It's Time for Modern Orthodox Kiruv

If there’s one thing that I’m known for, in addition to reviewing books, it’s pushing for Modern Orthodox Jews to embrace the idea of kiruv/Jewish Outreach. I began thinking about the subject as a first year rabbinical student at RIETS, wrote up my initial thoughts as a popular Lehrhaus article, and have dedicated my career thus far to engaging in that work in various forms.

Many in the Modern Orthodox world, however, do not value this sort of work. In the ecosystem of Jewish engagement, a dichotomy is often presented between "inreach" and "outreach." The former is focused on making sure that those who grew up engaged remain so while the latter prioritizes engaging those who may not have such experiences otherwise. Both are important, and both can be done together, but the Modern Orthodox community largely prioritizes the former. NCSY and JLIC (two programs of the OU, engaging high school and university students respectively) are explicitly geared towards graduates of Orthodox day schools. While the occasional Schechter or public school product is tolerated (as I was), they are not who the organizations are meant to serve and it is not surprising that, if they are in a region or on a campus where it is not normative for those like them to be part of such communities, they find themselves lonely and/or alienated from those who should be their religious role models simply for wanting to be in more observant spaces than where they were raised. Perhaps, though, this is a sacrifice worth making. My rebbi, Rabbi Dr. Jacob J. Schacter, wrote this in response to the 2021 Pew Study:

But most disturbing and upsetting to me is the finding in this study that 33 percent of Jews raised as Orthodox do not continue to identify with Orthodoxy as adults. I want to repeat this. Fully one third of children (our children) whom we raise (in our homes) as Orthodox leave Orthodoxy! I personally am aware of a number of such cases and in each one of them the parents of these children are wonderful and positive role models; they have done all they could possibly do to raise their children as committed and observant Jews. But, communally, we need to devote much more attention to this than we have been giving it until now.

I want to suggest that we need to take a hard look at re-shifting our communal priorities... It seems to me that this moment requires that we focus much more of our resources on those of us who are already "in the room" to ensure that they not leave. The OU's Heshe and Harriet Seif Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus (OU-JLIC) educators across the American university landscape are already correctly paying much attention to the Orthodox students on their campuses and they should be given more help. NCSY, historically a kiruv organization, is correctly devoting more and more attention to young girls and boys already in day schools, and this work should be given more resources to expand.

Of course, the entire Jewish people is our concern, but Chazal have already determined that aniyei ircha kodmin, "the poor of your own city take priority" (Bava Metzia 71a). We need to strengthen ourselves even as we work to strengthen the totality of the Jewish people.

This is a strong, dare I say compelling, case for inreach and it is clear to me that JLIC is that gold standard. It provides Modern Orthodox, Religious Zionist infrastructure for Orthodox students on campuses who might not have access to it otherwise. It connects already-observant students to Jewish learning and growth in a way that no other program can. Were it not for JLIC at Rutgers (and their willingness to accept me as a fellow-traveler even before I identified as Orthodox), I would not be who I am today and my wife, who was raised Orthodox, would not be who she is without JLIC at UMass Amherst.

On the other hand, let’s not under-estimate the value that Modern Orthodox rabbis can have in realm of outreach. A particular JLIC was recently discontinued, at least partially due to the lack of Orthodox day school graduates who attend that university. From an inreach-oriented perspective, this is the correct decision. Why put precious resources somewhere that does not serve the target demographic? It’s not only a poor return on investment, but at odds with your very mission. At the same time, it was only thanks to JLIC that the campus in question tripled the size of their Orthodox community, put up an eruv, and established a daily minyan. The value for students whose embraced a Modern Orthodox and Religious Zionist worldview as a result of their interactions with that JLIC couple cannot be under-estimated. In fact, at least one of those students is now a campus rabbi themselves!

So let’s be upfront: Inreach is important and it makes perfect sense to prioritize in the face of legitimate concerns of attrition. But outreach is also important, and the difficult decision to cut the program mentioned above is effectively also a decision to cut the eruv and minyan that was established as a result of their presence. That, unfortunately, does not help Klal Yisrael.

But Rabbi Gotlib, you may ask, why not just let organizations like Aish or Chabad handle outreach? It’s a good question, and one that I’ve thought about a lot given that my first position after receiving my ordination was on the rabbinic team of a large Aish-affiliated synagogue. Well, there are several areas that Modern Orthodox outreach is uniquely able to offer. Here are just a few:

1. -Modern Orthodoxy believes in teaching Torah Sh’Baal Peh to women. I know of many women who were turned off from kiruv attempts in because they were unimpressed with the intellectual rigor of what they were learning in light of their academic achievements. Being willing and able to learn Torah she-ba’al peh with those women would do much to show all Jews, not just half of them, that Torah can speak intellectually as well as emotionally.

2. -Modern Orthodoxy supports a plurality of behavior and thought (within halakhic boundaries) that most kiruv organizations are unable or unwilling to acknowledge. This is expressed not only in what sort of sources can be learned, but also how people are expected to dress and behave more broadly.

3. -Modern Orthodoxy believes in Torah U’Madda. Under the guidance of a Modern Orthodox kiruv professional, university students who are already studying various subjects in-depth as well as professionals who are already engaged in a particular field can both learn how to turn their study and profession into avodat Hashem (rather than experience guilt over their academic and professional interests) or feel the need to abandon them entirely in favor of a “Torah-only” approach to Judaism.

4. - Finally, Modern Orthodoxy is proudly Zionist. As Simon Levy wrote in a letter to the editor following my article, Modern Orthodox kiruv has “the opportunity to reset the entire conversation by demonstrating that the Jewish experience… is a rich tapestry of nationhood, history, and culture, among other things.”

If Modern Orthodox Jews value each of these accomplishments, then it behooves us to engage in outreach in addition to inreach. If we truly believe that our approach is ideal and that it would be beneficial for more Jews to engage with it then we have a sacred obligation to share that approach with those for whom it may resonate. That need not mean turning JLIC into a kiruv organization, but it certainly means that Modern Orthodox Jews should figure out ways to bring our unique approach to Jews of all stripes rather than confine it to the less than dalet amos of Modern Orthodoxy alone. That might mean working in tandem with established Chareidi kiruv organizations that will have us, but maybe it means starting new organizations and embracing new approaches to running synagogues to engage in that as well.