Boomers, Millennials—Gen Xers!—and Post-nostalgic American Judaism: A Response to Arnold Eisen’s Sklare Address

Abstract

In Rethinking Modern Judaism, Arnold Eisen applied five categories of analysis to account for patterns of Jewish observance and non-observance over two centuries. This response applies the same categories to address issues raised in Eisen’s Sklare Award address regarding the Jewish practices of American Jewish millennials. It evaluates the continued validity of Eisen’s categories of analysis, arguing that four of the five still hold. As for the fifth, nostalgia, it suggests that the power of nostalgia to compel American Jewish engagement in Jewish practice may be waning. This response introduces the notion of “post-nostalgic American Judaism,” identifies some of its sources, and frames questions about its possible consequences.