No Child Left Behind
Why the organization that meets girls'needs with Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing! is now reaching out to boys.
by Deborah Meyer
Now more than ever before, Judaism is a "girl thing," thanks to the efforts of many creative and powerful women, especially within the last 30 years. After thousands of years of being shut out, women and girls are immersing themselves in Jewish life in myriad ways. There is still more to repair, however, with the majority of Jewish organizations led by men and women’s voices stilled in some streams of Jewish life.
Moving Traditions is doing our part in this tikkun (repair) by empowering girls through our program, coincidentally titled Rosh Hodesh: It's a Girl Thing! We literally make Judaism a Girl Thing by using Jewish teachings to help girls examine popular culture and reject its negative messages: that our worth as women comes only from being a desirable, thin, beautiful and sexual object for others, that we are only worthy when we perform, and when we are perfect.
Judaism becomes a Girl Thing when we use Jewish traditions instead to empower girls to stay connected to their authentic selves and their own true voices, to take risks and step into leadership, and ultimately to choose life. Judaism becomes a Girl Thing, and in turn girls build personal Jewish identities because we meet their needs through Judaism, in a way that is intimate, enjoyable, and girl-centric.
We know that we still have our work cut for us. Girls in many communities across North America do not yet have access to this program, nor to programs that make Judaism feel truly relevant to girls. We all have work to do to meet their needs and invite these girls into a satisfying, Jewish experience. We must foster a meaningful and lasting connection with Judaism, and realize that it is not only valuable for its own sake but that research suggests connection to religious community correlates with higher grades, lower levels of drinking and drug use, and other dimensions of healthy development.
So what about the boys?
Judaism could also be a “boy thing.” It has the potential to provide pre-teen and teenage boys with values and support as they navigate the journey from boyhood to manhood. Research shows that boys are interested in spirituality and ethics, and that they long for meaning and connection. Boys too need help understanding and interpreting popular culture.
Here is the bad news. Ironically, after years of being only a Boy Thing, Judaism is failing to reach and inspire the majority of teenage boys with Jewish teachings and traditions. Teenage boys are even more likely than teenage girls to opt out of Jewish-sponsored programming. Research shows that 47% of Jewish boys view their bar mitzvah as their “graduation” from Jewish education, and 68% say that available Jewish activities are "repetitious" and therefore "not meaningful."
To address this trend, Moving Traditions is conducting a three-year research and education campaign, Where Have all the Young Men Gone?, to investigate: 1) why boys drop out of Jewish life; 2) what boys need most and enjoy at this time in their lives; and 3) how the Jewish community can better interest boys, meet their needs, and thereby help boys grow into strong and healthy Jewish men. The goal is to direct new research and develop program and marketing recommendations. As a result, we will partner with Jewish communal leaders and organizations to implement boy-centric program models that will better attract and serve boys.
A word of caution!
A focus on boys should never be made at the expense of girls, and vice versa. Conversations about gender and the needs of girls and boys – and women and men – should enrich, not detract from one another. Moving Traditions is interested in moving Judaism and the Jewish community to incorporate and reflect a more contemporary and nuanced understanding of gender – one that is about boys as well as girls.
We want boys and girls, and men and women, to be able to realize their full potential as human beings. This requires an exploration of what it means to function in all spheres of life, as well as our relationships, and the systems in which we operate. With a more complex understanding of femininity and masculinity, the Jewish community could help all young Jews handle the complicated identity and responsibility components of what it means to be an adult in today’s world.
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