* * * Greek NYC Jews and Syrian NYC Jews * * *
a short historical essay by Mr. Cohen,
the moderator of the Derech Emet Yahoo Group:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DerechEmet/
that teaches a big lesson about Jewish continuity.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Over the past 35 years, I noticed that the highest intermarriage
rates [between Jews and non-Jews] are found in communities where Reform Judaism
is most dominant, and the lowest intermarriage rates are found in communities
where Reform Judaism does not exist.
Around the 1920s [of the Common Era], tens of thousands of
Jews came from Greece to New York City, and tens of thousands of Jews came from
Syria to New York City.
In the 1920s,
the numbers of Greek Jews and Syrian Jews in New York City were approximately
equal. Their observance of Jewish
rituals was also approximately equal.
Around that time, the Greek Jews of NYC decided to follow Reform
Judaism, while the Syrian Jews followed Orthodox Judaism.
By the 1980s, the Greek Jews of NYC [and the USA] were so
few in number that there was only ONE Greek Synagogue in NYC, and that ONE Greek
Synagogue functioned mostly as a museum.
The very few Greek Jews of NYC were intermarrying with Gentiles at a
very high rate, and very few participated in any kind Jewish activities. One Greek Jew who I personally spoke to had
decided to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day instead of Purim.
By the 1990s, the Syrian Jews of NYC had grown
exponentially, with many new synagogues that did not exist in previous
decades, and more-than-enough new Syrian Jews to fill those new synagogues with active members. Their rate of intermarriage
with non-Jews was LESS THAN ONE PERCENT [<1%].
By year 2015, the Greek Jews of NYC were so few in number
that their community had basically ceased to exist. They had no schools, and only that one
synagogue which mostly functioned as a museum.
By year 2015, the Syrian Jews of NYC continued to grow
rapidly, with less than 1% intermarriage and many new synagogues that did not
exist in the 1990s. The number of schools run by-and-for Syrian Jews also
increased dramatically.
The Syrian Jews of NYC also added new
mikvahs to their infrastructure, while the Greek Jews of NYC had no
mikvahs.
By year 2015 the Syrian Jews of NYC had two of their own
monthly magazines, while the Greek Jews had none.
By year 2015 the Syrian Jews of NYC had produced dozens of Rabbis, while the Greek Jews had none.
In the early 1980s the Greek Jews still had their own social
club, called The Pashas.
In 2017, I could not find The Pashas with Google,
despite several attempts to search for keywords like “Pashas” and “Greek Jews”.
The Pashas seem to have vanished.
In dramatic contrast, the Sephardic Community Center (which
is misnamed, because it is really the Syrian-Jewish Community Center) has often
been filled to capacity or near-capacity since it was built in year 1982, which is impressive, when you consider the large size of the SCC building.
The Sephardic Bikur Cholim (which is misnamed, because it is
really the Syrian-Jewish Bikur Cholim) is very active with many programs and its
own building. The Greek Jews of NYC do not have their own Bikur Cholim
organization.
Between 1980 and 2015, more than a dozen new
siddurim
and
machzorim were published by Syrian Rabbis. Total number of Greek
siddurim
and
machzorim published between 1950 and 2017: zero.
THE VALUABLE LESSON TAUGHT BY THIS TRUE STORY:
Initially, the only significant difference between the Greek
Jews of NYC and the Syrian Jews of NYC was that the Greek Jews chose Reform Judaism
while the Syrian Jews chose Orthodox Judaism.
Less than a century later, the Greeks Jews [of NYC], who
chose Reform Judaism, have vanished; while the
Syrian Jews [of NYC], who chose Orthodox Judaism, enjoy a rapidly-growing
community and seem to have a bright future.
BOTTOM LINE: Reform Judaism causes entire communities of Jews to become extinct,
while Orthodox Judaism causes Jewish communities to grow rapidly.
PS: This short essay reveals a piece of
Jewish History
which is known to only very few individuals.
Therefore, I feel it is my responsibility to
publicize it,
before it becomes forgotten.
PS: The Persian Jewish community of NYC,
which has never known Reform Judaism, also has an extremely low intermarriage
rate.
While I do not have exact
statistics for Persian Jews, their intermarriage rate seems to be so low that
it cannot possibly threaten their future.
PS: The difference between Greeks Jews and Syrian
Jews is also demonstrated by their Hollywood celebrity representatives:
Lea Michele [Sarfati] is an American vocalist and actress,
famous for her starring role in
GLEE.
Lea Michele’s father is [or was] a Greek Jew who converted to
Christianity and married a non-Jewish wife [Lea Michele’s mother] and together
they raised their non-Jewish daughter [Lea Michele] to be Catholic.
Paula Abdul, another famous Hollywood vocalist, is a Syrian
Jew who lights
Shabbat candles and helps
Chabad.
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