Rabbi Noam Raucher is the executive vice president of the 96-year-old Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs, whose central task is “to create space, opportunities and experiences by which men can find each other, bond and build relationships based on brotherhood.” His twin targets are Jewish men who are affiliated with synagogues and those who aren’t, which pretty much covers the world — as the Federation does, across America, Israel, Uganda and Western Europe. And while the Federation was born in the Conservative movement, Jewish men across the religious and nonreligious spectrum are recruited. Raucher, a native of Hamden, Connecticut, has been chief executive for the last two years and a Federation member for six years. He said that a good portion of his time is spent “searching for different ways we can engage men who are connected to the Jewish community. By that I mean white, cis gender men who are part of the community, GBTQIA+ men, who are considered marginalized and Jewish men of color. We’re also talking about men who are related to Jewish families, either by adoption and haven’t converted or because they married into a Jewish family, are raising Jewish children and need guidance for what it means to be a father of Jewish children. He leads the largest and oldest Jewish men’s organization in the world. “We see our place in the next 100 years as continuing in that role, being a space for all men connected to the Jewish community.”
While women’s clubs abound across the planet, men have never been known as joiners. And Rabbi Raucher’s efforts center on “trying to figure out ways the Federation can be more engaging, more expansive of experiences for all men connected to the Jewish community. No one Jewish is excluded.” A successful day is “when I get to know guys on a more personal level– beyond the leadership stuff, beyond my responsibilities, just kind of in a human way in terms of what we all are going through. Guys reach out to me from time to time over social media – some are connected to the organization, some not. They see stuff I put out and reach out because they would like to talk.”
While it would seem obvious that his target audience would be men age 50 and under, he noted with a grin, “that is the aim of every Jewish organization.” As men get older, the relationships in our lives are what sustain us. We think, though — particularly in the stage where I am, the main age bracket, 55 and under — this is the type of stuff that really benefits us now that can make our lives so much more meaningful.” But men under 50 tend not to be joiners, and the Federation is trying to convince younger guys in my age bracket” to reverse their lifetime thinking.
But older, single men experience more loneliness than younger men. Married men typically have other things on their minds, responsibilities and commitments they must honor. Having a place where you can kind of process this stuff – a young married man who says this is not what he expected it to be. It’s harder. Maybe he’d rather be out with friends instead of his wife.
Raucher thinks the Federation could offer even more to the young, single guy. He says the minute you get married and start having kids, you get a reflection sent back to you. It’s different if you are single. They hear negative messages about how they are being marginalized, losing out to women. “We need a better echo chamber for young single men, where they can hear healthier messages and be seen for all the beauty they possess inside,” Rabbi Raucher said. “We articulate a voice men’s organizations might not do typically.” In Raucher’s view, society is demanding that men take time to become more self-aware, face their challenges and become more emotionally intelligent.
“We are trying to get men to realize,” he said, “that a men’s community is a great place to practice all of this stuff. On top of it, you gain the fringe benefits of having bonds with brothers who are going to be there for you. “We need a better echo chamber for young single men where they can hear healthier messages and be seen for all the beauty they possess inside,” Raucher said. “We articulate a voice men’s organizations might not do typically.”
The Federation offers a setting where men can share with other guys going through the same thing, find new friends who offer solutions to common, nagging problems, and learn how to be better aware of your own self. It amounts, he says, to holding up a mirror to your conduct – which is “nothing but a benefit to all of us.”
Fast Takes with Rabbi Raucher
Jewish Journal: Your favorite Jewish food?
Rabbi Raucher: Challah.
J.J.: What is your favorite childhood memory?
RR: Fishing in the Pocono Mountains lakes with my family.
J.J.: Have you any unmet goals?
RR: Yes.
