Paris – The Rabbinical Center of Europe’s Rabbinical Authority will host a conference of more than 300 European rabbis in Paris on Monday, amid growing concern over the accelerating assimilation of the of the continent’s Jews.
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The Rabbinical Authority brings together the chief rabbis of Europe every six months. At the last meeting in September, the rabbis concluded that the biggest danger to European Jewry was assimilation, which has already finished off many Jewish communities, its gravity far outweighing both the threats of anti-Semitism and terrorism.
The rate of assimilation in Europe is now more than 50 percent, “a disastrous reality,” spokesman Asher Gold said on Sunday.
The Rabbinical Center hopes to combat assimilation by opening a wider discussion with rabbis on the importance of maintaining the Jewish family unit. The group has for years been working to reduce the effects of assimilation by promoting the modern Jewish family. For example, it operates 25 mikvaot (ritual baths) and provides publications in many languages to instruct rabbis in how to sustain families and communities.
“We are sure there are ways to stop assimilation and bring people to Judaism,” said Gold, expressing optimistic regarding the results of Monday’s conference.
Assimilation was “especially high in England and Germany,” which had lost more than 60 percent of their Jewish population in recent years, he said.
“Unlike in Israel, in Europe a rabbi is not only a halachic authority and Torah scholar, but a leader of the Jewish community. Rabbis are best fit to lead their communities in solving this problem,” Gold said.
THERE THEY GO AGAIN 1933 AGAIN ………………WHAT A STUPID COMMENT IN THEESE DAYS OF US FIGHTING FOR JEWISH SURVIVAL.LETS UNITE TOGETHER AND FIGHT ANTISEMITISIM
What took them so long to realize it???.
You want fewer people to leave? Look at why they leave.
You want to be less sick? Look at why you got sick.
the average Jewish person is not walking around with a sefer in one hand and money for a rabbi in the other.
the average Jewish person doesn’t wear a yarmakule, doesn’t go to shul and doesn’t learn Torah every day. If you want to get to that person, stop telling them all the things they must not do.They must not eat this, must not see that, must not visit that, must not talk to that, must not sit with them, must not do this on that day, must not go to a music concert. must not go to a sports game, must not attend that college, must not join that group, and so many other things, I did not even say one twentieth of all the things those Jewish people are attacked with.
The result is that they run as fast as they can to get the hell out of here. They just don’t want all these negative things piled up on them.
I am not talking about 200,000 Orthodox or Conservative Jews. i am talking about the MILLIONS who don’t want such a heavy burden placed on them.
The solution:
I know one of those MILLIONS who did take on being a Yid, and with open arms. He was “caught” by a Breslov Chasid. the Bresover man told him that a little is also good. That did it. Ah bissel iz oychet git.
Not this old crap about, “If you’re not going to do the right way, don’t do it at all!” That last sentence drives more people away than you can ever imagine. More than you can count. They run from that last sentence as fast as they can.
1) The Rabbinic Center of Europe is NOT the premier European rabbinic organization in Europe, it is a relative newcomer, founded by disaffected Chabadnikim who wanted a more prominent role in the established Confernce of European Rabbis, after having felt snubbed by anti Chabad elements. The matter is a bit difficult to disentangle, so don’t take this as a value judgement, just as a factual matter regarding which is the more influential organization. Thus, the RCE is always interested in headlines.
2) That said, in this case, the RCE is right about identifying the problem, but
3) You can’t fight assimilation directly, for by the time someone is ready to marry out, the damage has mostly been done. What is needed is to (a) instil more love of Torah and mitzvos in the secular Jews’ lives, so that they feel that the Torah talks to them, too, despite not being ready [yet] to take on many more observances, and (b) meshadekh shidukhim, even when it is premature to talk about marriage, so that they get their social fulfilment without interdating. Of course, doing so is problematic, taarives nushim veanushim tzeierim who have no intention of marrying anytime soon brings ‘aroyos problems, so we are stuck between a rock and a hard place. Unfortunately, while European poskim tend to appreciate the problem and the necessity for difficult solutions, many Israeli poskim are whoefully unaware of that, as was crystal clear at the last Conference of European Rabbis, in Prague, four months ago.
Rabbi Schneerson ALWAYS spoke about emphasizing mitzvos: “Ask a Jew to put on tefillin or light Shabbos candles.” It was never the Chabad way to threaten, G-d forbid, with “It’s-all-or-nothing.”
Look at the success Chabad has had, bli ayin hara.
I wonder if these Rabbis ever talk to those who intermarried and their families to try to understand how they could have had a stronger jewish identity and want to marry within the faith. Do they talk to them about what would bring them back or how to involve their children? How about trying to work with, instead of against, reform and conservative congregations and rabbis?
Unlike in the USA, the main established Jewish communities are the (orthodox) ones. The reform and conservative cater mainly to people with only jewish fathers. The European Rabbis and for sure the chabad rabbis have spoaken and dealt with the ”assimilated” Jew. The Rabbis are not discussing what to forbid. They will discuss what could be done to solve the issue. In Europe and for sure Western-Europe it’s the Rabbi’s that play the central andbiggest role in building up the Jewish communities.
being secular and having more than enough friends who intermarried or do not care about their jewish roots i can tell you the blame lies on israel and those orthodox rabbis. many orthodox jews either scoff the secular or spend all their time and resources rallying for israel that real problems such as this are never addressed. if european rabbis wanna help their their jewish communities stop telling people to make aliyah and instead engage secular jews who assimilated into to their own country. hold concerts or events on national and jewish holidays so jews can meet up and hook up. WAVE NATIONAL FLAGS NOT ISRAELI ONES! in europe people do not feel comfortable dancing around israeli flags so instead wave national ones, that right there would get people to show up. i know in holland on queens day the chabad there held a party, distributed orange yarmulkas and aired the soccer game. why not instead of birthright bring european jews on tours of their old communities. show them the all the jewish accomplishments in europe, like how the fried fish (with chips) popular in england came from jewish traders or how a jew opened up the ottoman empire to the netherlands and eventully all of europe.. i think that if jews were shown that they are just as much a part of their country as their christian neighbors, there would be less intermarriage.
This has nothing at all to do with acceptance of secular Jews, or those who want to do “a bissel.”
It is about a simple truth. Assimilation and intermarriage IS MORE DESTRUCTIVE TO JUDAISM THAN ANY HOLOCAUST!
We may not like to hear that, but it is true.
We may feel hurt by it, but it is true.
We may feel frustrated by it, but is it true.
We may feel angry to hear it, but it is still true.
Just like Entropy and Gravity are facts, and not just “feelings” …..
we can’t say that since we don’t like the feel of gravity we can abolish it.
If you put an object near the ceiling, and you do not wish it to fall down, you MUST AFFIX IT TO SOMETHING OR SUPPORT IT in some way…. if you don’t … IT WILL FALL TO THE FLOOR.
The same with the reality of Judaism. Call it Entropy or Gravity or whatever you wish. But if we do not hold it to the ceiling, it will fall.
We can cry and whine about anti-semitism all day long, 365 days per year. It will not help Judaism survive if assimilation and intermarriage continues.
Assimilation and Intermarriage are the worst case of ANTI-SEMITISM.
Anyone with a little common sense realizes that Assimilation and Intermarriage MUST STOP to prevent Judaism from dying off. Thus, anyone allowing, condoning, assisting, or simply remaining silent and not protesting Assimilation and/or Intermarriage IS BEING ANTI JUDAISM. ….. In other words, the worst anti-semites there could be are the assimilated or intermarried Jews.
This has nothing to do with my loving them. I could love them 24/7. I happen to love every human being, and the vast majority of the assimilated Jews or Intermarried Jews ARE WONDERFUL PEOPLE. They are kind, caring, good people. But, without intending to, they are killing off Judaism.
Oh, sure, we can sit and gloat over those foolishly repeated statisticts that tell us how Frum, Observant Judaisim will be the majority of Jews in a generation or two. It seems to make many of us feel good. I have heard frum people actually GLOAT over frumkeit winning over secularism!
But, they don’t seem to get it. Sure, the frum Jew will become a majority BECAUSE WE ARE LOSING THE REST!
Sure, we are reproducing more than they are, but not enough to replace those who intermarry. To do that, each couple would need to have 50 babies or more!
Only by us helping others to become and/or stay observant can we stop them from totally assimilating and intermarrying.
Only by opening our mouths and trying to stop intermarriage can we save Judaism.
Oh, I know, some of you will likely attack me for saying it. Sure, today we are supposed to love everyone the way they are, and everyone has the “right” to observe or not observe as they see fit. Their level of observance is their business….. but is it?
If we remain silent each time we see someone stray,
If we remain silent each time we see someone date a gentile,
If we remain silent each time we have an opportunity to open our mouths,
Then we will remain politically correct, offend nobody, and our grandchildren will not have a Jewish people to be part of.
So, whether you like the Rabbis who are speaking out in this article…. I actually don’t….
or you hate this group or that group….. we do have too much hatred of our own; don’t we?
Whether you like the authors of this article, no matter who you do like or prefer, their thesis is right. Assimilation and Intermarriage is destroying Judaism more thoroughly than the Holocaust!
So, remaining silent makes you one of those destroyers…. albeit a politically correct destroyer.
It is not the Rabbis’ job to stop assimilation. They can’t do it. It is MY job, and yours, individually. We fight it beginning with ourselves, and by holding on to our friends as one stops a friend from drowning.
Do you think that if non-observant Jews were to come across VIN, and read the comments, that the majority of them would be attracted to Orthodox Judaism based on what they read?
#12 wrote: “Sure, the Jewish women who marry gentile men say that their kids are Jewish and argue. But we all know that though they may have a little bit of Yiddishkeit in them, THEIR kids, the grand children will be completely lost.”
You are mistaken. The Jewish woman’s child does not have “a little bit” of Yiddishkeit in the. There is no such thing in Judaism as being “a little bit” Jewish. You either are Jewish or you are not. If Jewish woman has a child with a gentile man, that child is as Jewish as you or me. And you might not like it, but if that woman has a daughter, that daughter’s children are as 100% Jewish as you and me. The mentality that you can diminish someone’s Jewishness based on your own feelings about their background is exactly what drives so many away.
Did you know that children of intermarriage read this site, including ones that became frum? I personally know a woman who was born into exactly the situation you described who today is frum and reads this site. Why not ask mechilla for your ona’as devarim?
Did you know that if a Jew leaves the fold, Hashem promises that within 4 generations He will bring someone from that family back and continue the family line? This is derived from the statement that Hashem punishes only for four generations. And this includes those who intermarry. Even if the intermarried woman’s daughters don’t return, one of her grandchildren or great-grandchildren will. That’s Hashem’s promise. (But I guess you know better?)
Another personal story I know is a man who became a very sincere ger tzedek. He had a great-grandfather who had intermarried, and he kept having dreams about this great-grandfather. He got the feeling that he was meant to carry on this great-grandfather’s Jewishness, so he became a ger tzedek. He is still wonderfully frum today after 18 years.
Try to be less judgmental and you will not only hurt fewer people’s feelings, but you will more closely follow the real Torah, not the one you made up.