In February, the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey released the results of its community-wide study, capturing the perspectives of more than 3000 respondents and providing a comprehensive update of Jewish life and experiences since it last conducted the survey in 2014.
This report is a product of what makes the relationship between the Jewish Federation of Northern New Jersey and the Russell Berrie Foundation so important — we were so pleased to work with them to surface this picture of community needs and priorities. The results will help to guide the work and investment of the federation, local philanthropies like ours, and the many partner agencies, congregations, and other Jewish groups that make up this vibrant community.
I encourage you to read the full study including the executive summary and coverage of the report by the Jewish Standard.
What stood out to me the most from this survey, and what I want to expand upon, is the notion of connection to Jewish life in the Northern New Jersey community. In many ways, it’s so resilient and strong and, in others, so tenuous.
Nearly 4 in 10 surveyed say they feel “very connected” to the Jewish community — among those who feel less connected, two-thirds yearn to be more connected and feel there is a broad array of programming that could appeal to them. But when you dig more deeply, there are striking variations…in towns like Teaneck or Bergenfield, nearly 60% feel a deep connection to the Jewish community, whereas in Northwest or North Central Bergen, the percentages are closer to 30%. Forty-eight percent of the Silent Generation (those born between 1928 and 1945) feels very connected, whereas just 28% of Gen Z Jews do.
But what especially concerns me is the degree to which Jews in this area, and more broadly, live in their own denominational bubbles, feeling a strong shared sense of identity with others within their own denomination but otherwise saying they have little in common with Jews of other denominations. At its most extreme, “majorities of Reform (70%) and Just Jewish respondents (54%) say they have ‘not much/nothing at all’ in common with Orthodox Jews, while close to half of Orthodox respondents (45%) say they have ‘not much/nothing at all’ in common with Reform Jews."
In this time, when life in America and in Israel is so polarized and opportunities to engage in cross-dialogue so rare, we must push to build bridges that strengthen and reinforce connections across different beliefs and cultures. This is where The Russell Berrie Foundation is leaning in, both here in our home community and in Israel.
For while pockets of our Jewish community feel like strangers to others’ ways of life, most respondents to the federation survey say they have some in common with others, suggesting there are promising opportunities to build crosswalks across denominations and strengthen our community as a whole.
In the coming months, we’ll look to fund efforts that bolster this region as a place that offers appealing and inclusive opportunities to engage in Jewish life, especially for groups that have been typically less engaged. We’ll invest in efforts of Jewish leaders to be even stronger network-builders and innovators. And we’ll advance work that enables Jewish residents with diverse identities and backgrounds to build their sense of belonging and a shared Jewish common ground that nurtures relationships across divides.
It’s our hope that our work together with the Federation and its local partners — powered by the data we’ve gathered and will continue to gather — will make our community an even stronger, better connected, and more dynamic center of Jewish life and culture.
Our commitment to our Bergen County home extends beyond the Jewish community and continues to deepen with a new $750,000 grant to help launch the Unity Health Partnership (UHP), a model of accessible, coordinated, and comprehensive care that addresses social and economic barriers for low‐income, uninsured, and under‐insured residents of Central and Southern Bergen.
This area, compared to the rest of the county, has disproportionately higher rates of residents with diabetes, emergency room utilization, and food-insecure households. Many face transportation barriers in accessing needed health care services.
The community partners coming together to provide comprehensive health and social services under one roof aim to tackle head-on these barriers to better health. The UHP, located in Garfield, will feature agencies such as the Bergen Volunteer Medical Initiative’s first clinical satellite site to provide health and diabetes care; Greater Bergen Community Action, which will provide coordinated social services; CBH Care, which will offer community-based mental and behavioral health services to individuals and families, and; the Community Food Bank of New Jersey, which will operate a supermarket-style, client-choice food distribution center.
While the site is still under construction — and a portion of our grant is a challenge aimed at helping UHP raise some of the funds remaining — the Community Food Bank ran its first free community farmer’s market on March 22 at its new Garfield home as part of this partnership. This gave an exciting first glimpse of the potential that this innovative center offers to be a game changer in improving health outcomes among those groups facing the greatest health inequities. All agencies should be moved in by early 2024, and we can’t wait until the Unity Health Partnership is fully operational to provide the health and social supports that our broader community needs and deserves.
The holiday of Passover is around the corner. During Temple times the central commandment was that of the korban pesach, the paschal lamb sacrifice. Unique about this sacrifice was that every individual — man and woman — had to be part of a designated community in order to fulfill their obligation. One couldn’t just join a group after the animal had been sacrificed — each person had to be an intentional and committed participant in the community that gathered to perform the commandment.
As I reflect upon the ways that The Russell Berrie Foundation is investing in our community — both the Jewish and the broader community — we should model ourselves after that paschal sacrifice and remember to be intentional and committed in the work that we do.
Dr. Idana Goldberg
Chief Executive Officer