Rabbi Rick Jacobs on the Authenticity of Reform Judaism

A Chabad outreach van. Image by flickr user andyinnyc.

It was over the question of B'nai Mitzvot, in fact, that the two poles most recently collided. In an article published in 2007, Rabbi Eric Yoffie, the president of the Union for Reform Judaism, criticized Chabad's practice of holding B'nai Mitzvot without requiring preparation from the boys or commitment from their families. An emissary at Cornell's Chabad House responded with an article that accused Reform of using Bar Mitzvah students as "pawns in a game of institutional extortion." The scuffle highlighted a deep tension between the movements, which increasingly find themselves in competition on campuses and in communities around the world.

Chabad constitutes a challenge to the Reform movement. When Chabad's rabbis come to town, the local Reform synagogue faces the risk of appearing less authentic than the competition. But some Reform rabbis aren't about to roll over.

Rabbi Rick Jacobs leads the Westchester Reform Temple, a large Reform congregation of 1,200 households in Scarsdale, New York. Jacobs is a prominent figure within the Reform movement, active in the Central Conference of American Rabbis, Reform's rabbinical association, and Synagogue 3000, an effort to revitalize synagogue life.

We spoke with Jacobs about his thoughts on Chabad, the authenticity of Reform Judaism, and outreach to college students.

What do you tell college students from your congregation when they come to you with questions about Chabad activities on their campuses?

I believe that all meaningful Jewish experiences are important, and I would put Chabad in that mix. What I'm nervous about is the less versed Jewish college student who walks in and immediately feels like they have [previously] been part of something not authentic. Sometimes that comes from the Chabad rabbi or the rabbi's wife or the rabbi's staff, and sometimes it's just, 'My God, this is so different from what I know.'  I had a student who would have Shabbat dinner with [his school's Chabad rabbi] regularly. It's an opportunity for easy conversation about Torah, with a little kugel and a little gefilte fish and a loving acceptance. I think that's incredibly valuable. However, this kid tells me, 'I didn't know the birkat hamazon.' I said, 'Excuse me? Remember, at [Hebrew school], where you were a student for five years, we said the birkat hamazon at each class?' [And he said,] 'Oh, but its very different the way they do it'.

I agree. It is different. But this young man felt like he didn't even know something called the birkat hamazon, and he's a kid who was fairly involved in his high school Reform Jewish education. I don't want to say don't go to a Chabad house. What I do want to say is don't throw away your Jewish authenticity in your encounter, because you have a very valid Jewish experience.

There's a line of thought in the organized Jewish community that says that non-Orthodox students should go to the Chabad house as a means of developing a Jewish identity, even if they don't particularly identify with the set of values espoused by Chabad. Is this appropriate?

Rabbi Rick Jacobs of the Westchester Reform Temple.

One of the most problematic things is that Chabad subscribes to a view that a Jewish soul is inherently more sacred than a non-Jewish soul. Yes, there are sources: Hasidic, Kabalistic, and probably even rabbinic where you could construct such a notion. But I find that to be the most problematic aspect of Chabad. And it's not going to be in the first conversation with a Chabad rabbi, it's not going to be in the fiftieth, but it under girds much of the Chabad worldview and their mission to spread out around the world and bring Jews back to the fold. Frankly, that's a serious conversation that has to be kind of explored. It's not easily done by an 18-year-old [student] versus a 35-year-old Chabad rabbi who's got fifteen good responses, but their version of Judaism is in my mind problematic and not necessarily built on the same intellectual and moral foundations as the rest of traditional Judaism.

And what about the older donors? They know all this. Why do so many secular adults give money to Chabad?

I think the reality is that many liberal Jewish donors to Chabad are hedging their bets. [They think,] 'When all is said and done in 50 or 100 years, I don't know if this liberal Jewish path is going to still be around. And the Chabad people remind me of my zayde.' No, really, the guy could be 28 years old, but he reminds people of their zayde. It touches a heart string, as well as that little gnawing doubt that maybe [the Lubavitch] are the ones that are going to endure the onslaught of modernity, and maybe they are the ones who are going to make sure that in four generations there will be Jewish life. It pains me that they don't have enough belief in what they do and what they're providing for their children to support their own religious congregation to the same extent as they would Chabad. I think it's Yitz Greenberg who called it the 'Zayde Principle,' and I think that is the secret to their success, because obviously financially they're doing quite well. And I would never preach against supporting them. My approach would be to emphasize how important it is to support financially the main institutions of Jewish life. Reform Judaism is now the largest movement in North America, and I don't think it's because we're watering down Judaism, I think it's because it's a Judaism that is in sync with the challenges of modern life.

What should Chabad's role be among secular and non-Orthodox Jews?

As a Reform rabbi, I think that their role ought to be as one of the spiritual paths within Jewish life. A passionate, committed, very authentic path, but one of the paths and not the path, not a hierarchically overarching path making others seem less authentic or less serious.

I was in midtown Manhattan, and I'm walking down the street and this wonderful friendly warm Chabadnik stops me and says, 'Are you Jewish?' I'm walking along, I'm wearing a grey suit. I don't know, maybe I have curly Jewish hair. I said, 'Yes, are you?' And he looked at me and started to laugh and he pointed to his tzit tzit and to his beard. I said, 'You know, appearances are not always reality.

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Chabad and Reform on Campus Paul Saiger (38.115.144.xxx) 2008-09-29 07:54:19 I fully appreciate Rabbi Rick Jacobs concerns with respect to the role that Chabad plays on campus and in the lives of students from Reform (and other non-Orthodox) backgrounds. Indeed anyone with a liberal orientation to Judaism would and should pause at elements of Chabad's philosophy and mode of operation. Unfortunately, Rabbi Jacobs misses the essential point when it comes to Chabad's influence on campus. Perhaps it is so simple and obvious that it gets "hidden in plain sight". What is their secret? THEY ARE THERE. The typical Jewish student comes to campus with at best a 13 year old's appreciation of Judaism. Even if they are among the small minority who have been active in camping and youth groups they have never encountered and interacted with an adult approach to Judaism of any philosophical stripe. In Chabad they find a sophisticated, smart and dedicated spokesperson for tradition. That person opens his home and his heart, shares his time and his love of Judaism and his family with the student. He and his wife create a warm and embracing environment for ongoing "meaningful" experiences. How can memories of learning the "bircat hamazon" five, six or seven years earlier in a religious school possibly compete with that? The sad fact is that the Reform Movement devotes virtually no real, on the ground, resources to students on campus. They offer an email list and a conference or two for those interested in the rabbinate. But it is people who influence people. It is role models. It is a community of peers. The Reform Movement acts as if it is somebody elses responsibility (Hillel's?) to provide Reform models of spirituality and community for college students. In the meantime, Chabad is just the tip of the iceberg. There are numerous Orthodox KIRUV organizations, Kollels and freelance rabbis who are working on every campus in the country. They too are providing compelling models of yiddishkeit and menschlichkeit to students. All of this is fine. They have wonderful, warm and interesting approaches to Judaism. The shame (tragedy?) is that Reform Judaism ISN'T THERE. I find it rather amazing that the Reform Movement seems to assume that at the age of 30 or 35, when young people are married and have children, they will make the decision to affiliate with a movement which hasn't invested any time or effort in their development intellectually, spiritually or socially as Jews since they were 12 or 13 years of age. Reply

Jeff Eyges (146.115.65.xxx) 2008-10-13 06:12:45 Paul, I agree with much of what you're saying, but I'd insist that Hillel is Liberal Judaism's presence on campus. They offer the same experiences and opportunities as does Chabad - Shabbat dinner, an available rabbi, etc. Chabad's approach is to do it in a home, within a family context, providing a more intimate experience for a young person away from home and family for the first time. And, of course, there's the "Zaide factor" - although I don't know how much of an influence this is on a young person today. They then use this to their advantage, by communicating to the student, "You're responding favorably to this, you feel it to be more authentic because, deep within the recesses of your "yiddishe nehomo", you know that it is more authentic; this is real Judaism." They succeed in part by invalidating the other, even if it's done subliminally. Reply

Yoni (70.230.187.xxx) 2008-10-13 13:38:06 Young Jews are often post-movement, and post-institutional Judaism. Hillel and Chabad both do some wonderful work in St. Louis. Chabad works because walking into a home is always more personal than walking in the a 'Center for Jewish Life'. Hillel is great for working with the Jewish student body as an organization, but most young Jews don't want membership, they want relationships. Enter Moishe House, a really interesting and relatively new way for young Jews to create their own community from the ground up. Check out what they (and we) are doing at moishehouse.org. Chag Sukkot Sameach Reply

Love our Chabad Rabbis Rivka K (70.246.31.xxx) 2008-10-17 15:15:52 My family goes back in Reform movement to the 30's. My GM was the temple secretary to the new Rabbi. But we no longer go there after the constant watering down of the Torah to fairy tales and parables. We were looking for more, but were scared of Chabad. My dad had gone for years. But I don't cover my hair/my boys and hubby don't wear Tzit zit. So we tried a JLI class. The Rabbi and his wife were so welcoming.They have never judged us once.They only encourage us.Encourage us to do more Mitzvot. They never have made me feel unauthentic. To this day we still adore them and their family. Sadly, we live nowhere near them. It is impossible to be a member of a community that you don't live in or near.I don't expect to live a Chabad or Chasidic lifestyle. I tried the wig for 1 year, I went to Mikvah for 2 years. The wig was not for me, but I have horrible hair and it was liberating to NEVER worry about my hair! The Mikvah was awesome but it is hard to drive an hour late at night and come home another hour's drive with wet hair. So now my pool which I supplement with rain water is my Mikvah. Maybe one day we will live inthe Chabad community...that would be nice! Chabad on Campus is a whole other wonderful story. At a new CoC I watched at Pesach a room full of at least 80 kids having shabbos who could have been out drinking/partying. None of these kids grew up orthodox. None were intimidated by the Rabbi. No,the Rabbi made Shabbos FUN! my daughter has gone to Israel, Argentina and New Orleans on Tikun Olam projects. Reply

Sara Feinstein (217.147.235.xxx) 2008-11-17 03:54:22 I agree with the reader who commented that what Chabad has going for it is that "they are there." I grew up in a reform congregation in the US. I currently work overseas, in Tbilisi, Georgia. The point I want to make below is not an argument to the points that are made in this article, but rather another view on some of Chabad's work. It is Chabad that runs what would qualify as a community preschool and day school here. The families come from the backdrop of the Soviet Union and are mainly non-observant. But the School provides one of the best secular educations in the country, and a nice introduction to Hebrew and Judiasm. My kids attend the preschool and kindergarten. The program is good, and focused on reviving a sense of Jewish culture and community. It is also a huge opportunity for these kids to learn, when the alternative is poor public schools that are often unheated, no longer teach anything, etc. The school also serves as an alternative to the more religious Jewish school here, that focuses on preparing children for yeshiva in the US or Israel. Reform is not here. I am not saying that it should be or should not be. But, I find it hard to swallow when reform Jews in the US question my sending my kids to the Chabad school here. I get asked whether they make the kids do x,y, or z. And to many of them, the idea of contributing financially to the school-- which is currently struggling to survive-- seems unthinkable. I feel like many Jews I know in the US were more comfortable with my brother marrying a non-Jew than they are with me sending my kids to a Chabad-sponsored school. What it comes down to outside of the places where there are many Jewish communities to choose from is whether people should have access to Judiasm and a Jewish education or not. And Chabad is out there making it happen. Do I think it is weird to have pictures of the Reb on the wall? Yes. Do I think it is better for Georgian Jewish kids to get a Jewish education rather than not? I do. While the mission of Chabad in the US may be more to bring what they believe is "real Judiasm" to those who have been educated in the reform tradition, the mission of Chabad in many other places is just to bring Judiasm to people who, at best, have a weak link to the culture and religion and no other access. I know that there are non-Chabad foundations that support day schools in other parts of the former Eastern Bloc and Soviet Union. That is great. But here the only Jewish education is via Chabad. And the school is a compromise-- the teachers are running around in pants, the boys put on kipahs once they arrive at school each day, and the school reminds us each week in writing what shabbat is and what prayers to use to light candles. Local children who are not Jewish according to traditional Jewish law are welcomed if they are being raised in a Jewish home. It is outreach. Whether you agree with the full Chabad approac... Reply

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