An empty classroom. Photo: Wiki Commons.

In my work, I spend a great deal of time talking to students about being Jewish.

And what I’ve noticed is that our community operates under a relatively simple assumption: Surround children with Jewish life, and they’ll absorb it. Synagogue attendance, Hebrew school, Jewish summer camp, youth groups, holiday dinners, and more are expected to create formative moments that young Jews identify with and that they can hold onto as they grow up.

That model may have worked in a different era, but I no longer believe that it works today.

Today’s Jewish life exists within a far more pluralistic and interconnected world, due to social media and technology. The young people I talk with tell me they’re growing up surrounded by competing worldviews, diverse identities, and constant dialogue about culture, religion, and belonging. And that’s just on their phone.

More importantly, in many homes, children are not inheriting a singular identity by default; they’re inheriting many traditions simultaneously and having to ask themselves questions about what each one means and how they relate on a personal level.

In many ways, multi-faith families are showing us that identity can no longer be sustained through passive inheritance alone.

According to the Pew Research Center’s “”Jewish Americans in 2020” study, 61% of Jews who married since 2010 have a spouse who is not Jewish. Yet much of Jewish education still functions as though Judaism can simply be transmitted ambiently through exposure and routine.

This assumption is outdated because it’s based on the idea that Judaism is the only identity young Jewish kids grow up experiencing.

In these households, Judaism cannot exist as unexplained background noise. In other words, parents cannot rely on social expectations alone. Traditions often require active explanation. Rituals, for example, become opportunities for conversation. Children ask why one holiday is celebrated one way and another holiday differently. They ask what certain practices mean, what values they reflect, and why Judaism matters within the larger story of their family.

In my experience, questions and curiosity show that a student is forming their identity and connection to their culture.

In fact, educational research consistently shows that deeper learning occurs when students engage personally with ideas, ask questions, and connect material to lived experience.

The Harvard Graduate School of Education has written about the importance of critical thinking, reflection, and active participation in meaningful learning environments. Multi-faith homes often cultivate these habits naturally because identity itself becomes part of an ongoing dialogue.

Where I stand, this presents an opportunity for Jewish education to evolve.

For too long, many Jewish institutions have relied on what I would call “Jewish identity by osmosis.” The underlying belief is that if students spend enough time immersed in Jewish spaces, commitment will emerge automatically.

Young people today are searching for authenticity and meaning. They want opportunities to wrestle with questions, not simply inherit predetermined answers. They’re searching for ways Judaism connects to their actual lives and experiences. Most importantly, they want agency in shaping their identities.

I see this modeled more often in multi-faith homes than in traditional Jewish educational structures.

When a family hosts a Passover seder alongside Easter celebrations, children are exposed to comparison, dialogue, and reflection. Through this, they are learning how traditions carry meaning, how values are expressed differently across cultures, and how identity can remain strong while existing alongside difference.

Growing up in a multi-faith household, during Passover, my family and I would invite our non-Jewish neighbors to our seder to introduce them to Judaism. It’s a tradition I continue today as a way to share the beauty of Judaism, help those outside the faith find meaningful connections to their own traditions, and build a coalition of community allies who understand Judaism through a more personal and local lens.

Ironically, these experiences may prepare young people for modern Jewish life more effectively than insulated environments that attempt to shield them from competing worldviews.

Ultimately, the role of Jewish education today is helping young people construct meaningful Jewish lives within a complicated world.

That means designing educational experiences that encourage questioning rather than discouraging it. It means helping students connect Jewish values to contemporary ethical challenges. It means teaching young people how to explain why Judaism matters to them personally, rather than assuming that importance will automatically take root through repetition alone.

The future of Jewish continuity will depend on whether young people experience Judaism as something emotionally meaningful and worth actively choosing. Not through silence, assumption, or obligation — but through dialogue, intentionality, and the courage to ask why Judaism matters in the first place.

Josh Schalk is an experienced Jewish educator and non-profit leader as the Executive Director at the Jewish Youth Promise. He brings a global perspective to his work in Jewish identity-building, drawing from his experience traveling abroad and engaging students through experiential and values-based learning.