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Boruch Hashem we had a great Shabbos at my house. We invited many of our non-religious neighbours for the Friday night and Shabbos day meals using the Shabbos project as a convenient excuse for something we really wanted to do anyway. It really allowed us to break the ice and we had really enjoyable meals with good feelings and promises to return all-around.
The Shabbos Project in my mind is not about getting people to keep one Shabbos, it is about the frum community reaching out to their less fortunate bretheren and showing them a little of what makes Shabbos, and by extension Torah, special. Hopefully, that small experience will blossom into something greater and more of Am Yisroel will have a conection with Hashem and Torah.
In my opinion the project was about getting people to keep their first halachic shabbos. Seems to me that in the communities across the UK it was very successful.
“Your assertion that no such individual exists is flat out wrong, and is a dangerous attack on the neshamos of thousands of as-yet not frum Jews.”
Whatever that means.
What I stated was not the politically correct thing, but it is the truth. And those people you are talking about, will have the opportunity to become and remain ba’alei tshuvah via Hashem’s choosing and their own convictions. The Baking Challah and Eating Chulant Project is not going to do it.
I suspect it would be more successful in communities in Europe and other countries where non-religious jews are connected unlike in the US where they are not.
I suspect thats why it worked well in South Africa originally.
Lior,
7 altogether (5 at night and 2 by day). Everyone was in close walking distance, so they walked home.
I don’t know the answer to you last question.
zahavasdad wrote
“Queens did not encourage people to make their own shabbos, but rather in a group event”
That’s how to do it. It gets them to keep one Shabbos correctly without having to learn all the details. They won’t be in a situation where the host doesn’t know what to do with them for an entire Shabbos (remember this not just a meal)
I suspect you understood exactly what I meant; nevertheless, I don’t mind explaining.
Fact: Many people credit Kiruv organizations with introducing them to Judaism and making them frum. (Although I am not, and never have been, employed by any such organization, I know many such people personally, just from my own community; if you don’t, feel free to do some research). It is simply not true that no one ever became frum because of a kiruv organization.
Yes, what you say is true, that Hashem gives everyone their opportunity to recognize the truth. Why do you think that the organization’s efforts were not the way He chose to reach out to these people? Why do you assume that, had they not been receptive to the organization, they would have been given another chance, and that they would have capitalized on it? In any case, we are not allowed to operate on the assumption that “Hashem takes care of it” when it comes to helping others. We are to assume that our efforts are necessary and critical, even as we recognize that ultimately Hashem will see to it that everyone gets what they need.
Plainly put, we can not think about “how would it have happened, if it had not happened the way it did.”
The assertion that “no one ever became frum because of a kiruv organization” necessarily discourages people from contributing to kiruv organizations. This would obviously compromise the organizations’ ability to bring back as many people as they otherwise would be able to do. Therefore, the assertion is an attack on the neshamos of those who would potentially be excluded from kiruv efforts because of lack of funds.
Git Meshige,
I have always wondered why Kiruv Organizations only started 30-40 years ago. There were Non Frum Yidden throughout the ages, why did the Gedolim of those generations not find it necessary to be mekarev them and bring as many yidden back to Yiddishkeit?
I’m not sure that the present day situation is fully analogous to previous generations. Large numbers of Jews went off the derech for ideological reasons due to the haskala, replacing Torah with Reform, secular nationalism, socialism, or many other things ending in “ism.” This was a change from previous generations, where ignorance and Christian/Muslim coercion were the primary spiritual dangers. Unlike the older dangers, which generally resulted in a rapid loss of Jewish identity and hostility towards Judaism, the haskala has left behind a large population of great grandchildren who are identifiably Jewish but possess little knowledge of Judaism are are not hostile towards it.
1. How did the Shabbos Project work out for everyone this past Shabbos? How did it work out in general?
2. It seems to have changed a bit this year. It was combined was J-Inspire. What was that all about?
Breitbart has a beautiful article posted yesterday by their Jerusalem bureau talking about the results of the Shabbos Project this year as well as its history.
The first year there was enthusiasm, and it waned last year and there seemed to be very little this year.
Someone I know from South Africa explained to me that in South Africa even if you arent religious you have a connection to the jewish community, however that doesnt exist in the US so while a large Challah baking will get alot of people involved in South Africa , very few non religious jews would get involved in the US
I’ve been orthodox since I was 12yo. This day means nothing to me. In my Excellence Opinion, it was bothersome to have my schedule changed to accommodate the extra activities. I wanted to learn Rabbi Alshich on Avos with my friends.1`
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