Image Credit: Pew
The Jewish world has been inundated with opinions about a recent Pew Research Poll that showed the decline of Jewish involvement among American Jews. Among other things it shows alarmingly high rates of intermarriage and assimilation. My uncle Rabbi Yossi Serebryanski of Denver shared with me an interview that was conducted in 1930 with the Previous Lubavitcher Rebbe. The same problem was facing the Jewish community then and the Rebbe strongly encouraged Jewish education as an antidote. But there is one comment that is extremely powerful. The Rebbe emphasizes that “Things spiritual, cannot be judged by numbers.” In other words, don’t be disheartened when you are the only Jew in town that takes Judaism seriously; participate on your level and that is of ultimate value.