Neal Schindler

According to Jewish Virtual Library, the world contains roughly 13.7 million Jews. An estimated 5.4 million of these live in the United States, making up just 1.74 percent of the country’s population. Even in the nation with the second-largest Jewish population (after Israel), we are a small minority. In light of this, the task of engaging millennials—- people who are currently 13 to 30 years old — can appear crucial to the very survival of Judaism.

Because people are hurt by experiences

A great many Jews, religious and secular alike, feel inspired by the Jewish concept of tikkun olam: our collective duty to help heal the world. Like many other progressive concepts, tikkun olam can easily be caricatured as a “nice” thing to do rather than a good thing. Awww, those B’nai Mitzvah students are picking up litter in the park — isn’t that nice! In this formulation, “nice” is code for gestural, temporary and ultimately ineffectual.

On June 15 I’ll receive a master’s degree in mental health counseling from Eastern Washington University. To earn the degree I had to spend three academic quarters writing a research paper on a counseling-related topic. And though I wouldn’t want to inflict all 20 or so pages of my paper on you, I think my key findings are pretty interesting.

At times, planning an interfaith wedding feels like owning an obscure make of car. You go all around town trying to find parts for it, only to discover that no one has them. As it turns out, you need to make them yourself, in your garage.