the basics and not radical Judaism there would be few who leave, instead every day more and more radical rules are made. A Jew 350 years ago behaved like the avg jew does today that we call non observant, teffilin, keep shabbat, kosher etc

In other cultures, the local religious authority figure doesn't wince when you tell him such-and-such relative has different bloodlines. Rabbinical Judaism has no 'retention' or 'win-back' plays, and Karaite Judaism has no 'acquisition' play. Essentially, diaspora Judaism looks set to exist solely as a country club for rich patrons unless ghettoization or social marginalization causes the remaining Jews to close ranks and shun their host country's cultures and intermarriage. No outsider would choose to run a gauntlet of disdain just to dress in sidecurls and bob up in down like a drinking bird, unless the moral compass of Judaism were demonstrably superior and beneficial to humanity. Judaism is not a secret society, so why not proselytize at least some form of Judaism to curious outsiders? If that's not possible, then we can see why Rabbinical Judaism is no longer palatable to Jews themselves.

The Jews of the United States have been assimilating since the early 1900s. They came mostly from eastern Europe and Russia, they wanted to blend in, so they didn't teach their children to speak Yiddish, they gave them American-sounding names like William, Mary, Peter, Amy, etc. They sent them to mainstream schools, surrounded by Christian classmates and teachers. The synagogue became something you went to occasionally, maybe for High Holy Days, maybe not for Shabbat. Religious school was skipped, or shifted to Sundays to be analogous to Christian religious schools. Inter-marriage has grown ever more commonplace. Each generation has thus become more diluted, more separated from the past, from the history, from the culture that made us Jewish. The Pew report is merely putting a period on this paragraph that we all know about. Too bad and I hope that something other than J Street comes along to help younger Jews to treasure and renew their Jewish identity.

Eric came back because his mom is from here. Phila was wasted 100 years ago by the conservative and reform rabbis. That is why he is a lucky exception. I watched three generation go bye bye, starting with grandpa. Now it is four generations. US screwed because without Torah observance, Jews die out. History. Israel's Jewish identity is preserved by orthodiox rabbis. Not much reform or conservative here thank G-d.

Google "conservative Jewish synagogues, chicago" and at least 8 centers of Judaism come up on the screen. Proselytizing has never been a tenet of Judaism; however, I am sure that if you go to a Shabbat evening (Friday night) or Sahbbat morning service (Saturday morning), and introduce yourself to the Rabbi, and pose your questions, you'll be welcomed to study. And, as your mama never taught you: mind your manners, "guy."

Judaism--and almost every other religion for that matter--is in decline.(Just look at christianity in Europe) It's indefinite existence is very much questionable. Atheism/Agnosticism is, however, on the upswing; a product of of the humanistic renaissance/enlightenment period of the 18th century. Are we really going to delude ourselves that in 2500, Judaism will still be around? I can't think many arguments that would leave me to aver as such. The bottom line: Judaism is in decline and may go extinct (at least in the US)--So what?? The world will go on.

There is a general disconnect between generations in American society, not just in Judaism. The younger generation does not hold dear the values and practices of their elders, as they absorb their culture through the TV or computer, and do not understand what Judaism has to offer, and are unwilling to devote the time and money to learn.

Religion is becoming less important to most people on earth, regardless of the religion. As humans go through the centuries and as communication becomes more prevalent, cultures mix. There is no "pure" culture anywhere on earth at this point. To lament that is becoming diluted is a waste of time and energy. If a is no longer relevant to a human they will let it go. The author may not like that, but that is reality and no matter what "magic" programs or processes are put in place, the people will not return.

Eric came back because his mom is from here. Phila was wasted 100 years ago by the conservative and reform rabbis. That is why he is a lucky exception. I watched three generation go bye bye, starting with grandpa. Now it is four generations. US screwed because without Torah observance, Jews die out. History. Israel's Jewish identity is preserved by orthodiox rabbis. Not much reform or conservative here thank G-d.

The author's point is that US Jews are leaving Judaism due to a lack of outreach. You're saying that instead of having the rabbi reach out to non-congregants, non-congregants must reach out to him. And then you close your comment with a disdainful rebuke, as if to emphasize how wary you are of any scrutiny of Judaism, even if the intentions are good. I never appreciated all the old congregants sneering and hissing when a newcomer struggles to put on a talit the right way.

How would you market Judaism to "the younger generation?" And why must it cost money to learn (which was your contention)? It seems that a covenant of laws governing ethical conduct would be popular with humanists and agnostics, but that aspect of Judaism is not evident when every other "Jewish" photo gallery on a Western news site shows men in identical garb with identical physiognomies shaving a lulav. So 'optics' and the whole $2,000-a-year family membership thing must be part of the problem.

First of all, I have lived in Israel for 5 years of my life and have actually held a work permit in Israel. People from the US have a hard time finding a place in Israel for themselves. Why? Because Americans work much harder and more diligently than Israelis. This engenders resentment among Israeli co-workers. Also, Israelis who are not religious, tend to be anti-religious almost to the point of anti-Semitism. It is very hard to take being made uncomfortable in Israel by Israelis because one is a Jew. And finally, religious Israelis tend to be anti-education and anti-the modern world. Any American who has a profession and is religious is just not welcome amongst many religious Jews. So to summarize: 1) You can't work like in an American in Israel. Israelis won't allow it. 2) You can't be religious amongst secular Jews in Israel. They won't allow that. 3) You can't be a professional or use you education among religious people in Israel because they don't like that. So, why would a dati, well-educated and hard-working Jew move to Israel if wherever he or she goes the country works against him or her?

It is obvious to any observer that religion is dying everywhere. And the sooner the better. It is impossible to hang onto primitive superstitions in the face of science and globalisation. Sorry if this offends, but the bible is full of disgusting and absurd phantasies and impossibilities. Amen!

Communist and/or Capitalist Conspirators". Israel is not a place for you, that much is obvious. As to all the theorizing about religion's decline: you nuts, people?! Islam is doing very well, thank you.

Its called Chabad and its everywhere. Its open, warm, welcoming and non judgmental.

Sadly, there are Israelis like you describe. You ask where would a dati, well-educated, hard-working Jew move to Israel? You should get to know the real Israel, like the people who live in Judea and Samaria.

To Dave, don't presume to know the full depth of why I personally decided to come to Israel. The Philadelphia Jewish community, whichc consists of Reform, Conservative & Orthodox (among others) is a strong one, and many if not most of my friends from home are living happy and devoted Jewish lives. The case I was making was for greater outreach to disenfranchised young Jews who struggle to connect to more traditional forms of the religion. The American-Jewish community is not screwed, and the supposed decline isnt because of Conservative or Reform Jews either.

Rabbis don't have answers, only irrelevant, funny, Dark Ages mumbo-jumbo that no intelligent and educated person is interested in

Eric and No. 5 describe the problem well, but what we need is solid ideas for a solution. You can't get Jews to reach out to a rabbi if they don't have any contact with one and you can't get Jews who see Jewish practice as a needless burden (as did many of the immigrant generation's children) to take it up. One of the problems is that young people (adolescents especially) hate being different. In most of the United States, unless you attend a Jewish day school or high school, the demands and rituals of Judaism make you different. I have observed that my generation (I'm in my 60s) is particularly to blame. Our parents wanted to be considered "real Americans" and shunned many of the customs -- and certainly the languages -- of their immigrant parents. My generation had parents and grandparents to be Jewish for us while we wanted to be like everyone else in a country where "everyone else" was gentile. Then we had children and many of us, if we wanted them to act Jewish, didn't know how; afternoon Jewish school and our own indifference had made us Jewishly illiterate. My parents' generation fought antisemitism so successfully (after the war) that Jews after the 1967 war became very accepted. And what could be a greater sign of acceptance than being willing to marry a Jew? We need to find ways to attract people to Jewish life and the synagogue and to disabuse them of the feeling that Jewish practice is a burden. I wish I knew what those ways were. I wouldn't keep them a secret.

throughout our history will be reminded he is a Jew by the goy. The goy will reject him, impoverish him and banish him. He may end up even killing him. Read our history and then you will know. In the interim the Jew in America is on autopilot to oblivion. The only future for the Jew is Israel.

but when the bad times arrive they come flooding back. It's a natural phenomenon that has happened throughout history.

Have you been to the US lately? Or if you do live in the US, have you ever left your local version of the madrasa? Most Americans don't give a hoot what other people do on Friday night, Saturday morning, Sunday morning or any other time. Finally, in his first state of the union address, President Obama acknowledged non-believers, as they become a larger percentage of the pooulation daily. Goys killing Jews? You must be joking. There will never be a religious war in the US. Religion is not worth killing anyone over.

People seem to forget that a bad Jewish education is worse than no Jewish education, and aliyah won't fix the problem. As long as non-Orthodox Jewish education for kids focuses mostly on memorizing a foreign language (Hebrew) and remembering the Holocaust (which does not motivate people to choose a specific religion), people won't care - especially if there's nothing for them at shul between their bar mitzvah and their wedding. And as long as Orthodox education instills fear of G-d and neighbors instead of love of Judaism, we will continue to go off the derech. More kiruv is not the answer. Better Jewish education is.

The Jews in the US have been assimilating actually a lot longer. It started back in the day with the Sephardic Jews who came to the US back in the colonial days. (There's a book about at least one old Sephardic family - Mordekhai.) This is not a new phenomenon, not even just a century-old one.

religion creates war,when people focus on the outer manifestation and pride of religious affiliation,quite often people have come to the conclusion that only their religion is right and other interpretations are wrong,not only do people think that their religion alone is right but so grievously wrong are different forms of religion that this justifies any means to convert people to their religion.The irony of this belief is that often religious confrontation is usually between religions which have many things in common but differ on some particular interpretation of a teaching ideology,the religious disputes are an example,sharing the same holy book,the same prophet,there is still a violent disagreement about interpretations of the message,in the name of religious purity,many were killed,tortured and burnt at the stake,all in a bid to rid heresy and establish the one true religion.These intoxicated spread a message of hatred,supremacy or need to quibble other theological dogma.The damn religion which is based on human egoism,human pride and the desire to assert ones supremacy,it is nothing but a smokescreen for their human foibles

you shall have no other gods before men,you shall not make any idols,you shall not take the name of the lord in vain,remember the sabbath day to keep it holy,honor your father and your mother,your shall not murder,you shall not commit adultery,you shall not bear false witness,you shall not covet,AMEN

religion is based mainly upon fear,fear of the mysterious,fear of defeat,fear of death,fear is the parent of cruelty and therefore it is no wonder if cruelty and religion have gone hand in hand,my own view on religion is that of lucretius,i regard it as a disease born of fear and as a source of untold misery to the human race.Religion equals racism,sexism,speciesism,self hatred,exploitation,slavery and war.The people of the earth are one humanity.No races,no religions,no duality,no war