what are we teaching teens about belief?
A confident, tall, yet boyish 11th grade teenager asked this question of Rabbis who were participating in a panel called “Ask the Rabbi Anything”.
The teen who asked the question wasn’t just any boy–he is already different from most other Jewish teens his age.
He’s attending a supplementary school program one day a week and working as a Hebrew school teacher’s aide a second day.
His plan is to earn a Teaching Certificate at the end of a two-year program.
Yet, he had a concern about whether or not the community considered him Jewish simply because he has doubts about God.
The good news?
He received warm and thoughtful responses by all Rabbis that I’m sure allayed any concerns he had, plus gave him plenty of things to grapple with and think about.
There were about 45 other teens in the room that seemed really interested in hearing the answers….so we can assume that the question resonated with them as well.
So, what can we learn about from this very important and urgent question?
We need to create the space for teens to share their feelings of doubt.
How well have we taught our teens that asking questions is the beginning of a journey?
How many of the teens we work with feel discomfort about faith? God? The bible?
How many teens might turn away from Judaism believing that they don’t quite measure up to some arbitrary definition of what a Jew is?
Judging from the thoughtful questions the teens asked and the depth of their comments, it was apparent that they experienced a wide open and accepting space to begin to figure things out, and for me–I was happy to share that space with them.
Reclaiming Judaism 
March 13th, 2014 at 6:58 PM
Ancestors of the original Israelite tribes have been rendered ethnically diverse by interbreeding with populations all over the world for the last two thousand or so years. If I don’t believe in god or any of the doctrines of the Jewish faith and have little to no racial/ethnic connection then what exactly would make me Jewish? Exactly what IS “Jewish” anyway? My mother calls herself Jewish and my father is an american atheist. What am I?
Frankly I do not define myself by allegiance to an arbitrarily defined group. There are many groups, cultures or ethnic categories I could potentially identify with. So what?, Im not a collectivist and do not engage in “group think”. I reject the very idea of tribalism. I define myself as belonging to only one group… the human species. Because every last person on this mortal coil shares a common ancestry.
March 14th, 2014 at 9:55 AM
Thanks for your comment Joe. The questions you asked remains alone for you to answer: “If I don’t believe in god or any of the doctrines of the Jewish faith and have little to no racial/ethnic connection then what exactly would make me Jewish? Exactly what IS “Jewish” anyway?” For some, those answers don’t come without struggle and credit to you for grappling with them.
My post illuminated the struggle that some Jewish teens face, who do identify with the Jewish people…some in a very strong way….yet have doubts about God. Your journey is of a different nature. I agree with your common ancestry orientation—and if more of us in the ‘human species’ saw ourselves in that way, there would be far more opportunities for peace.
February 21st, 2014 at 5:51 PM
Thanks Avram, I’m appreciative of the credit given! Glad that you had a chance to express your thoughts on this. The more we can equip ourselves to be open enough to deal with some of the tougher issues teens think about—the more connected they may feel.
February 20th, 2014 at 11:36 AM
[…] A confident, tall, yet boyish 11th grade teenager asked this question of Rabbis who were participating in a panel called "Ask the Rabbi Anything". The teen who asked the question wasn't just any bo… […]