Tra­di­tion and Tran­si­tion: Jew­ish Com­mu­ni­ties and the Hyper-Empow­ered Individual

From JEWISH BOOK COUNCIL (OCTOBER 2, 2024)

We live in a time of extra­or­di­nary choice. Today, the hyper-empow­ered indi­vid­ual is free to choose from among end­less pos­si­bil­i­ties in her pri­vate, pro­fes­sion­al, social, and com­mu­nal life. And in mak­ing her choic­es, this empow­ered indi­vid­ual explores and ques­tions the cul­tur­al and reli­gious insti­tu­tions and orga­ni­za­tions that seek her affil­i­a­tion. Do they address her inter­ests? Will she be an active par­tic­i­pant in their pro­gram? Do they hold mean­ing for her?

Pres­i­dent and CEO of the Jew­ish Fun­ders Net­work and a vet­er­an of Jew­ish orga­ni­za­tion­al life, Andrés Spokoiny is deeply con­cerned about the chal­lenge that cul­tur­al and reli­gious insti­tu­tions face today and about the future of Jew­ish com­mu­nal life. Its insti­tu­tions were con­struct­ed for peo­ple whose view of them­selves and the world is dif­fer­ent from that of today’s empow­ered indi­vid­ual. These are insti­tu­tions for peo­ple who were brought up in car­riages in which they faced their par­ents, who made order in their lives. Today, chil­dren grow up in strollers that face for­ward, with the world ahead of them and the choice of where to look. How do we cre­ate com­mu­nal orga­ni­za­tions that can encom­pass so many viewpoints?

Read the full article by Maron L. Waxman in Jewish Book Council.