Judaism Has Everything People Are Searching For — So Why Are We Hiding It?

Watch and Listen

Anytime you're dealing with an institution, and I don't just mean a literal one, I mean anything that's been around for a minute, like say the Jews, you face, the likelihood of getting stuck in behaviors that are no longer relevant nor useful to your purpose.

When the prevailing wisdom is, that's just how we do it.

You're not gonna see a whole lotta real time matching of solutions to current needs.

Instead of innovation and evolution, you're gonna see obsolete practices and ideas that fail to meet the current moment.

The only way to break out of these patterns is to constantly challenge our assumptions as Jews, our forebearers did this again and again in every age, a critical aspect of how our tribe, outwitted, outplayed, and outlasted through the centuries.

And in this generational moment we face today, it is absolutely negligent, bordering on arrogant to not be challenging each and every assumption we have about the way we approach the survival and thrive of our people.

One of the most insurmountable obstacles that Jewish community faces is our size, or lack thereof.

No matter how loud we are or how much money we raise, or how many friends we have, we will never be more than a drop in the bucket of Earth's population.

We are microscopic and this literal lack of visibility hamstrings us in everything we try to do.

Sustain flourishing Jewish communities influence public opinion and policy normalize our way of life for the general population.

If we were somehow able to affect change in that one regard our size, it would be a huge pun intended boon towards solving a lot of our problems.

Which brings me to the assumption I wanna challenge today.

Jews do not proselytize.

Why not?

Seriously.

Think about it.

Why not?

We need numbers, but we do almost nothing to grow them.

And in fact, arguably spend more energy keeping people out than pulling people in.

So my question is why?

I mean, there's gotta be a really good reason, right?

Do you know what it is?

I feel pretty confident that most of you do not, and I'm willing to bet that if you were to take an educated guess, most of you would assume there must be a law forbidding it.

That more observant Jews or clergy could cite that you just haven't actually seen or heard about directly, but you assume it's there and that must be why we don't do it.

Well, guess what?

Hot shot.

There ain't no law.

None, zero.

Nothing officially forbids us from reaching out to Gentiles to invite them to join our kick ass Ke Law.

All we have is the absence of a commandment saying we should.

Unlike, for example, Christianity, which says you have to be Christian if you don't want to go to hell.

Thanks for that.

By the way, Judaism says, everyone who lives by a certain universal moral code has a place in the world to come.

So it's not a legal thing.

And in terms of culture, ever since we agreed to the covenant with God of Mount Sinai, there's been an inherited sense of, believe me, you don't need this.

That's played a foundational role in our lack of missionary impulse.

There have also been long periods throughout history when it was not only highly dangerous, but even illegal to either be Jewish or convert to Judaism.

A lot more folks converted out for safety than converted in, as I know, you know, taken together these strands comprise an unchallenged behavioral pattern that, in my opinion, no longer suits our current needs.

Moreover, as anyone familiar with the conversion process, knows tradition holds that converts should be turned away three times in order to prove their genuine commitment.

As Ruth, the OG convert was turned away thrice by her mom-in-law, Naomi.

Now I support the spirit of this tradition.

Fully converting should be a deep, lengthy, and involved process that requires the utmost intention and dedication.

We don't need to give away membership like we're Paramount Plus, but that's not the same as just taking steps to make the opportunity as readily available as possible to those who might consider it seriously.

In fact, there are actually several pro proselytizing ideas in our tradition from the Talmud track tape, SAIM 87 B.

We learned that God exiled Israel among the nations for no other purpose than that converts might join them.

Suggesting that the diaspora itself is partly a vehicle for lupin in some nubs.

Genesis chapter 12 verse five tells us that the first Jews of ham rah brought quote souls they had made in Haran, suggesting they made new members of the tribe, which of course they did because there were only two of them.

They needed the numbers and so do we.

Speaking of numbers, today, we choose number at around 15.7 million.

Still below our pre Holocaust population, and less than half of the 32 million historians estimate we'd be had we not been slaughtered by Europe's blood thirsty Jew haters.

So almost a century later.

We are essentially at half strength and with no coordinated effort to change that, we are by default choosing to stay that way.

Not having a strategy is the strategy, and while the Orthodox community remains fruitful and multiplying, shout out to the real ones.

The birth rate among non-Orthodox Jews is declining, as is the number of non-Orthodox Jews, period, who continue to disappear at an alarming accelerating rate due to inner marriage.

This is not a judgment call.

I've spoken several times before on the show about how intermarriage.

Does not have to mean the end of the line, and there are many things we as a community should be doing to help improve those outcomes and be more welcoming.

But the data is clear.

Intermarriage, which accounts for 72% of all non-Orthodox Jewish marriages since 2010, compounds, generation to generation.

As intermarriage rates go up, the number of kids and grandkids who identify as Jewish goes down.

So even if our raw population numbers stay flat, we continue to dilute them from the inside out, which is all to say we need more committed Jews.

Now let's look at some numbers outside the community.

Data shows that people today are lonelier than ever, to the point where the surgeon general declared loneliness a public health epidemic in 2023.

According to psychology today, 73% of Gen Z report feeling either, sometimes, or always alone, the highest of any generation.

Ever religious congregation membership just hit its lowest point in the history of Gallup polling, which goes back to 1937 with fewer than half of Americans now belonging to one.

Meanwhile, the global wellness economy has doubled over the past decade reaching $6.8 trillion in 2024.

The picture these numbers paint collectively is striking.

People are leaving organized religion.

They're lonelier than ever.

Thanks Zuck.

But here's the thing.

They're not giving up on spirituality or the quest for meaning.

70% of US adults still consider themselves spiritual in some way with a third identifying as spiritual but not religious.

Meaning they are open, but searching unmoored.

They're not becoming secular materialist, they're spending trillions of dollars searching for wellness, meaning connection, something beyond the physical world.

And the main options currently on offer are either commercial, parasocial or ideological.

And I've had my fill of people who treat political tribalism as their quasi religion.

Thank you very much.

And then here we are, the Jews, this beautiful community full of wisdom and ritual and law and values specifically geared towards bringing meaning into every moment of our lives.

When I talk to Jewish communities around the country about what I love about being Jewish, this precious roadmap to meaning is at the top of my list.

We've got stuff like madani, a prayer to express gratitude for being alive when you wake up.

We have Nu for appreciating.

Any moment worthy of appreciation, we bench gomel to give thanks.

For averting disasters, we have Tikun, Olam, Lavado, Derek ett, Quin Lash, Harrah.

Concepts that steer us towards purpose, morality, and connection.

We have guidance on how to behave in all situations, like when you run into someone on the street, whether they're a friend or an enemy, or someone who owes you money, or a gentile or a widow.

We have Shabbat Haah, yo Kippur, s Kipa, be meets Shiva.

We have so much to offer.

And yet here we are doing Jack, while millions of lonely searching, spiritually homeless people who might find joy and purpose within our way of life, turn instead to Scientology meditation apps or Joe Rogan.

I can't think of a single argument why in 2026 we're not recruiting 'cause we're afraid of people will say mean stuff about us.

Little aid for that.

Don't you think that it somehow cheapens or diminishes our people?

I don't know.

When you discover something awesome in your life, does it feel cheapened when you share it with people you think might find value in it as well?

In fact, I would argue that not attempting to pull in others more proactively is hurting us.

The message the world receives is, this isn't for you, or you're not worthy, or you're not wanted, or We don't need you.

But we do.

We do need you.

Imagine for a moment what it would be like to add a million more Jews.

A million people of different backgrounds, skills, ideas, passion and energy.

Infusing our tribe with their gifts.

A million more people to fill our empty synagogues, staff, our schools, support our nonprofits.

Stand with us against hate.

Bring new allies to the mix.

How is this not a win, win, win, win, win.

And think about the converts.

You know, are beloved Jews by choice?

Are they not?

Some of the most engaged, learned, and passionate people we've got, and this isn't just anecdotal, pew research shows that converts, demonstrate higher levels of Jewish engagement than non-Orthodox born Jews.

On virtually every measurable indicator, they become our rabbis, cantors, synagogue presidents, scholars.

Why wouldn't we want as many of these devoted tribe mates as possible?

What are we afraid of?

What do we have to lose?

And if it's something I'm not thinking of, doesn't the reward vastly outweigh the risk, whatever it might be.

Imagine the headline, Judaism the World's fastest growing religion.

Wouldn't that be the best possible news story we could dream of?

Wouldn't the appearance of more young Jews, Jews of color, Jews of diverse professions and backgrounds make the tapestry of our people shine even more brightly?

We talk about how much we need allies.

I don't just want allies, I want more full on Jews.

In education, there's a term called null curriculum, meaning that whatever you don't teach in the classroom, you're essentially teaching students to learn elsewhere on their own.

Right now, isolated people across America are searching for home identity, a moral framework for something ancient and meaningful to belong to.

Some of 'em are finding it in dark places like white nationalist movements or corrupted fae progressivism.

Imagine if instead we helped them find Torah all the time.

I hear Jewish institutions talk about the need to meet people where they are.

Well, you know where people are everywhere else, but here there's nobody here.

We gotta go out there over there and meet 'em.

It's like having a job opening, but instead of posting about it on LinkedIn, you hope somebody just wanders into your office and happens to ask you about it.

Not a great way to grow a company.

We are a wonderful people with a wonderful culture, values, teachings, and community.

We have so much to offer that could so greatly enrich the lives of so many people who would light up in the glow of our embrace.

So just ask yourself, why are we being stingy with it?

Why aren't we offering this gift up more proactively and meeting people where they are?

I can't think of a single good reason we shouldn't be.

Can you.