As the Coordinator of the Half-Jewish Network, the largest international organization for adult children and other descendants of intermarriage, I sit through endless debates on outreach listservs and message boards about the future of Judaism, while keeping one eye on the intermarriage and Jewish population statistics worldwide.

Hop onto my time machine, I told my colleagues on one listserve. Welcome to Temple Beth Erev Rav (Temple House of Mixed Rabble), in Anywhere America in the year 2040.

 
American Jewish Leaders In The Year 2040

Because 48% of all Jewish-identified college students in the year 2009 were children of intermarriage -- Temple Beth Erev Rav in the year 2040 is composed mostly of adult children and grandchildren of intermarriage and interfaith couples.

The senior rabbi is an elderly Gen X Jew, married to a middle-aged Millennial Jew. The young associate rabbi -- a member of the post-Millennial generation -- is an adult child of intermarriage and intermarried. She and her Catholic husband are raising the kids as Jews. They celebrate Christmas at her Catholic mother-in-law's home.

The cantor is the grandchild of an intermarriage, and half-African-American. The president of the shul is a Chinese Jew By Choice. The congregation is very comfortable with the shul's leadership -- after all, it reflects them. The temple's denominational affiliations and beliefs are unclear - it is Reform/Reconstructionist/Renewal and other "isms" not yet invented.

 

What Are The Year 2040 American Jews Like?

The Holocaust and the Jewish immigration to America and the founding of Israel are now a century away. The congregants of Temple Beth Erev Rav have the same emotional relationship to those events that the Jews of 2009 have to World War I -- it's ancient history!

The Jews of Temple Beth Erev Rav have poor Hebrew skills. They know no Yiddish or Ladino. They don't cook "Jewish foods" anymore.  But they are tenacious -- they read -- in Hebrew-English texts with transliterations and translations -- the Tanach, study the siddur, pray and donate to the shul. Only a few of them study Talmud or midrash.

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Although I am not a believer in gods myself, I do have many religious friends from many different faiths. We who live in Western countries have the luxury of choosing our own level of observance. For the most part, we decide individually how strictly we want to adhere to any religious tradition--we can choose from any of them or make up our own, and in my case, we can even abjure these things completely. This isn't a liberty to take lightly. In many other parts of the world (and throughout human history) this kind of freedom seems absurd and wrong. In fact, I think there are many parts of this country where people think there is too much religious freedom in America (you'll have to check the comments section). Being able to freely choose a religion doesn't mean that all religions are choices, however, or that everyone is being entirely honest about why they chose one.

To put it bluntly, are some people pretending to be more religious than they are to get laid? Or in larger, sociological terms, how many people are just going through the motions in order to belong to a group? (All of them, says the cynic). It's what I think about if I'm ever at a religious ritual or ceremony. I know what the Hebrew prayers mean because I happen to have gone to a yeshivah when I was young, but I think most people who sing along at services don't know what they're actually saying, but they do have it memorized.

When I was an activist helping organize anti-government protests with thousands of people in attendance, I definitely met guys who showed up at the rallies to meet girls, and vice versa. When I was a student I met people who got involved with extracurricular activities for the same reasons. I know people who have moved, taken jobs, changed careers, renounced their families, and so forth to in order to belong somewhere, to meet the kind of people they always wanted to meet and join the circles they've always wanted to be part of. Many of us still recall the great wave of women who came to Manhattan in the last decade intending to re-enact Sex and the City or the crowds of hippies from across the country who flocked to Haight-Ashbury in San Francisco. The urge to join and be part of something greater than yourself is natural. So how much of it plays into the reality of religious practice? Does it matter if your religious journey ends up at a popular resort, or does everyone have to hike through the woods?

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Remember when movie stars used to change their names because they sounded too Jewish? That doesn't seem to be the case anymore. In fact, Jews and non-Jews alike are sporting their Magen David and Kabbalah bracelets around town.

We saw it with Lindsay Lohan when she was dating Samantha Ronson. Now, we're seeing it with Britney Spears amid her relationship with Jewish boyfriend (and her agent!) Jason Trawick. And don't forget about Madonna and Demi Moore. 

And now, the trend seems to be taking the T-shirt world by storm. PopJudaica founder Sara Schwimmer said Hollywood stars are "wearing their religion on their sleeves, or tees I should say."

Madonna sporting her Kabbalah wear. 

If you've seen the coming attractions for the new movie Funny People, you'll notice that Seth Rogen is wearing a T-shirt with an emblem formed of a Jewish star and Superman insignia. The "SuperJew" T-Shirt can be purchased online at PopJudaica.com. "Ever since the Funny People trailer hit the theaters, the SuperJew T-Shirt started selling like hot latkes," said Schwimmer.

Seth Rogen getting his Super Jew on in this summer's Funny People. 

In the wake of an increased awareness in Kabbalah after the likes of Madonna, "It will be interesting to see what kind of impact this latest fashion trend has on Jewish culture," said Schwimmer.

We here at Jewcy like to think we started it all with our infamous "Shalom, Motherfucker" T-shirt, shown below. 

 

The T-shirt that started it all... 

Too bad my "Everybody Loves a Jewish Girl" T-shirt doesn't fit anymore! Luckily, Jewcy hooked me up with my new favorite tee, "Make Bagels Not War."

 

My mom said this is going to be our Christmas card this year. If you think that sounds weird, read more here. 

Find Jewcy T-shirts here and more Jewish garb from PopJudaica here.

Evocative, disrespectful, proud, antithetic: these are just some of the words used to describe Jews with tattoos. Seth Alamar, who has 30-odd tattoos, calls most of his markings religious or “Jewish.” He has heard all the reasons why a Jew should not get tattooed — including the false myth that he would not be buried in a Jewish cemetery. But despite all the controversy surrounding ink in the Jewish faith, he did not think twice.

“The reason [I got tattoos] is not because I am not religious, it is not because I do not believe in G-d, or even because I am not a devout Jew,” Alamar said. “It is simply because it is my body and I don’t need anyone to make decisions for me.”

Alamar, who connects especially with his arm piece inscription l’dor v’dor, meaning “From Generation to Generation,” ironically hides his tattoos from his grandparents — the generations before him. While some would see the words as an honor, the older generation of Jews associates tattoos with breaking Jewish law, idolatry, improper burial procedure, and the infliction of tattoos on Jews during the Holocaust. Despite its eerie past, many Jews of the new generation are fighting back with ink, expressing themselves with connection and pride.

Read the entire article at BustedHalo.com. 

If you want to impress this Hanukkah, you've got to stay up on the trends. Here is some pre-Hannukkah internet reconnaissance for all you heebsters out there on what is in and what is out.

• In: Semi-ironic Hannukah-themed graphic tees. Urban Outfitters has taken its trendiness to a new level by marketing not one, but two (TWO!) Hannukah-inspired t-shirts. Then again, they are also single handedly trying to bring back the black mesh bodysuit, so we'll see how far this goes.

• Out: Celebrity-designed vegan footwear. Back in February, we let y'all know about Natalie Portman's line of cruelty-free, no-animals-included shoes. Now, less than one year later, we have to let you know that all that vegan accesorizing is over. According to E! Online, it isn't any fault of Natalie's, or of her brand, but rather the folding of its parent company, Té Casan. Damn you, economic crisis!

• In: Bacon-flavored makeouts. Buzzfeed has found us the perfect holiday item to keep in your purse, or to share with friends. Introducing: bacon mints! The perfect treify breath freshener for popping under your traditional Hannukkah mistletoe.

• In: Walruses with saxophones. Finally, one of the largest of animals are free to embrace the smallest of instruments. Not really Jewish, but we just couldn't resist!I'm Walking on Sunshine: Woah-oh!

Jailhouse rock: The King lives on in the world of fashionThere’s an unfortunate new trend in the world of male fashion. According to Charlie Porter in the Guardian, jumpsuits are the new must-have item to wear to the office. “Yes, there are hints of Guantánamo Bay,” gushes Porter, “and the jumpsuit is decidedly old blue-collar, but that's why I find it so delicious.” Porter may be ready to embrace the jumpsuit, but is the American work force?

Benny Hinn: Is not a religious studies expertI just read this story at the New York Times, about the growing popularity of faith and spirituality on campus... and while that there may be a religion trend right now, and while I'm all for faith and spirituality... 

when I read this bit:

A survey on the spiritual lives of college students, the first of its kind, showed in 2004 that more than two-thirds of 112,000 freshmen surveyed said they prayed, and that almost 80 percent believed in God. Nearly half of the freshmen said they were seeking opportunities to grow spiritually, according to the survey by the Higher Education Research Institute at the University of California, Los Angeles.

I couldn't help thinking, "Whoa!  I think that's a load of crap..."   

I don't mean that kids don't believe in God, I just do NOT believe that 80% of college kids believe in God.  Not really.   Though maybe they think it's kind of neat to be thinking about God, or thinking they might someday want to pray to God.

Think about this... if 80% believe in God, and only 66% pray, why don't the other 14% pray?  Do they HATE God, or do they all belong to some religion I've never heard of where God doesn't want you to pray?

 My gut tells me they answer "yes" to the question because they aren't atheists.  Because they God is a neat idea.  Because they wernt to Sunday School when they were 5.  And because, as we all know, there's a trned... and kids are trendy.  Of course, my reaction is not academic... or based in ANYTHING, really. It's just my reaction, but I'm not sure I'm wrong. 

See, the story goes on to explore the "WHY?" of such numbers.  It mentions a rise in religious studies enrollment, a rise in evangelical attendance at secular schools, and a rise in Christian student groups on campus.   

And that's all true.  But are these very differen types of numbers actually realted to one another directly?  There's more beneath the surface, and what I really want to know is what we're pointing to when we acknowledge this trend.  What are we saying?  It seems pretty general to look at all of this as, "Campus is just more religious."

For instance... What do we think is the nature of claiming an evangelical  religious belief system... or an academic religious interest?  I'm not sure these two things  are related.

In the world today, surrounded by religious evangelical extremism and violence related to that kind of faith, it makes complete sense that secular-ish students are trying to understand religion.  But I don't see what those "religious studies" numbers necessarily have to do with the simultaneous rise in the number of kids attending Campus Crusade for Christ meetings. Faith is a trend right now.  But the kids studying faith in the world, and the kids devoting themselves to worship... do they have to be the same kids?  Do we have to merge these populations in the study of faith?  Do they describe one trend, or several different reactions to a set of events?

I'm not sure I'm making myself clear, and I'm not sure I can divorce my strong reaction from my own personal experiences as a college kid.  But somewhere in my gut, I have to say I think 80% seems awfully high.

Depending on how we're defining "God" of course.  And "pray".  And "believe". 

Do you "believe" in God?  Do you pray? 

I don't, not really, though I'm reaching toward such things. 

But I don't think, as someone "interested in faith and prayer", that  I would answer a survey in the affirmative if I were asked such questions...

Though I'm not 18 and living in a climate, a trend, a "rising tide" of faith.