Perhaps it’s time for us to recapture our mission

What is the greatest problem the Jewish people face today? Some would say assimilation: Of the estimated 13 million Jews worldwide, how many are committed to Jewish tradition and Jewish continuity? According to the recent Pew report, after factoring out the Orthodox community, in North America alone, upwards of 70 percent of the remaining 4.5 million estimated Jews are or will most probably intermarry. But assimilation is not the problem; it is only a symptom of the problem. 

Some would say anti-Semitism: The percentage of hate inspired crimes against the Jewish communities of Europe is clearly on the rise, and even in North America, over 50 percent of Jewish university students have experienced anti-Israel and anti-Semitic behavior on campuses.

But again, anti-Semitism is not the problem; it is simply a symptom of the problem.

Iran, Hezbollah, Hamas, and even Venezuela and Argentina are not the problem, nor is the Palestinian Authority, BDS, or Justice for Palestine on U.S. campuses; they are all just symptoms of the problem. 

So what is the real problem?

It’s all about education. Jews willing to give up their Jewish heritage will rightly ask: “Why should I care about Judaism in the first place?” The same way Jews on campuses are often not at all sure why we even need a Jewish state, much less what that really means.

We need to change the way we educate ourselves, and our children, and we need to honestly examine the flaws in our current educational systems. And we are not just talking about Jewish schools or Jewish children; rather, we need to take a closer look at all the ways we educate ourselves, including the media and social networking. 

The level of negative messaging we are constantly exposed to, whether violence, objectifying the human body, materialism as an ideal, or character assassination, is astounding. 

So where can we start? Perhaps there is something simple we can do that is alluded to in this week’s portion Shelach.