CONTINUITY TO RENAISSANCE TO ENLIGHTENMENT

Those of us connected to national organizations have lived through the last three decades with the rallying cries of Continuity and then Renaissance and Renewal ringing in our ears. I have come to the conclusion that we now are living in a new age, the age of Enlightenment.

In the 18th century the Enlightenment was the revolution of the individual. Institutions of Europe lowered their focus from aristocracy and clergy to a new group emerging from the darkness. These people began to articulate clearly and confidently what they wanted. In response, society directed resources and energy to meet their needs.This emerging class had the means to take care of their basic needs. What they wanted was power—to be in control of their lives. First and foremost, they wanted to be educated. During the Enlightenment, the concept of universal education arose. It meant self-determination; it meant revolutions and the end of the old model of hereditary rule. It ended dependency on the church and the monarchy.

Our Jewish community is entering its own age of Enlightenment. Knowledge of Judaism is no longer the property of the elite, the rabbis and scholars. Jewish adults are asking for the opportunity to shape their lives, to equip themselves to make decisions about a meaning-filled life and spiritual well-being. Learning today, as in the 18th century, is self-empowerment. The treasures of Judaism are there to be known by everyone. The community has the responsibility to listen, to respond and to provide ways to access these riches of our heritage. Perhaps the time has arrived for universal adult Jewish education, a 21st century Jewish Enlightenment.