Back in my education courses in rabbinical school we were warmed against creating “activity traps.” The education sense an activity trip is a well-organized and run religious schools where the students, teachers and parents are all happily getting along, but no real learning is actually being accomplished!

This applies to many not-for-profit organizations where they raise just enough money to pay the staff to raise enough money to pay the staff, sort of like a hamster in a wheel.

This activity trap rarely lasts for very long in the business world, since without a reasonable profit the enterprise makes no sense at all. But in not-for-profits like synagogues and Jewish Federations with their more intangible goals, they can hum along for many uninspired years without really accomplishing very much.

Of course, when someone outside of the organization questions what this well-oiled machine is actually producing, the reaction is often like the one to child who blurts out “the king is naked” in that famous Hans Christian Anderson folk tale, “The Emperor’s New Clothes.”

There is nothing wrong with rocking the boat if that boat is mired in the mud, right?

For example, I used to be surprised when, meeting local Jewish people for the 1^st time, I discover that they have no idea that there is a monthly Jewish newspaper. Can you believe that? Could it be that we are in an echo chamber merely talking to ourselves here?

Generally, many Jewish residents in our area also don’t know that there is a Jewish Federation, and often have only the vaguest idea of how many synagogues there are in our community. And I’m not just referring to newcomers…

Owing to our well-known ‘Open Door” policy, each High Holiday season I meet hundreds of Jewish people who attend our worship services, but otherwise are completely “unplugged” from our Jewish communal life.

Maybe that’s their choice that is to be respected. But could it be that our formal Jewish community has become a bit “inbred” and self-absorbed to the point that active, creative and concerted outreach is not on our front burners? Or could it be that we are in “activity traps” ourselves?

Buckets of ink have been poured out over the topic of “Hidden Yidden,” but I honestly do not believe that the thousands of unengaged Jews in our area are actually hiding. It’s more likely that our organized Jewish community is essentially irrelevant and disinteresting to them.

That’s not their problem- it’s ours. We are failing to capture their attention and I don’t think we’re really trying that hard!

Now more than ever people are feeling a certain loneliness. They know more about media celebrities than they do about their next door neighbors and their natural communities. I sincerely believe that the “Occupy Wall Street” movement that is sweeping our nation is an expression of people’s desire to actually gather face-to-face and stand shoulder-to-shoulder about things that really touch them.

Perhaps like O.W.S. we need to shake things up a little and think a little deeper about what we are really up to? Are we just using a steam shovel to raise a toothpick? Could we mean more to all of our Jewish community if we tried to be relevant and engaged in their lives, rather than excepting them to be engaged in ours!

Have we become dull and boring?

People are really hungry for community and connection. It is up to us to serve up a meal that will satisfy that hunger. I know we can do that if we really try!

Are they the “hidden Yidden” or are we?

Bruce Diamond