Union of American Hebrew Congregations
Union of American Hebrew Congregations But is this instantaneous communications system a blessing or a curse? Will it, as one rabbi says, make us a "living web of congregations, institutions, and communities linked in common cause and constant contact," or will the technology lead to isolation and alienation for cyber-junkies, and even vaster distances between the haves and have-nots?
"Virtual" communities are created and recreated daily, as people with like passions and interests join in study and friendship on-line discussion groups conducted via e-mail. Among the many virtual Jewish communities that would not exist without the Internet are the Liberal Judaism discussion group, moderated by Dan Faigin of California (with nearly 1,000 subscribers), and the HUCALUM group for graduates of HUC-JIR programs, established and run by Joel Hoffman. With more than 600 members, HUCALUM has already become the largest and most immediate forum for debate and discussion among the Reform movement's rabbis, cantors, and educators.
Other groups have been created to bridge vast distance, including Har V'Kikar, Rabbi Steve Forstein's list for Jews living in the Great Plains area (North and South Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming), and the Canadian Council's discussion group, moderated by regional president Charles Rothschild III. Still others, such as Maqom, Rabbi Judith Abrams' on-line Talmud study group, reach out to unaffiliated Jews, including college students.
Rabbi Abrams sees the virtual Jewish community as a wonderful way to reach underserved and disconnected Jewish populations that are, for whatever reason, not actively involved in a synagogue community. The anonymity of the web offers a safe way for the unaffiliated to make a tentative first step to reconnection with other Jews.
"Worse even than the misinformation," says Rabbi Larry Hoffman, "is the interpretive spin that some right-wing Jewish groups put on information that itself is true but which may be open to alternative interpretation. Typically, a Talmud text comes equipped with several marginal commentaries that encourage debate. Not so on the Internet. True believers who are well funded can afford to blanket cyber-space with selectively chosen quotations that falsely imply a single Jewish ethical stand, even though the rabbis as a group may have debated it. Reform Jews today should roundly condemn this practice. If information is power, the stakes are higher than ever. We desperately require an alliance between the UAHC and the scholarly community at HUC-JIR to mine, interpret, and send out Jewish perspectives that do not mislead those who surf the web for Jewish insight."
Walter Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal says the Reform movement must develop its presence on the World Wide Web to counter the presence of the fundamentalist communities. The web, Mossberg says, "will become the next battleground for Reform Jews to further our cause. To do so, we must not only be on the web in force; the way we present our face to the world must be classy and attractive."
Shortly after the Reform movement hosted its first "cyberseder," Rabbi Eric H. Yoffie noted that the "very idea of a seder on-line jars our Jewish senses. Seders require foods and fragrances, wine-stained haggadot, noisy children and family quarrels."
Despite some concerns about potential misuse of this new technology, Yoffie, now president of the UAHC, believes it can serve as a tool to help realize his vision of a movement that places the study of Torah at the center of Reform Jewish life. Under his guidance, Rabbi Lawrence Raphael of the UAHC Department of Adult Jewish Growth established a weekly Torah study guide for synagogues and homes; distribution began in October by e-mail and fax, as well as by the more conventional post office. To further Jewish education, Rabbi Yoffie has supported the creation of discussion groups for congregational board members, presidents, and rabbis. And, to improve on-line communication with temple members, he pushed for the upgrading of the UAHC computer systems, regionally and nationally.
But that needn't be the case. Writing from the North Dakota plains, Adrian Durlester says, "There is nothing impersonal about electronic communication unless you choose to make it so.... Is the energy of a prayer limited in that not being in the same room, city, or country means people praying together cannot connect? Although I don't necessarily endorse the idea of an on-line minyan, I would hope that our prayers, however distant we are, could join together and reach each other. If I become an astronaut and journey to the moon, and the technology allows me to participate in a prayer service back on earth in real-time (well, there would be some lag), is my prayer not valid and worthy?"
"You can't eat cyber-challah or cyber-latkes with other people, but it's a great way to get new recipes for making challah or latkes to share with family and friends," adds Emily Grotta, UAHC director of Communications. "Let's not forget that this technology is a means to an end, not the end itself." Carol Kur agrees: "The information superhighway is a means by which we can more readily achieve our religious and communal goals as Reform Jews. While the virtual community will never replace a real community--which is what Reform Judaism is all about, after all--this new medium is going to happen with us or without us, so it had better be with us."
Universal access to the Internet remains a concern. Barry Epstein, chair of the UAHC Technology Committee and past president of Temple Shalom in Dallas, TX, cautions against devoting too much of the movement's finances to developing resources available only to those who are on-line (currently about 20% but growing). "We must be careful to make sure the technology is capable of conveniently reaching our intended audience," he says.
Bob Rosin, a former president of Monmouth Reform Temple in Tinton Falls, NJ and a computer consultant to the UAHC, disagrees. "A growing number of Reform Jews, like the rest of society, use Internet services, and the role of our institutions may very well be affected," he says. "Individuals are seeking information and engaging in dialogue about their Judaism via the Internet, bypassing traditional sources of information and creating a community that is not limited by physical location or affiliation. If our institutions do not replace information and practices that are no longer useful, they will be ignored in this new marketplace of ideas."
The impact upon Jews who are on-line is substantial. Sharing in discussions and seeking and finding information is adding a new dimension to their lives; some, in fact, have made Judaism part of their daily rhythm as they search for answers and help others via e-mail.
Change is apparent at the local community level, too. Congregations are indeed altering the way they "do business" through the use of the new technology. Aided by the UAHC Communications Department, more than 160 UAHC congregations now post their own home pages on the World Wide Web, many of them successfully conducting temple communications and programming as well as attracting new members. These accomplishments have minimal price tags, as many congregational sites are housed for free on the UAHC web site and most are developed and maintained by volunteers. Sometimes they also draw in teen members, who offer their Internet experience to the synagogue.
This technology is also changing the way the movement's major institutions work together, making activities and resources more accessible, fostering greater individual involvement in the development of policies and positions, and improving the efficiency of information flow to and from their constituents.
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