Short and Sweet

Changing demographics, concern for cultural preservation and the
simple desire for students to interact with other students prompted
the Jewish Awareness Movement to sponsor a speed dating event.

The event, held at the Bayit Jewish singles co-op last Sunday,
drew 110 Jewish students, some from as far away as San Diego.

For those unfamiliar with speed dating, each person spends seven
minutes each with seven dates, followed by a series of lightening
rounds where each couple has a brief 30 seconds to make a lasting
impression among their dates.

After all is said and done, each person fills out their
respective score cards, rating their dates by preference.

The scorecards are then collected and persons who rated each
other their first, second or third most preferable date are
notified and given each other’s contact information.

Underlying the festive character of the event is a very real
concern among some in the Jewish community about preserving their
cultural and religious heritage. 

Intermarriage, in many religious leaders’ and more
orthodox-minded Jews’ minds, is destroying the very heart of
Judaism ““ its culture and people. 

“It’s important for Jews to marry Jews,” said
Jason Green, a fifth-year history student.  

“Intermarriage kills Jewish religion and
culture.”

After the 1990 U.S. census results showed that intermarriage
among Jewish people was on the rise, Jewish groups throughout
America developed group trips to Israel and New York to expose more
secular Jews to their religious and cultural roots.

Programs such as these are meant to help foster baal teshuvah,
or a “bearer of return” among secular Jews ““ a
return to religious observance.

Loss of faith due to emigration, assimilation and intermarriage
has become one of today’s most pressing concerns for Judaism,
said Rabbi Benzion Klatzko, the main organizer of last
Sunday’s event.

“More Jews have lost their faith since World War II than
(were) killed in the Holocaust,” he said.

Cultural events such as Jewish speed dating and Partners in
Torah, where students interact with Rabbis and other members of the
Jewish community on a weekly basis, have become a regular part of
life on campus for Jewish students.

Though the main goal of events like these is to promote
friendship and relationship-building, for some the process is not
entirely perfect.

“It feels so forced, yet it’s still fun,” said
Heather Landis, a first-year undeclared student and a speed dating
participant.

The pressure to find a Jewish husband or wife is felt strongly
by some members of the Jewish community.

“My parents definitely prefer that I marry another Jew,
but they are nonetheless extremely open-minded,” said Ross
Neihaus, a third-year biology student.

Besides setting up Jewish couples and building Jewish families,
speed dating and other cultural gatherings also provide a happy
medium for people of similar backgrounds to meet each other.

For Bracha Zaret, the director of JAM, this is the reason for
having such gatherings.

“At least this way people have something in common, some
common identity” said Zaret.

Ethnic, cultural and religious groups of similar purpose are
common on campus. Some members of these groups are dealing with
similar issues such as intermarriage, language and loss of cultural
identity.

Often, students who were raised in secular homes before college
experience a religious and cultural awakening in their years at
school.

For Brandon and Gina Edwards”“ non-practicing before
college and devout Jews now ““ religion plays a central role
in life.

“Judaism affects every aspect of our life, the type of
goals and the type of values we have,” Gina Edwards said.

The Edwards, who now have a son, Dovid, met through JAM while
attending UCLA and recently moved closer to campus to have students
over for Shabat, the Jewish sabbath.

If the Edwards’ return to Judaism is any representation of
what the future holds for Jews who are concerned about their
culture deteriorating, perhaps Jewish religion and identity can
withstand the effects of a modern world better than the poor fellow
ranked fourth on someone’s scorecard during speed dating.