Wendy Grinberg is an Adult Learning Specialist with the Union for Reform Judaism.

Today at the Symposium on Jewish Identity, Ari Kelman told us "The battle for identity is over." In his research of young adult Jews, the vast majority of them say they are proud to be Jews. The term identity refers to how the individual sees him or herself. Ari encouraged us to move towards thinking about identification, that is, a process by which individuals act out what they think and feel, through institutions, interactions and intersections of culture.

His challenge to us was that while these Jews express a high identity, they express a low identification. Meaning, the problem isn't with the demand, but with the supply. The question I plan to put to the group tomorrow is: What would our organizations and learning opportunities look like if we explicitly put the values of pluralism, individualization, innovation and empowerment at the core?

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