Jews are doing well as Americans, so well that being Jewish is sufficiently stylish in the United States today that many non-Jewish 13-year-olds wish they could have b’nai mitzvah celebrations.
Moreover, many national politicians are finding Jews in their family trees, said Lawrence Rubin, Ph.D., national executive director of Celebrate 350: Jewish Life in America 1654-2004.
At the same time, Jewish leaders bemoan the increasing drop in synagogue attendance and overall affiliation by American Jews.
According to Rubin, American Jews have arrived at the 350th anniversary of Jewish life in this country with a dual narrative.
One narrative focuses on the “Look how successful we have been in America” story while the other says, “Oy, we are in a lot of trouble here because the percentage of Jews in the U.S. has fallen to about half its 1920s level.”
Rubin spoke to a group of about 100 on July 12 at the Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society’s inaugural event, themed “Celebrate 350: A Time for Reflection and Renewal: A Story of American Jewish Freedom and Opportunity.”
He talked about Celebrate 350 and described some of the events Jewish communities all over the country plan to carry out to mark it.
Rubin introduced four themes in connection with the anniversary, including the impact of the changing roles of Jewish women on American Jewish life, what religious liberty has meant to American Jews, diversity within the American Jewish community and building an intergenerational bridge — not only a meditation on the world of our grandparents, but a message to our grandchildren.
Celebrate 350, a year-long national celebration, will officially begin on Sept. 12 with a re-enactment of the arrival of the first group of Jews known to have set foot in North America.
On that day in 1654, 23 Jewish men, women and children, fleeing persecution in Brazil, landed in New York, or New Amsterdam, as it was then called.
Noting that this is not only a time to celebrate our achievements as Jews in America, but also a time to commemorate and evaluate our experience here, Rubin posed the rhetorical question, “And why should we do this?” Because, he answered, “somber contemplation of our achievements will energize us” for the future.
Rubin informed the audience that, in addition to the re-enactment, a major historical exhibit will open at the Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9 and run through December 2004.
Parts of “From Haven to Home: A Library of Congress Exhibition Marking 350 Years of Jewish life in America” will then travel to Cincinnati, New York City and Los Angeles. The Library of Congress has published a companion book with the same title.
Over 100 events around the U.S. have been scheduled thus far according to Rubin. A national calendar of events is posted on the Celebrate 350 Web site [www.celebrate350.org], he said.
Several of the planned events he mentioned include a performance by the nationally acclaimed Paul Taylor Dance Company of New York City in connection with the National Foundation for Jewish Culture, and an event entitled “A Celebration of Jews in Baseball” at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, Aug. 29-30. In addition, plays and musical works have been commissioned, and lecture series, art exhibits and religious services, among other activities, are planned.
“The Milwaukee Jewish Historical Society literally started with a box of photos and has now grown to include a program committee with several exciting programs and a multigenerational membership. The program committee has taken Celebrate 350 as its theme for this inaugural year,” said Kathie Bernstein, director of the historical society, which is a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
Local events will include a lecture series that will feature scholar Jonathan Sarna on Dec. 12. That event will be co-sponsored with the Harry & Rose Samson Family Jewish Community Center and the Wisconsin Center for Jewish Learning.
Jayne Butlein, program committee chair, welcomed guests to the event, which took place at the Peck Family Hall at the Jewish Home and Care Center.
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