Notes on Jewish passion

1.
A beautiful spring day might not be the perfect time to contemplate theoretical questions, but attending the Jewish Funders Network conference in Atlanta, one is forced to think about this elusive subject: Is passion the new obligation?

The organizers of this gathering framed the question in a clearer yet not less headache-inducing manner: Where does one's commitment to "funding Jewish" come from? Is personal passion redefining Jewish obligation?

And so, for three days, the conference was supposedly debating this issue, but frankly, there was no real debate. What drives most of the people here, especially the young funders of Jewish activities, is more passion than obligation. As Leon Botstein amusingly described it in the closing session: This is no longer an era in which people take pride in hating the synagogue they attend and to which they belong. If you don't make them love your institution they will not attend.

2.
Are passion-driven activities good or bad for the Jewish people? Many here honestly think that it is not a question of importance. A Jewish philanthropist, I've learned, has to deal with realities, solve problems, built on all things that can be done. And as Mark Charendoff, JFN's president, said in his annual message (quoting his late father): If money can solve it, it's not a problem.

Bottom line: If passion is the new obligation, one is obligated to create passion. That is, if he wants to be of value to the Jewish people, a desire all funders who came to this conference share.

3.
There is, of course, some cause for worry regarding these new trends (and one can't declare himself to be a Jewish funder without sometimes worrying). In the JFN last year, it was Plug and Play Judaism. This year's theme was a continuation of the same direction. In many cases there trends can be negatively described as Jewish individualism trumping Jewish community. Being Jewish became cool and fashionable, but it also became very different. Or maybe it's fashionable because it's different?

4.
The list of topics discussed here is the one tackled at every Jewish convention: Jewish identity, intermarriage, Israel-Diaspora relations, Tikkun Olam. Are you bored already? It was actually quite interesting. Maybe the practical ending is what made it so. Last year, blogging from the JFN conference in Denver, I concluded my remarks in a way that can be repeated here unchanged: "I'd like to think that these people really care about the issues they contribute to so generously, and the conference convinces me that they do. They immerse themselves in substance, admirably and somewhat naively. It's like a Boy Scout camp, with lots of money waiting to be distributed at the end, but only after we solve some intriguing questions."

5.
Now for some quick remarks on the issues discussed in the conference, with the first being the most profound - identity: People still find it hard to explain why it is that they want to support Jewish continuity in all shapes and forms. Unpredictably, it was Yossi Beilin, the Israeli politician, who had the answer I liked the most, because it leaves no room for further debate. He is for Jewish continuity because he is Jewish - because it is his "tribe". As he describes it, it sounds more like an instinct than anything else.

6.
Israel: There's clearly a problem in the relationship, but apart from repeating the birth-right-is-a-wonderful-program mantra, no one seems to have a solution (Beilin is pushing for the establishment of a Jewish-American-Israeli committee, but I'm not sure we really need more committees).

Analyzing the reason for the growing gap between the communities is easier than offering a solution: Israelis are pre-occupied with their own problems and aren't interested in American Jews; American Jews want to define their identity independently and without the need to refer to the self proclaimed "senior partner" in this enterprise.

7.
Tikkun Olam: In a Jewish American gathering one can't get enough of it. This is the role with which American Jews identify most easily. It can sometimes make them seem ridiculous and overly naive to the cynic eye, but it can also be moving and powerful. And strangely enough, it does not only make them redefine their Jewish identity and values, but also redefine Zionism and send it back to the days of Achad Ha'am and to the image of the desired Israel as a country that would be a shining example to the world - and not just the place securing the future of the Jewish people.

Anne Heyman, receiving a prize for the most impressive project she is currently building in Africa - a youth-village for the orphans of Rwanda manned by Israeli Ethiopians - stated as much, and more than once: "To me," she said, "this is the fulfillment of Zionism."

A note to the suspicious reader: I was invited to this conference as a speaker. The organizers covered the cost of my flight and hotel (well, I certainly hope they did).

By Shmuel Rosner Chief U.S. Correspondent of Haaretz