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The North American Jewish community is faced with a number of important challenges as we enter the 21st century. The effect of rising intermarriage rates on Jewish upbringing and Jewish identity of the next generation, the best way to educate Jewish youth and the sheer expense of living an affiliated and engaged Jewish life all call for our attention. However, one important issue is only beginning to be understood within the Jewish communal world and the country as a whole—the aging of our community. By 2030, in the United States, there will be 70 million seniors in the United States, one out of every five adults. Today, American Jewish seniors already comprise almost one in five American Jews. Given our falling birthrate, the future increase of baby boomer seniors and greater longevity due to better healthcare, we can expect that in twenty years, probably at least one out of four American Jews will be over 65. In a recent study, the number of Canadian Jewish elderly, already 17% of their Jewish population, is projected to increase by almost 50% between 2001 and 2021. This has enormous implications on our funding priorities. Given necessarily limited resources, will there be enough donations to financially support both services to the young (education, family services) and the huge increase in services to the Jewish elderly that will be required, especially if Social Security and Medicare falter or fail? What new strains on Jewish family (the most important site for Jewish continuity) will emerge as the next generation, having children later and later, will need to manage both their children living at home and their parents aging well into their 80’s and 90’s? This “demographic time bomb” underscores the necessity for Jewish communal professionals to be better prepared than ever before. We need individuals deeply committed to the vibrancy of Jewish life, flexible in their approaches, creative in their thinking, and highly skilled in all aspects of Jewish nonprofit management to be the best stewards of our available resources and to inspire present day Jews with the value of supporting Jewish causes and institutions. We need leaders. Could that be you? |
