Several readers commented to me about how much they appreciated my column last month on Jewish identity and Jewishness vs. Judaism. It is a subject that occupies so much of my thinking. Jewish identity in America is a very complicated subject. Being Jewish in America today is entirely voluntary. It is altogether possible--we see it all around us--to stop practicing any form of Judaism, to cease all Jewish associations, be it with a synagogue, JCC or other organization, and to end for all practical purposes ones Jewish life. The next generation may or may not rediscover its Jewish past. Within three generations, Jewish identity can be totally gone from what was once an American Jewish family. We are what I have come to call an invisible minority. Nothing identifies us as Jewish other than ourselves. It is, as I said, entirely voluntary. This is what makes the challenge to the synagogue so enormous. Every day we must make a compelling claim for every persons Jewish identity. There is nothing more labor intensive. Jewish life is built one soul at a time.

I consider this as I think about Micah and how we take up these challenges. It seems to me that among the many reasons people come to our synagogue, two seem to stand out. One is to discover exactly what their Judaism is about. The frequently deep subconscious questions that motivate have to do with family history, sense of obligation to the past and search for meaning. Jewishness and Judaism are all mixed up. A second strong motivator that brings people to us is, of course, children. So many people come being led by children who are curious to know who they are Jewishly, and their parents carry a vague sense of the need to pass on a legacy whose meaning to them is hard to define. Here the synagogue faces a double challenge engaging with both parents and children, and it is here that American Judaism remains in an enormous quandary.

Bar\Bat mitzvah has become the symbolic icon marking the successful transmission of identity. We might rightly ask about the level of success. My sense is that when Jewish education and most family Jewish activity stops at bar\bat mitzvah, the "success" of the bar\bat mitzvah moment is a rather dubious one. It is at 13 that children are just beginning to be able to explore what Judaism means in terms of theology, history and ethics. It is with high school that strong social bonds can form through informal activities that themselves engender such exploration. Finally, it is in high school that American Jewish students can encounter firsthand through organized educational programs the miracle of modern Judaism -- namely a Jewish youth program in Israel.

I would like to continue this exploration on the complexity of Jewish identity in my letter next month when I will consider the challenges facing a synagogue as opposed to a church.

Come and consider these questions in your own lives as we do each week when we gather for Shabbat worship. Additionally, this month we will have a special opportunity to consider our lives as American Jews through our Scholar-in-Residence weekend with Rabbi Marc Lee Raphael. The weekend will be incredible. The Sunday morning session will be absolutely amazing. Go and read up!