Also, a lengthy piece covered an interesting development that I know is mirrored in the more adult world: the choice between Hillel-type Jewish observance on campuses versus Chabad. This dilemma is playing out in Ohio's well-developed East Side Jewish community as well, and so I read with great interest about how Yale's Chabad is bringing in students while the Slifka house, the more traditional and larger locale for Yale's Jews (as well as anyone else who prefers to eat kosher food, particularly vegetarians and Muslims too), seems to be waning in popularity, though it remains the predominant gathering place for said kids.
Chabad allows for prostelitizing, while in general, Judaism forbades that. However, it's done in a way that seems to appeal to unaffiliated Jews more so than the images that unaffiliated Jews often have of the established movements (Reform, Conservative and Orthodox). Its reaching out consists of little if any monetary commitment, and, for families in particular, that is radically different from joining a congregation of one of the three main movements. There's also usually a representation that it is all about learning and feeling comfortable. And I know many families headed by parents who grew up in a traditional shul but now attend Chabad because of what they perceive of as a welcoming flexibility.
However, typically, Chabad doesn't allow men and women to pray together and girls cannot be bat mitzvahed in the same way as they can be in Reform and Conservative congregations. Still, in exchange for other philosophical or practical ways in which Chabad carries out Judaism, many families have wanted to affiliate with Chabad. Mine is not such a family and, when I shul-shopped several years ago, and interviewed the Chabad folks, it just didn't feel right to me.
In the end, like anyone searching for religious affiliation (if you are indeed such a person doing that, acknowledging that it's not for everyone), I went with what made me comfortable. And it wasn't Chabad.
The Yale Herald piece described a similar set of differences between the more formal Slifka house and the newer Chabad group. And, again, in the end, I expect that individuals will be attracted to what makes them most comfortable. Given that the students are either latent adolescents or young adults, they're in precisely that phase during which as many opportunities as possible should be explored anyway.
Chabad allows for prostelitizing, while in general, Judaism forbades that. However, it's done in a way that seems to appeal to unaffiliated Jews more so than the images that unaffiliated Jews often have of the established movements (Reform, Conservative and Orthodox). Its reaching out consists of little if any monetary commitment, and, for families in particular, that is radically different from joining a congregation of one of the three main movements. There's also usually a representation that it is all about learning and feeling comfortable. And I know many families headed by parents who grew up in a traditional shul but now attend Chabad because of what they perceive of as a welcoming flexibility.
However, typically, Chabad doesn't allow men and women to pray together and girls cannot be bat mitzvahed in the same way as they can be in Reform and Conservative congregations. Still, in exchange for other philosophical or practical ways in which Chabad carries out Judaism, many families have wanted to affiliate with Chabad. Mine is not such a family and, when I shul-shopped several years ago, and interviewed the Chabad folks, it just didn't feel right to me.
In the end, like anyone searching for religious affiliation (if you are indeed such a person doing that, acknowledging that it's not for everyone), I went with what made me comfortable. And it wasn't Chabad.
The Yale Herald piece described a similar set of differences between the more formal Slifka house and the newer Chabad group. And, again, in the end, I expect that individuals will be attracted to what makes them most comfortable. Given that the students are either latent adolescents or young adults, they're in precisely that phase during which as many opportunities as possible should be explored anyway.
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