Non-Jews want Jewish education — and I have proof!
Recently, I was on a cruise during the eight days of Chanukah as well as three Friday nights. The cruise line arranged for eight nights of candle-lighting along with latkes, candles, sufganiot, challah (and cover), and prayer booklets. The only problem was they did not have a cantor or a rabbi, so it was up to onboard guests to lead the services and candle-lighting.
On the first Friday night we had seven Jewish people including my wife and me for services, which I volunteered to lead. The second Friday night we had 12 people.
And now the interesting part.
For the first night of Chanukah, 40 people showed up! Amazingly enough, 12 were not Jewish — they told me they wanted to learn about Chanukah. This group represented a host of countries.
Now comes the wonderful educational lesson for all of us Jews. From the second through the eighth night, we had between 15 and 19 attendees. More than a third were non-Jews who came back night after night, with some telling other non-Jewish guests to attend. Many of the cruise staff also joined.
What was the attraction? Jewish education. Every night before the lighting of the candles we entered into discussions of the different meanings, historical backgrounds, unique customs, and modern-day impact on the tradition, as well as many other aspects. It was interesting to note that most of the Jewish attendees were also intrigued about what they learned, even though they had been celebrating Chanukah for well over 75 years. Some Jewish people indicated that it was more religious services than they had ever attended and others were disappointed that their Jewish education did not include what they learned in those eight days. They were encouraged to find their old Hebrew school principals and demand their money back!
When asked why they kept coming back, the non-Jewish people simply stated that they wanted to learn, and that if they were going to live with other religions it’s important to know what the Jewish religion is all about.
During the eight days, we discussed whether the whole story was the Jews’ fault; we learned the origin of the word Maccabee, how George Washington was involved, the history of latkes (and a beheading) and dreidels, how to spell and pronounce Chanukah, and so much more.
This educational process stretches well beyond Chanukah. As we live together with fellow Jews, it’s difficult to admit but most of us are oblivious to our own backgrounds, customs, impacts, and traditions. Maybe we should approach our mindset as non-Jewish people and start fresh by attending adult education classes, discuss Judaism with our kids or grandkids, learn from them, and have them learn from us. There is so much to cover, including the benefits of being Jewish, the Torah, the dietary laws (they had kosher foods on board for those who requested and the waiters knew more about what we can and cannot eat than most of us know).
We all have educated ourselves in the technique and rituals of modern-day technology, which indicates that we are capable of digging even deeper into the curriculum of Jewish education, as did our non-Jewish students on this cruise.
The lighting of the candles on Chanukah means dedication. I think the meaning speaks for itself when it comes to Jewish education.
Andy Greenberg is a 25-year Conservative Jewish educator of grades 3-12 and a lecturer for adults of all ages.
