Source: The Tampa Tribune
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2008/aug/09/me-a-festive-course-in-judaism/
When it comes to population growth, the news isn't good for Jews.
Jews today make up just 1.7 percent of the U.S. population - a smaller proportion than any time since 1890, according to an article that ran in New Jersey's The Star-Ledger last year.
"We are an endangered religion, and just as there are different rules for endangered species that we want to keep alive, there are different rules for endangered religions," declared Jonathan Sarna, a Brandeis University historian of American Judaism.
Some Jewish groups are responding by changing the traditional ways of doing things. That includes borrowing the notion of outreach from their Christian brethren to become more - dare we say it? - evangelistic.
With the continued growth of interfaith marriages and a steady decrease in synagogue affiliation, leaders are looking for innovative ways to bring Jews back home.
One place to start is with children. In a family in which just one parent is Jewish, who decides which religion the kids will be raised in? Or is it feasible to expose the youngsters to both faiths without diluting either one?
Tampa's Jewish Community Center is addressing those issues through a program that invites Jews, non-Jews and nonpracticing Jews into a comfortable, nonjudgmental program. The Jewish Discovery Center offers lots of interactive activities for parents and their children of ages 2 to 10. They include music, art, science programs, dance, Hebrew lessons, drama and reading circles.
"It's providing an open tent in a very inclusive environment for any family to stop by," said Emilie Kuperman, director of development. "Yes, there's a Jewish emphasis, but we're not making that the only focus."