In November 2019, New Zealand politician Chlöe Swarbrick was speaking about climate change legislation when an older colleague interrupted her. She responded, “Ok, boomer,” and the internet fell in love. The phrase’s popularity underscored something vital and poignant about the world today: it is getting harder for members of different age strata to understand one another, and that friction is causing more and more conflict. Ironically, Todd Muller, the man to whom Swarbrick levied her comment, is a member of Generation X, only furthering the point that understanding these distinctions can be fraught.
The Jewish community has similarly grappled with the differences in age demographics. How, for example, do institutions communicate differently with Boomers as opposed to Gen Z? What is a compelling reason for Jewish engagement for those born within different contexts and experiences? To find out, our congregation facilitates a book club exploring Jean Twenge’s book Generations: The Real Differences Between Gen Z, Millennials, Gen X, Boomers, and Silents – and What They Mean for America’s Future. The book was a masterfully crafted evaluation of how different generational groups relate to one another, interact with the world, and craft a worldview for politics, religion, and beyond.
Our book group identified that there is a central equation that is guiding much of the generational transformation in recent years. Twenge describes how different technological innovations have created two responses: a growing sense of individualism and a “slow life strategy,” or a delay in certain classic benchmarks of adulthood (like getting a driver’s license, getting married, having children, etc.)
The comment regarding rising individualism particularly struck us in the Jewish community. Because as a whole, when we look at the rituals and practices of Judaism, individual care is almost never mentioned as a priority. We are commanded to welcome the stranger and protect the widow and the orphan. We are obligated to prioritize contributions to the Tabernacle (now synagogue) and service to God. There are a variety of motivations for all of our Jewish activities, but rarely, if ever, is the answer “because it is good for me.”
This is, of course, not to say that Jewish practices aren’t good for the individual. Judaism has encoded in its DNA the very idea that participating in the communal will positively impact how we experience the world for ourselves. The central theme of the book of Proverbs is that piety and observance of the law will, by its very nature, increase an individual’s wisdom, as is noted in chapter 2 when we read, “If you accept my words and treasure up my commandments…then you will understand the fear of the Eternal and attain knowledge of God.” (Prov. 2:1-2) In other words, when we focus on the community, we all benefit; when we focus on the self, there is a high likelihood that nobody will.
Rabbi Jonathan Sacks furthered this idea from a modern perspective in his 2019 book, Morality: Restoring the Common Good in Divided Times. He wrote, “If we focus on the ‘I’ and lose the ‘We,’ if we act on self-interest without a commitment to the common good if we focus on self-esteem and lose our care for others, we will lose much else…we will lose our feeling of collective responsibility and find in its place a culture of competitive victimhood.” Despite all the voices in our society today telling us to double down on self-care and self-preservation, it would seem that the most beneficial outcome for any individual is when we see them invest their time and energy into the collective, thus raising the quality of life for all involved.
The expression, “a rising tide helps all boats,” is a nice one, but it is also an effective one. And so often, we ask our Judaism to serve as an anchor for the pitches and swells of the tide of change. While the world trends toward a more individualistic mindset, our Jewish roots need to help stabilize us in our communities to focus our attention and energy toward making us safer, healthier, and more supported. In a culture that tries to use scarcity as a menacing tactic, how beautiful it is that Judaism can remind us that we are all in this together and that we are stronger, smarter, and better when we use our power as a collective to make life more beautiful for all involved.
I love it!!! Great summary and further insight into Judaism and our obligations. And whether or not you feel commanded by God or by Tikkun Olam its we before I.
Am I allowed to send the article to friends?