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| Pâ•qidꞋ Yi•rᵊmᵊyâhꞋu |
"The numbers are in, and they don't look too good. Earlier this month, the results of the National Jewish Population Survey 2000-2001 were released and they confirmed everyone's worst fears. American Jewry, it seems, is shrinking faster and more profoundly than even the gloomiest of pessimists might have imagined.
In just a decade, the number of Jews in America has shrunk by 5.45 percent, from 5.5 million in the 1990 survey, to just 5.2 million now. To put it even more starkly: on average, American Jewry lost about 100 Jews per day, every day, over the past 10 years. And with the median age rising, and Jewish birthrates declining, that statistic seems almost certain to grow worse.
But despite the crisis, there is no atmosphere of crisis. Ironically, America's Jewish leadership continues to devote an inordinate amount of time and energy to fighting anti-Semitism, as if that were the community's No. I concern. [It's the only issue the community will rally around. Ergo, no other choice. PY] But the real question they fail to address is: will there be any Jews left in America for the anti-Semites to hate? [Because the rabbis don't provide any compelling reasons for being "Jewish", they don't see that question as totally unimportant. PY] There are undoubtedly many reasons behind American Jewry's decline, but the primary factor is a plague of Jewish ignorance that has reached epidemic proportions." (The Jerusalem Post, 2002.10.23, p. 7).
Ignorance of Judaism by Jews is blamed on the high cost of Jewish education. But what made it so expensive? Answer: no interest by 90+% of Jews in studying medieval superstitions that fail to relate logically and historically to the ْجهةّبن of Har Sin•aiꞋ and the Creator. Ultra-Orthodox, Kha•reid•imꞋ, rabbis still continue to incorrigibly prohibit Jews from facing up to this reality, adamantly refusing to adopt a logical, historical, archeological and scientific (hard-hitting objective) study of ْجهةّبن and Judaism. Until this happens the trends above will continue, because intelligent, sensible and educated Jews – like intelligent, sensible and educated non-Jews – opt to relate to the Creator logically, intelligently, sensibly and scientifically.
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