It began with the Melting Pot. Immigrants lined up to look American, to speak like Americans, and even to change their names to sound American. My grandfather wanted to name his son Ephraim, but the hospital nurse insisted that he have an American name, Frederick. When he showed up in court in the 1940s to legally change his name to Ephraim the judge couldn’t believe his ears. Why would anyone change his name from a good American one to some strange, foreign one? As Jews, we were supposed to blend in, and not stand out. Kippot in public, like all displays of one’s Jewishness, were unacceptable.

From the revolution of the Sixties emerged the Great Mosaic. Suddenly there were Afros (that’s a hairstyle), buttons proclaiming “Kiss Me, I’m Irish”, Indian saris, Kwanzaa, and a myriad of sub-culture expressions.

Publicly identifying oneself as a Jew became accepted, even respected. Jews gathered publicly for Israel, for Soviet and Syrian and Ethiopian Jewry (that was the 70’s). Israel’s victory in the Six-day war brought with it surging pride – we stood in the street waving Israeli flags and rallying by her side; Natan (then Anatoly) Sharansky’s name was on the lips of all Jews, and hundreds of thousands came out to rally with the cry of:

One, two, three, four;
Open up the Iron Door
Five, Six, Seven, Eight;
Let my people emigrate!

The 1980’s and 1990’s brought about upheavals in the Jewish world. The Iron Curtain came down; Natan Sharansky became a minister in Israel’s Knesset. Operations Moses and Solomon brought most of the Jewish community out of Ethiopia, and clandestine efforts resulted in the emigration of most of Syrian Jewry. Public rallies on behalf of Jewish causes are no longer de rigueur and don’t attract the crowds they once did. Even the venerated Salute to Israel parade down NY’s Fifth Avenue was nearly cancelled a few years ago.

But it is not just the external displays which have undergone change. Sociologist Steven M. Cohen and others have pointed out that in the contemporary world, young Jews are less committed to Israel and less prepared to associate themselves with public Jewish institutions. They want to be Jewish in ways that they define for themselves – at informal Jewish gatherings, in online communities, in Starbucks. Hyper-individualism, one aspect of post-modernity, is challenging the bonds that have long held Jews together.

Sometime in the 1970’s and 1980’s, the UJA-Federation captured the essence of Jewish inter-responsibility and inter-connectedness with the slogan, “We Are One.” That is not a new sentiment; it is part of the time-tested Jewish response to Cain’s, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Today, were we to craft a new slogan for the UJC it might read something like, “We Are Many” or “We Are One?”

As a teacher/administrator in an Orthodox day school in the 1990’s I observed an increasing number of deeply sincere young Jews prepared to devote extraordinary time and energy toward their own spiritual growth – doing mitzvot, studying Torah, acts of hesed – and being prepared to sacrifice for it. Yet, at the same time, the sense of national identity, national responsibility, connectedness to Jews qua Jews wherever they may be and whatever they may look like, was markedly absent.

This issue of Jewish Educational Leadership addresses the broad questions related to Jewish identity and Peoplehood – how do we define, develop and foster them. The rich research section opens with Ezra Kopelowitz & Ari Engelberg surveying definitions of Jewish Peoplehood, and Chana Tannenbaum reviewing the literature on inculcating religious identity in teens. Dan Mendelsson Aviv examines the impact of the Internet on Jewish connectedness, Hagit Hacohen Wolf investigates a unique phenomenon in secular Israeli identity, and Elliott Malamet examines the broad question of engaging contemporary youth in meaningful ways.

The applications section has two articles from day school educators describing new initiatives – Keren Romm presents a Bible survey course whose underlying principle is to deepen the students’ sense of Jewish identification, and Tzvi Pittinsky with Tikvah Weiner share a curriculum integration project focusing on issues of identity. Another two articles, by Shlomo Horwitz and Yael Unterman respectively, explore the role of drama in fostering identity development.

Leading off our Features section is a delightfully provocative essay by Ze’ev Maghen. Elana Sztokman profiles Shlomi Ravid, a visionary who devoted his life to a unique understanding of Jewish Peoplehood. Tzivia Garfinkel shares an action research project she did as part of Lookstein’s Principals’ Program, and Levi Cooper’s From the Classics examines three medieval sources regarding the “peoplehoodness” of converts to Judaism. We conclude with a Perspectives article from veteran educator Avraham Infeld.