Tougher Ground or New Ground?

n 2014, as a fresh graduate of the Ner LeElef training institute, I hesitantly stood up to address my first kiruv Shabbos dinner in Tel Aviv. My experiences over the following years with young Jews from all over the world led to an end-of-decade assessment about the generational change that has come over the kiruv world, published last month in the “Hindsight is 2020” project.

I noted the fact that kiruv organizations struggle to attract participants with Torah learning alone unless bundled with a heavy social dimension, and even for the vast majority of those who do come, it often leads to nothing more than a nebulous “inspiration.”

Kiruv in 2020, I suggested, needs a two-prong approach, catering both for those who want full Torah growth, and also for the majority who want connection and partial Jewish engagement.

This argument drew a response from Rabbi Avraham Edelstein, a mentor at Ner LeElef, now head of Neve Yerushalayim and a veteran of the outreach world. He argued that kiruv was different, not harder, and the following dialogue ensued.