Welcome to the Jewish Atlanta Ecosystem!

Jews are a people of memory. The Torah enjoins us to remember the Sabbath and keep it holy, to remember that we were slaves in Egypt, and to remember what Amalek did to us. Commenting on the power of memory among the Jewish people, the late Columbia University historian Yosef Hayim Yerushalmi writes in Zakhor: Jewish History and Jewish Memory, “Only in Israel and nowhere else is the injunction to remember felt as a religious imperative to an entire people.”

Next week, we will mark Tisha B’av, the ninth day of the Hebrew month of Av, a solemn day in which we recount not only the destruction of the first and second Temples in Jerusalem, but one in which we also remember the many tragedies that have befallen the Jewish people.  Sadly, this annual reminder comes at a time when we are still praying for the return of Israeli hostages being kept by Hamas, when thousands of Israelis both in the north and south are still unable to safely return to their homes, and when antisemitism is more pronounced than any time in recent memory.

In the examples provided in my opening paragraph, memory cannot be passive.  There are actions that we must take to ensure that we learn lessons from the past and apply them to our present.  One of the ways that we are applying collective memory to communal action is in our community security efforts.  Six years ago, the gruesome massacre took place at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh.  As we remember the lives taken solely because they were Jews praying on Shabbat, it is incumbent that we prepare ourselves to best be able to respond to future incidents.  This is why the Federation is placing renewed emphasis on training community members in situational awareness, and countering active threats.

The terrible massacre that took place at the Tree of Life synagogue in Pittsburgh is a tragic and recent reminder that, sadly, there are still those who seek to harm Jews.  Just as we remember those martyrs from throughout the centuries, Tisha B’av and the Tree of Life massacre are also important reminders of Jewish resiliency and the importance of always remaining vigilant.

Security awareness is one way we can apply our memory to our constructive action, another is to ensure that we are engaging in active Jewish life.  Just as Tisha B’av is a reminder of Jewish tragedy, we also have wonderful memories of positive Jewish moments from our lives.  New York Times columnist Brett Stephens wrote last year in the Sapir Journal, that the real antidote to antisemitism is Jewish thriving, which he describes “as the conviction among all Jews, whatever their level of observance, that their Jewishness is the most cherished element of their identity, a precious inheritance from their forebears and a priceless bequest to their posterity.”

Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta, in conjunction with so many of you as our partners, are investing to help ensure this thriving.  As we remember this Tisha B’av, let’s also commit to contribute to our thriving community in more meaningful ways in the year to come.

About three years ago, The Pew Research Center released its finding from their once-a-decade survey of the Jewish community. While the results may not have been especially surprising, it certainly brought home the new reality that the typical Jewish family is less and less likely to look like the ones of the past.

Here’s a quick recap of their findings:

• 72% of marriages involving a Jewish person (outside of the Orthodox community) that occurred in the United States from 2010-2020 were multi-faith.

• Among interfaith families, 28% are raising their children in the Jewish religion, and another 29% are raising them as culturally but not religiously, Jewish. By contrast, for families with two Jewish parents, 93% are raising their children in the Jewish religion, and only 3% are raising them as culturally Jewish only.

While that first statistic is the one that gets a lot of attention from most people, it’s the second one that really gets mine. As the non-Jewish member of an interfaith marriage (a very successful one, I hope my wife would say), I learned early on in my relationship the basic values of Judaism and understood immediately that I would want my children taught them as well. Who wouldn’t want a concept like Tikkun Olam (repair the world) to be foundational to your family?

Where certain sectors probably reacted with alarm and maybe even dismay at these climbing numbers, Federation saw them as an opportunity to engage the next generation of the Jewish community.  The Interfaith Connector was established late last year for that purpose and I, after a 17-year run as the Executive Director at Congregation Gesher L’Torah in Alpharetta, was chosen to lead it. I loved my time at GLT and thought that was where I would spend the remainder of my working life, but the chance to be a part of something that’s so important to me and to my adopted (or chosen, if you will) community was too powerful to resist.

Key to the success of this initiative is a strong partnership with you, our Atlanta area Jewish organizations. The Interfaith Connector will serve in a variety of roles to fulfill our goals:

• It will function as a convener of those working in the interfaith space, both professionals and lay people, to offer training and a setting to share ideas and best practices.

• It will provide grants to enable you to plan and execute more programs and events that engage interfaith families and couples.

• It will help you reach new audiences for your interfaith-centric or friendly programs.

• It will be a resource for multi-faith couples, helping connect them to the programs and organizations that best serve their unique family dynamic.

How can we make all this happen? I’m glad you asked.

First, let’s meet! If your organization is open to interfaith inclusion or doesn’t know where to begin, please contact me so we can set up a time to talk. The more I learn about you, the more I can assist you in your efforts and start forming our community of practice.

Second, help spread the word about the Interfaith Connector. Our webpage has an ever-growing and changing list of events and resources for interfaith couples and families as well as a portal for them to sign up for our database.  We’ll keep in touch with them through regular email updates and offer the opportunity for personal conversations to help them connect with the wider community (including your organization) as they navigate their journeys.

Thank you all so much for the work you’re already doing to move our interfaith families beyond a sense of being welcomed to one of belonging. I hope as we move forward, we can elevate each other to even greater heights in this work and make the Jewish community an even stronger one.

Feel free to reach out to me at dkonkel@jewishatlanta.org