From the Ladder to the Umbrella: The Metaphors of American Jewish Religious Life

It's hard to imagine undertaking any serious study of American Jewish religious life without turning first and foremost to the synagogue. Synagogue 2000, an ambitious, multi-faceted project dedicated to strengthening this crucial institution, is predicated on the assumption that the synagogue remains the linchpin of American Jewish life. ¹ As we begin a new century, the important role of the synagogue remains undisputed. For this emphasis, we have Leon A. Jick's The Americanization of the Synagogue, 1820-1870 to thank. Jick was insistent in this slim, chock-full-of-information volume, that the synagogue must be the prime subject of inquiry in a study of American Judaism, for he knew that it, more than any other American institution, encapsulated the development of American Jewish religious life.

In turning our attention to the nineteenth century, Jick also reminded us of the significance of the surrounding culture to the growth of American Judaism. He demonstrated the extent to which Reform grew out of the pragmatic responses of immigrants to new socioeconomic conditions. Finally, by examining reforms from the perspective of immigrant worshipers, Jick weaned those of us trained as intellectual historians from a reliance on ideologies, national institutions and rabbis and reminded us of the pivotal role played by the worshipers themselves in shaping the form and content of their Judaism.

Rereading Jick today, one is struck by how simple and obvious his insights are, mostly because they have become second nature to us. At the same time, the contemporary vantage point also highlights the extent to which scholars have both incorporated and expanded upon his emphasis. Surely, contemporary scholars focusing on the religious life of American Jewry automatically examine synagogue worshipers themselves—their habits, preferences, choices, behaviors and views. In many ways, Marshall Sklare pioneered this method for the study of the descendants of eastern European Jewish immigrants in his trailblazing work Conservative Judaism, first published in 1955. ² And this focus has blossomed most recently in the groundbreaking work of Jack Wertheimer on the Conservative synagogue and its members. ³ Scholars today also pay close attention to the surrounding milieu to better understand the motivating factors and circumstances that influence religious life.

Yet scholars today have gone much further. First, we no longer seek to pinpoint the precise source of outside influences—be they American or European, English or German. Rather, scholars now routinely recognize the vital interplay among all these variables and seek to incorporate the results of detailed, sustained comparative work, particularly in the area of American Protestant religious history, into their understanding of American Judaism. To reach meaningful conclusions about the Americanization of Judaism, contemporary scholars also recognize the need to get at its essence rather than assume its existence. What is quintessentially American about synagogues and churches in this country, and in what way does this distinguish them from religious institutions elsewhere?

Second, today the terms of the debate have been transformed. We are no longer absorbed by the question of whether religious life develops from the top down, i.e., from the rabbis with their ideologies, platforms and sermons to the congregants who follow them, or from the bottom up—from the adaptive behavior of the laity to its endorsement by official bodies and rabbinic councils. Synagogue life must be studied from the perspective of its various manifold constituencies—leaders and followers—but also by looking at the experiences and contributions of other kinds of groups and functionaries who serve it. We now recognize that the dichotomy between elites and masses ought not to be so sharply drawn. There are many individuals—who were neither rabbis nor simply an indistinguishable "laity"—who have had a profound impact on American Judaism. Their contributions are part of the picture as well.

Finally, we now recognize that American Jews have always found spiritual nourishment in a variety of venues. The synagogue—while still...