Rabbi Weinblatt seems to be missing the point about offering “no membership required” for acquiring High Holiday tickets (“It’s more than tickets,” WJW, Sept. 5). First, there are thousands of unaffiliated Jews who do not belong to any synagogues and would most likely forgo attendance at any service if these free offers were not made. Second, the work that these groups do brings Jews back to Judaism by the thousands. Third, the hub of Jewish life should not be a congregation but the home. When the hub of Jewish life is not in the home, it usually doesn’t stick.
Rabbi Weinblatt also asks whether these signs strengthen the Jewish community? The tough question that must be asked but is the big elephant in room is: “What are the chances of his congregants’ grandchildren being Jewish versus the children from the Jewish outreach centers?” The statistics are too alarming for me to even put in this letter.
DANIEL RATNER, Rockville
