Jack Wertheimer

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Papers by Jack Wertheimer

Judaism in America

Oxford Research Encyclopedia of American History, Feb 23, 2021

It is impossible to understand American Judaism without reference to its adaptation to American s... more It is impossible to understand American Judaism without reference to its adaptation to American social mores and religious models. Among the important aspects of the American ethos that would shape Judaism in this country were voluntarism, the choice Americans enjoy whether to join or stay aloof; congregationalism, the near autonomy of each house of worship to regulate its own services; egalitarianism, which levels differences between different socioeconomic classes and eventually the genders; democratic ideals of governance; individualism and personalism, both elevating the needs and interests of each person over those of the group; moralism, the belief that the most important, if not sole, purpose of religion is to enable believers to become better human beings; and decorum, evolving conceptions of how one is to behave in a house of worship. Successive waves of Jewish immigrants initially aimed to transplant customary ways of enacting Judaism in the Old World to the New. But in time, the children and grandchildren of immigrants adapted to American religious models, thereby reconceiving synagogue functions, home practices, and everyday lived Judaism. Not only did synagogues introduce English language prayers and sermons; they also incorporated democratic norms and egalitarian ideals to varying degrees. Though laxity in the practice of religious rituals and customs by “average” Jews is hardly unique to American Jews, ideological justifications for “pick and choose” religion draw upon American conceptions of individualism and personalism. By the end of the 20th century, Do-It-Yourself Religion—the apotheosis of individualism and personalism—had triumphed in most sectors of American Judaism (with the exception of Orthodoxy)—just as it had in other faith communities. The porousness of American society, the free flow of ideas and assumptions, render it virtually impossible for religious groups, such as Jewish ones, to insulate themselves in physical or intellectual enclaves. Indeed, many—though certainly not all—controversies about reforming American Judaism have pitted traditionalists against progressives over just how much Jewish religious practices can or should accommodate to American society’s ever-evolving ethos.

9. What Is a Jewish Family? The Radicalization of Rabbinic Discourse

The New American Judaism

Go Out and See What the People Are Doing

Contemporary Jewry, Aug 25, 2010

Based on a range of sources, there is ample evidence of a general decline in American Jewish iden... more Based on a range of sources, there is ample evidence of a general decline in American Jewish identification with Israel, a pattern especially evident today among younger Jews in their twenties and thirties and among Jews who identify with the political left. Survey findings alone are of only limited utility in capturing the underlying social reality and the erosion of connections to Israel stemming from peer pressure. Keywords American Jewish History Á Attachment to Israel Á Adult children of intermarried parents Are the ties that have bound American Jews to Israel fraying, particularly among younger sectors of the population? This is the central question in the lively exchange over the so-called ''distancing narrative,'' a debate laden with implications particularly for two larger issues: First, a strong sense of connection on the part of Jews in the United States will determine whether Israel can count on American Jews for political support, not a minor matter considering that as citizens of the United States their lobbying can have an impact on the world's most powerful state and one of the few to offer reliable friendship to an often isolated Israel. Second, solidarity with Israel has served in the past as a measure of how committed individual American Jews are to the Jewish people and its religion. Jewish sacred texts, liturgy and theology have emphasized these connections over the long history of Jewish dispersal. And then as the Zionist movement emerged, the Babylonian Talmud: Eruvin 14b.

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The Fragmentation of American Jewry and ItsLeadership: An interview with Jack Wertheimer