Not exactly religious, not exactly secular

September 25, 2006 - 5:31 PM by

shabbat then

WestBankMama shares the results of a survey sponsored by Gesher (an organization which aims to improve social ties between Israeli secular and religious Jews) and the religious newspaper Makor Rishon, about Jewish Israelis’ religious observances. In her words:

Many Israelis may not be what we call religious, but they do have a connection to Judaism, and it shows up in their actions.

The least surprising statistic was about strict Sabbath observance – not using electrical appliances on Shabbat. 31.8% do not turn on the electricity on the Sabbath, which roughly corresponds to the number of people who label themselves religious in this country. But this number doubles when people are asked if they say Kiddush on Shabbat (the blessing over the wine said at the meal) to 62.6%. This means that a majority of Israelis have at least one Sabbath meal with their families every week, where they take part in the ritual of Kiddush. I remember when we went to Eilat and spent a Sabbath in the hotel. Friday night there were quite a few tables where chiloni men, putting napkins on their heads (no extra kippot available) would say Kiddush for their families, their kids waiting eagerly for a sip of Abba’s wine.

This connection that the average Israeli feels to Judaism is not only in the “family oriented” mitzvot. 70.8% of Israelis say they fast on Yom Kippur. 61.8% say they keep kosher – and the breakdown of this statistic is also very interesting. 92.6% of people who call themselves “traditional” keep kosher, and 25.3% of those who call themselves “secular”. I wasn’t surprised at the numbers in terms of the masorati (traditional) group – but I was amazed that a quarter of secular Israelis keep kosher.

One of the brightest bits of news in this survey was the fact that in terms of age, more young people keep the mitzvot than the older people (which is the direct opposite of what is happening in America and the Diaspora).

shabbat now

WestBankMama goes on to explain at length her reasons for being happy that so many other Jews feel Jewishly connected, and summarizes her thoughts about it thusly:

A lot of the problems between the religious and non-religious in Israel comes from the fact that our relationship is seen superficially, as a sort of competition. When someone takes off his kippa it is seen as a “win” for one team and a loss for the other, and when someone becomes observant it is the opposite. But the relationship is truly much deeper than that – and those of us who are observant really feel that we are part of the same family.

This is why I was so happy to read this article. I like and respect other Jews the way they are now, and I don’t need everyone else to be at exactly the same place I am. But if feels good to know that a lot more Jews are “within shouting distance” than I had thought in the past.

kiddush

Tags: • Category: General, Israeliness, Life 

Comments

2 Comments on Not exactly religious, not exactly secular

  1. 76kljkwh31gv on Mon, Sep 25th 2006 6:34 PM

    2. Why doesn’t the survey ask people which of the ten commandments they keep?

    Traditions are fine but I think God cares more about whether people are practicing kindness, courtesy, tolerance, understanding, forgiveness and learning to curb their materialism and control their overinflated egos and sense of self importance.

  2. Brian Ulrich on Mon, Sep 25th 2006 6:34 PM

    3. The bit about young people being more observant may be the opposite of the Diaspora, but follows the trends in the rest of the Middle East, among both Muslims and at least Egypt’s Christians. Interesting.

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