Every year as I sit at the Passover seder, whether in a small setting with my family or at a large communal gathering, my favorite words are: “In every generation, one ought to regard himself as if he had personally come out of Egypt.”
As a librarian, archivist, historian for the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, and currently, community study consultant for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation, this sentence speaks volumes about our responsibility for Jewish continuity.
When colleagues and friends became aware that I am editing and disseminating information about the “Jewish Community Study of Greater Milwaukee 2011,” I received responses that range from delight (“Wow! 30,000 people! Who knew?”) to consternation (“Who are these people? Why don’t we know them?”) to overt skepticism (“Your methodology must be flawed. The numbers are cooked.”)
Regarding the last and most concerning comment, I want to explain again that the current study used the most up-to-date methods of social science research, included both land line and cell phone telephone numbers in its random-digit dialing, and, most importantly, used a wider geographical area than did previous studies.
Therefore, we are not comparing studies, nor are we claiming that the population has grown considerably. Rather, we feel that we have captured a snapshot of our community’s Jewish population at this moment in time using the best methods available to us.
We now know that we have a considerable number of Jews who live outside of what was considered our geographical “core” — the city of Milwaukee and the North Shore suburbs. Our community is moving north of Mequon. (In fact, I was contacted by a Washington County resident who reminded me that the geographical study area wasn’t broad enough.)
In Milwaukee County, we have spread beyond the traditional zip codes of 53202, 53211, 53210, 53216, 53209, and 53217. And a surprising 17 percent of our community is in Waukesha County.
Different tastes
The Wisconsin Jewish Chroniclepreviously published the information that most members of the Milwaukee Jewish community feel highly “connected” and “included,” to use the terms used in our questionnaire.
However, geographical cross tabs that I received recently from study author Stephen Percy, Ph.D., indicate that the Jewish population living in the Milwaukee County Ring (those communities outside the traditionally Jewish core areas) and in Waukesha County are the ones least likely to feel that way.
Returning to the responses I have received about the study findings, I would say that the reactions within the Milwaukee Jewish Federation have been thoughtful and measured: “This is a challenge and an opportunity.”
The study results will have many ramifications, and community planning is a complex affair. However, there is something uncomplicated that we, as a community, can do right now.
Passover is almost here. Why not let it be known that there are places at our Pesach tables for those who are less connected?
While some people like small, intimate seders, others like large communal seders. Some people keep strict kashrut, some are vegetarians, some have no preference. There are those who would like a traditional seder; others not.
As of this writing, the MJF is compiling a list of local organizations and synagogues that are offering public seders for either the first or second nights of Passover. Check the website www.milwaukeejewish.org for more detailed information.
These are different seder experiences. We can publicize them not only through the Chronicle and the MJF website, but by word of mouth, so that the potential attendees can choose one for an enjoyable experience.
Here’s another idea: If you work in one of these less “connected” areas, this might be the year to invite a fellow Jewish but unaffiliated employee and his or her family to your home seder.
And rabbis? Perhaps you can make a shidduch (match) between a person who has approached you but not joined your congregation and one of your member families.
This year, may our unconnected and unincluded feel that they, too, have personally come out of Egypt. While they may not spend “next year in Jerusalem,” they may spend next year as part of the greater Milwaukee Jewish community.
Jane A. Avner, Ph.D., is the community study consultant for the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
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