Judaism in the Digital Age

In America, there are many branches of Judaism. The “leading four” branches are Reconstructionist, Reform, Conservative and Orthodox. These four are followed by Jewish Renewal, Humanistic Judaism and probably others of which that I am not even aware. And within these six-plus branches there is a great degree of variation in beliefs, observance and practice. However, even with all these denominations of Judaism, many Jews consider themselves “Jewish” with no branch affiliation. One might ask, “Is the Jewish community today more unified or more fragmented?” But we will let those with much more wisdom than I debate that question.  

As for digital technology, it is the great community-builder of our time. As technology becomes more and more integrated into our daily lives, the opportunities to build Jewish communities increase.  We see it as communities like our synagogue website and rabbi’s blog to AIPAC, J Street and JDate continue to gain visitors, membership and traction. And as these individual Jewish communities grow, so too does the larger Jewish community. The more we are connected around our Jewishness, the more we communicate, the more we learn, discuss, cry, argue, laugh, despair, hope and raise awareness of our Jewish selves and our Jewish identity.

There is no doubt that at the same time we are also losing large numbers of Jews from active participation in Judaism. American culture today provides many options for our spiritual, educational and social needs. And our organized Jewish communities, by and large, have not stepped up to creating value and desire to participate in Judaism. The organized Jewish outreach is still rooted in obligation as the primary reason to participate in our community.

Judaism is and has always been in flux, constantly changing to adapt to the modern world—from one of the most tragic times for Jews in modern history, the Holocaust, followed by the creation of the state of Israel, to Jews leaving their Orthodox roots in huge numbers and beginning the Reform movement, to the shift in our children’s Jewish education from what was once a daily part of their lives to what is now an hour or two out of their week.

And now we find ourselves again in one of those moments in time that generations to come will look back on as a monumental cultural shift: the digital age. This new age can both diversify and unify the Jewish people. It is two sides of the same coin. The digital world creates the opportunity for greater unification and identification with our Judaism through the proactive and passionate use of the digital tools available to us today. We are able to build online communities where like-minded Jews can gather and share, where we can participate at our own speed and level of knowledge.  

And like a hammer, saw and chisel, the traditional tools of creation, we need to look at “digital” as a new tool. Architects and planners are dreamers, and their dreams come to life through the appropriate use of tools. Rabbis, educators and passionate believers are the dreamers for the future of Judaism and digital technology can help bring their dreams to life.