Vehicles for the Road Ahead

Abstract

In this chapter, Schiff recommends that new iterations of Judaism suitable for the digital age should rejuvenate three domains of Jewish life: Jewish practice, community, and ideas. In the area of practice, Judaism would benefit from a reorientation of the halakhic system so that it can respond seriously to the great challenges before us. Given the pace of change in the twenty-first century, halakhic deliberations will need to become proactive or risk responding too slowly to make a difference. With respect to community, an emphasis must be placed on revitalizing and maintaining physical community as the locus of effective Jewish action. Focusing on ideas, Schiff proposes the establishment of a network of twenty-first-century academies to generate Jewish insights that could address the crucial human dilemmas raised by the digital age.