Crash Courses Help Firm Ties Between Jews, Their Religion

Students of Rabbi Daniel Epstein’s crash course in Hebrew are facing their final exam--Yom Kippur. The students--including children, lawyers and computer specialists--have learned Hebrew phonetics and the meaning of religious phrases. They have been taught that apples and honey symbolize the sweetness of a new year. Some have even practiced blowing the shofar, a wind instrument made from a ram’s horn that signifies spiritual awakening during the High Holy Days.

On Monday morning, these students at the Beth Jacob Congregation-Irvine will have a chance to show what they have learned at a Yom Kippur service for beginners, an unusual service catering to unaffiliated Jews--those who do not belong to a temple. The service will be held at the Irvine Marriott.

With the approach of the High Holy Days--which began with Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, on Sept. 29, and concludes with Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement--more congregations across the nation have been offering such “crash courses” in Hebrew and Jewish history. Their aim is to help strengthen the connection between Jews and their religion.

Special Opportunity

The High Holy Days, in particular, provide Jewish leaders, concerned about the dilution of Jewish heritage and religious observances in America, with a special opportunity.

According to a spokesman for the Jewish Federation of Orange County, so many normally non-observant Jews want to attend Rosh Hashanah services that many temples must move their services to theaters or hotels. It is a time of year when unaffiliated Jews often consider whether to join a particular synagogue.

Such beginners’ services and courses are “really catching on across the country,” said Epstein, who leads the modern Orthodox congregation of 125 families in Irvine.

Nationally, the outreach movement, operated by the New York-based National Jewish Outreach Program, aims to stem what Epstein called an “alarming” trend of attrition and assimilation among Jews.

In the greater Los Angeles area, according to the Jewish Federation Council of Los Angeles, 30% to 40% of Jews marry non-Jews. In outlying areas, that rate rises to 60%.

In Orange County, only 10% of an estimated 100,000 Jews are affiliated with a synagogue and “the attrition rate is spiraling,” Epstein said.

The beginners’ services and the outreach programs are part of the worldwide Baal Teshuvah movement, which aims to return Jewish people to their roots and promote observance of traditional rituals. So far, it has swept tens of thousands of Jews in Israel--where most Israelis are not religious--and has reached major Jewish centers in the United States, Epstein said.

“What’s at stake is the continuity of the Jewish people,” said Rabbi David Eliezrie of the Chabad Center of North Orange County, a strict branch of Orthodox Judaism.

The Chabad Center in Yorba Linda also offers Hebrew crash courses. This week, the center held a symposium to introduce and explain the traditions of the high holidays “so people won’t have the what-page-are-we-on-in-the-prayer-book blues,” Eliezrie said.

In addition to giving crash courses in Hebrew before major Jewish holidays, the Beth Jacob Congregation in Irvine has started outreach programs such as the Sabbath Youth program, “Turn Friday Night into Shabbos.” The programs, organized through the National Conference of Synagogue Youth, include parties and weekend seminars where Jewish identity and Judaism are subjects of discussion and debate.

In order to attract novice worshipers to High Holy Day services, Epstein posted and sent out thousands of flyers to attract those who may have fallen away.

“At last,” says the flyer, “A High Holiday service for the novice worshiper.”

The flyer continues:

- “Prayers and Rituals Explained.

- Biblical Insights.

- Historical Overviews.

- Over 200 Shofar Blasts.

- Questions and Answers.”

“The image a lot of people have of Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur is the coming to shul (temple) and sitting, listening and observing through a long service,” Epstein said.

The beginners’ service, by contrast, is participatory and informal. He said it is especially appropriate to launch such beginners’ services during the High Holy Days because “that’s the time for teshuvah, repentance.

Chance to Reach Out

“On the one hand, it’s a chance for us to fulfill our obligation to reach out and care for our fellow Jews. If we don’t reach out to other Jews and give them the opportunity to experience and confront their Judaism, then we are deficient in our religious observance,” Epstein said.

Information on crash courses sites at several Southland locations is available by calling 1-800-44-HEBREW.

One student said she is particularly looking forward to this year’s High Holy Days services. Irvine bank attorney Julie Greenfield, 38, said she has gravitated toward traditional values since her divorce two years ago. The class provided her with her first instruction in Hebrew.

“I can’t say I’m an expert on Hebrew--don’t forget this was a crash course,” she said. “But there’s a feeling when you are Jewish and the tradition goes back thousands of years. It’s a sense of belonging, a sense of family. It’s roots, heritage and a very wonderful experience.”