Parents: For the Love of G-d, Make a Jewish Choice in 5786

The Jewish new year is the ideal time for reflection and making changes in our lives that can positively impact not only ourselves and our families, but also our Jewish community, and beyond.  Today, lots of people are asking today, “What will Jewish America look like in the coming decades?” Although we cannot say for sure, we have a good hunch and the answer isn’t pretty.

One of us is the CEO of the largest JCC in North America and the other is a law professor and author/educator in the Jewish space. We both live and work in Chicagoland, the third largest Jewish population in the United States, numbering almost 320,000. Jewish Chicago is rich with Jewish programming and other opportunities for families like ours to make Jewish choices. In fact, we have both chosen Jewish preschools and Jewish summer camps for our children and made numerous other Jewish choices for our respective families.  But statistics show that we are a dying breed.

According to the 2020 Chicago Jewish population study, only 20% of Jewish children from birth to age five attend a Jewish early childhood program, which is a decrease from 40% in 2010. Among K-12 Jewish students, only 24% attended a Jewish summer program or camp. We suspect that in other locations, the percentages would be even lower. The Foundation for Jewish Camp reports that only 15% of Jewish children attend a Jewish overnight camp.  Although the majority of religiously liberal Jewish programs and institutions now define “Jewish” in a broad, inclusive sense, making these types of Jewish choices simply is not the norm for most Jewish parents.

We believe it is imperative that individual Jews with young children start thinking much more seriously about how to incorporate Jewish choice into their lived experience. If you plan to send your child to a preschool, why not choose a Jewish preschool? If you plan to send your child to a summer camp, why not choose a Jewish camp?  Preschool children bring home challah covers and Haggadahs in their backpacks along with love of Jewish ritual, tradition, language, and food in their hearts. These experiences infuse their homes and help the entire family grow Jewishly.

As for Jewish summer camp, as children grow from day to overnight camping, they gain not only independence but also a pathway for their personal Jewish journeys. While decisions for young children sit mostly with parents, older kids choose to return to their Jewish camp.  We are not surprised that the FJC reports that 94% of families find that overnight camp fosters connection to Jewish people and the broader Jewish community. Even more report that overnight camp creates an atmosphere where their children are proud to be Jewish. These choices are then followed by “the next Jewish thing,” be it Jewish youth groups, Hillel or Chabad on campus, a young adult trip to Israel.

Jewish is fun, Jewish feels good. Jewish choices breed more Jewish choices. Imagine a world in which significantly more young people choose to travel to Israel, seek Jewish young adult engagement programs, and raise their hands for leadership roles in their Jewish communities. Not only would American Jewry thrive in ways too many to count, but our Jewish agencies—the infrastructure designed to engage, connect and support the Diaspora—will similarly flourish. Just imagine.

Organizations need to do a better job of convincing more young Jewish parents to make those first Jewish choices. JCCs, Jewish preschools, camps, and agencies designed to invite Jewish engagement can do better at making the case. Our community funders can do more to support Jewish choices, which are sometimes more expensive than secular choices. Financial incentives developed decades ago have not kept up with either inflation or increased program costs, and the scholarship application process can be confusing, uncomfortable, or both.  There is definitely room for improvement on the communal side when it comes to facilitating more Jewish choices.

But make no mistake–the ripple effect in the opposite direction is where the crisis lies. Not choosing Jewish will likely lead to both a worsening of statistics and a decline in the availability of those Jewish choices. If less people show up, for how long will the doors be open? Now imagine your community with no Jewish preschools, no Jewish camps, and no JCCs. Sound dire? It is.

We cannot allow a future in which Jews opt out of themselves.

Parents: for the love of G-d, make a Jewish choice in 5786!

Addie Goodman is the President & CEO of JCC Chicago and serves on the Board of Directors of JCC Association of North America and as a Trustee for the Harold Grinspoon Foundation. Roberta Rosenthal Kwall teaches at DePaul Law and is the author of “Remix Judaism” and “Polarized: Why American Jews are Divided and What to Do About It” (Bloomsbury Press, 2026).