Alan Goldman is part of a group of thirty-something and forty-something Jews who has grown up questioning the bounds of organized religion. It’s a group that has become disconnected and disinterested in the Judaism of their youth.

They are asking questions like; can you be culturally a Jew without being religiously a Jew? Is there enough left to bind North American Jews together without religion? Can you separate the two definitions of Judaism? For these Jews this is the contemporary Jewish dilemma.

The mainstream Jewish community feels that this younger generation of Jews is the end of the North American Jewry. They are desperately trying to bring this generation of Jews back into the fold. They say because of religious apathy and intermarriage there will be no Jews left in North America by the end of the century. Some feel that this generation may be decimating their religious ties at the expense of their cultural identity.

In response, some of Alan’s generation (a generation of Jews that grew up largely secular) has returned to orthodox practices. Believing there is no identity as a Jew without strict adherence to orthodox laws. The children of these Jews are now being raised with a new set of values, a new definition of Judaism and new choices and dilemmas.