Critical Questions On Jewish Families To Be Explored By Scholars

American Jewish Committee
Tuesday, 14 April 1998

Can Jewish leaders and institutions actually influence Jewish family life? Do they work to make Jewish marriages more, or less, stable? How does the high cost of Jewish living undermine traditionalism in Jewish household? Is gender equality really good for Jewish homes?

These and other critical questions facing the Jewish community will be explored at a major national conference in Boston, Sunday April 26 and Monday April 27, on The Future of the American Jewish Family. The two-day program will also look for ways to strengthen Jewish family life. The conference is sponsored by the American Jewish Committee's William Petschek National Jewish Family Center; The International Research Institute on Jewish Women (IRIJW), established at Brandeis University by Hadassah; and by Brandeis University's Near Eastern and Judaic Studies Department and President's Office.

"Both Hadassah and AJC's William Petschek National Jewish Family Center are intent on using their experiences and resources to raise awareness of the difficult questions confronting contemporary Jewish families," said Prof. Shulamit Reinharz, director of the IRIJW. "Hadassah has a dramatic track record in pioneering the exploration of women's lives and ability to create change. Working to understand and improve the lives of Jews in the United States and Israel, Hadassah has always promoted ideals while confronting real problems. The William Petschek National Jewish Family Center of the American Jewish Committee has produced some of the most important scientific research available on many different kinds of Jewish families."

Presenters at the conference, which will be held at Brandeis University, include feminist Rabbi Laura Geller, economist Barry Chiswick, religion analyst Don Browning, sociologist of contemporary Jewish life Sylvia Barack Fishman, Jewish educator Jonathan Woocher, social policy planners Jack Ukeles and Gary Tobin, and Jewish Theological Seminary Provost Jack Wertheimer, among others. Film critic Michael Medved and historian Joyce Antler will present an evening program on "Media Portrayals of the Jewish Family."

"Jewish families are recognized as the basic building blocks of Jewish society," noted Orthodox feminist Blu Greenberg, chair of the Petschek Center. "At the same time, today's Jewish families reflect sweeping social changes and in some ways are quite different from Jewish families of the past. Jewish communal institutions need to rethink their approaches in a fresh new way."

"Family has been both a bridge issue and a wedge issue in the Jewish community," said Dr. Steven Bayme, American Jewish Committee's director of Jewish communal affairs. "Traditionals and liberals have agreed on the centrality of strengthening the family for the Jewish future, yet they have disagreed on how we can define Jewish family values and even what constitutes a family."

Among conference respondents, Sherry Rosen of the Association of Jewish Family and Children's Agencies (AJFCA) will discuss the conflicting emphases on normative households and inclusivity as values in the Jewish community. Dr. Rosen noted that the AJFCA will be holding its International Conference in St. Louis simultaneously with The Future of the American Jewish Family Conference. "The fact that two major conferences are addressing the challenges confronting Jewish family life illustrates the importance of family to the Jewish community today," she said.

"The family conference brings together theoreticians, analysts and practitioners to struggle with pressing issues," said Brandeis historian Jonathan Sarna. "It is not only that the old answers will no longer suffice. Even the questions need to be reexamined."

For more information, or to contact American Jewish Committee, see their website at: www.ajc.org