If only traditional Judaism would lower its standards, become more open minded, there would be a Jewish renaissance. That is the assertion of Rabbi Yitz Greenberg, in a recent article in the Jewish Week. He points to what he calls “open Orthodoxy” as proof that a shift is underway. He believes that if this movement continues to grow it will create a new Jewish middle.
American Jewish life is already experiencing a fundamental realignment. There is a new Jewish middle and it’s not Greenberg’s brand of an orthodoxy that has lowered classical standards of Halachic observance, pushed time honored principles of belief to the edge, and some would argue beyond it. That new Jewish middle is Chabad, and, as they say, the proof is in the numbers.
Today in North America there are more Chabad Centers than either Reform or Conservative Temples. And while many liberal congregations are consolidating and merging, Chabad is booming and building. Evolving in cities and towns across the US, from living rooms, to storefronts, and eventually impressive centers, filled with Jews of all backgrounds. This shift is happening without compromising core values of Halacha and belief. If you walk into a Chabad Center in Bozeman or Boston, you will only find Chalav Yisroel on the table. The Mechiza will be the proper height, and there is no initiative to institute “Partnership Minyanim.”
The recent demographic survey, by the very non-orthodox Jewish Federation of Greater Miami, reveals remarkable statistics on Chabad involvement. These numbers are indicators of the restructuring of the American Jewish community already underway. In Miami 27% of local Jews are active in Chabad, among Jews 35 and younger the number skyrockets to 47%. What is most intriguing is that only 20% of those who attend Chabad self-identify as Orthodox. The Jewish middle is clearly shifting, and while tiny numbers may gravitate to Greenberg’s new brand of orthodoxy, the numbers are infinitesimal in relation to Chabad. By choosing Chabad the new generation is boarding a train headed towards observance instead of away. For some it may move at a slow pace, for others more rapid, but the direction is a new one for many Jews.
