teens have a lot of schoolwork and activities, but I believe that almost all have 2-1/2 hours a month to learn about their heritage at a young adult level. The outstanding teachers include CSU professors and community leaders, and I also personally teach many of the classes. We discuss issues that they don't always study in school-issues of values, of ethics, of faith. Algebra and soccer are important, but values and heritage are bedrock. Studies have shown that while religious school has some affect on future affiliation, it is really successful in fostering Jewish identity and knowledge only when students continue after Bar or Bat Mitzvah and participate in teen education. We will soon institute Confirmation in grade 10 or 11 and expand the Chai Ceremony for high school graduation, and my goal is to see every Bar and Bat Mitzvah student continue for Confirmation.

Why is this such a high priority for me? Well, when I look at our teenagers in the class, in the words of Jewish educator Seymour Rossel, I realize that your daughter could be the next Golda Meir or your son could be the next Maimonides. But even if they're not the next Golda or Rambam, they are the future of our people and nothing could be more important. And I want them to know who Golda Meir and Maimonides were! But we can offer the most wonderful program with the finest teachers generously donating their time, and I can be the most dedicated rabbi for teen education, but the only way that it will have any impact on your family is if you bring your teen to participate. Our next class will be after the holidays on October 13th.

In addition to the teen class, the formal education, BBYO, the youth group, the informal education, is off to a great start in Chico due the hard work of many teens and their parents. I would like to invite our BBYO officers who are here tonight to stand and be recognized. (ask BBYO members to stand.) Thanks also to Michael Leitner for volunteering as our parent coordinator, and to our interim advisor, Dana Kraus.

My first comments on BBYO are directed at our teens here tonight: being in a national Jewish youth group is an incredible opportunity. I know because I and my children and so many people that I know have done it and it shaped our lives. It's a chance to make deep and real lifelong friendships, to develop leadership skills you never knew you had, maybe to have an adventure in Israel or another place -and locally to have a great group of Jewish friends to hang out with on a regular basis.

To the parents: I know that the youth group involves dues and fees, and maybe taking your turn driving or chaperoning or hosting the kids, which some of you have already done. So, last Sunday I picked up our local Enterprise Record and read an article on sports teams for kids in Chico. I found out that participation in most teams requires fees, uniforms, travel and expenses often coming to hundreds of dollars and that many teams expect parents to drive the kids to events in other cities.

We must ask ourselves-do we want to put our kids on the Jewish team? The formation of a Jewish identity and commitment in our teenagers is worth at least as much as their other extra curricular activities. I would argue that it's beyond price. Few of our children will be professional athletes, but we hope that all of them will be committed Jews. But only if we show that it's a value and a priority for our families.

If finances are a concern, however, scholarships are available for both dues and events from the BBYO regional office. In addition, through the generosity of the Fine family, the Gertrude Lenner fund will offer additional scholarships for our youth to participate in BBYO conventions. But now I have great news for you. A BBYO alumnus in the Bay Area read about our group and has generously offered to provide up to 16 full scholarships for our teens to attend the new member convention the weekend of Oct. 15!

To the other adults in this community, this message is for you, too. I hope that some of you can actively support our youth group. We have had two of our college students who are BBYO alumni (Jacki & Jeremy) offer to assist with our club, but we still really need an enthusiastic, energetic permanent adult advisor. Please let me know if this tremendous mitzvah interests you-it could be your "portion in the world to come" as you help create a new generation of Jewish leaders. The ideal person is not one of the teens' parent, past college age, and hopefully but not necessarily has some experience with BBYO or another youth group. Maybe someone sitting here tonight, or maybe a couple, is ready to make that his or her or their mitzvah for our future.

Another way to help our young people is to donate to the Gertrude Lenner fund which supports our teens and our younger children going to the youth groups and to educational programs in Israel. Research has shown the tremendous impact that these experiences can have in forming Jewish identity and commitment. This is a priceless investment in our Jewish future.

And what happens when Jewish teens grow up and go to college? This leads me to my second focus tonight: our Chico State Hillel. (Invite students to raise hands). Devoted members of our congregation have been instrumental in the founding and sustaining of Hillel. I would like to recognize these leaders by asking all the members of our congregation who have been involved with our Hillel or who serve on the Hillel board or as Hillel advisor: the Schiffmans, the Leitners, the Edelmans, David Halimi, Jim Jessee, Leanna Gordon , Daniel Veidlinger & Jed Wyrick. And thanks to Sam's tireless work, our students have Jewish studies courses on campus-which not only reach Jewish students but hundreds of non-Jewish students who learn greater tolerance, respect, and understanding of our faith.

There are several hundred Jewish students at Chico-probably more Jewish students than members of our congregation! Yet when we had a Hillel Shabbat at our synagogue, only a few of our congregants attended. Do we care about the Jewish students in our city? Well, why should we care? We need to care because they are the future of the Jewish people in our midst, and many of them are in college seeking their path and making life decisions that will bring them closer to their heritage…or take them in other directions. We need to care because they are just like our kids going off to college in other cities-we want the communities in which they study to care. Finally, we need to care about our students out of enlightened self-interest. Many people in our community first came here as Chico State students. By developing ties to our students, we are helping to build our own community's future.

So what can we do for these Jewish students? I asked their director, Sarah Audronis (please stand). But first let me tell you that Sarah attributes her own dedication to Judaism to Hillel and to the influence of Nitsa Schiffman who was the director for many years. Hillel students could use three things from us:

1) First-and this one is such an easy mitzvah-these are young people away from home, living in dorms and eating in the cafeteria. Many would love to have an "adoptive" Jewish family to host them for Shabbat and holiday meals. I would like to invite our congregants to approach these young people right after services tonight, get their phone numbers and invite them for a meal during the Jewish holidays. I would like to get names of people who would like to host some of our college students for some Shabbat or holiday meals in the future. I've put a sign up sheet in the lobby. By the way, they like to do things in pairs, so they feel more comfortable.

2) Secondly, Our Hillel operates on a shoestring budget. Yet the San Francisco Federation has cut their allocation by 10 percent. What about the Jews of Chico? Do we value this Jewish presence at our University enough to contribute? I'm happy to say that the Rabbi's fund made an allocation to Hillel this spring, and I hope that individuals will follow suit. Maybe someone in our midst is a grant-writing mayven who would like to see Sarah after services about being on the board and helping them raise funds.

3) And the third and greater challenge: Hillel has been renting a space above Celestino's Pizza right next to the campus. Well, they are about to lose that home and they need a new space in the area. Does anyone in our community have a place to rent them? Bigger-somewhere in our community, isn't there a tzaddik (a true mitzvah-hero) who has a place to donate for their use and to get a holy tax deduction? Even bigger, why do several hundred Jewish students only merit a tiny rented office space in our community? Let's ask bigger questions and dream larger-does someone in our community want to provide a property in the campus area, or help Hillel build a beautiful home that would be a lasting tribute to your name and legacy? Maybe someone like that is here tonight and will make that immortal decision this Rosh Hashanah.

The Jews of America have come a long way since we stepped off that boat in New Amsterdam-since your ancestors and mine got off the boat in Ellis Island. We are living in the best of all possible diasporas, but also with the risks of a free society in which we can easily choose to opt in or opt out. The past has been written by others, but it is WE who will write the future. To build the Jewish future, we must make the Jewish identity and education of our next generation a true value and a high priority for our families and community.

The Talmud in Tractate Shabbat tells us that when we get to heaven, we'll be asked several questions: Were you honest in your business affairs? Did you endeavor to bring children into the world? Did you anticipate the future redemption?
About your business affairs, you know the answer. About the next generation, whether they are your own or the children of our community and our city, tonight I have presented two crucial ways to bring our next generation to life as the future of Judaism. We do so by thinking forward-by keeping the Jewish dream alive and having a bigger, loftier vision for our Jewish community. We must continue to live this dream and make the efforts and sacrifices to make it come true.
Dream big for our future: it's the only realistic thing to do.