As Americans seem less and less likely to join a club, a cause, or even a bowling league, Stuart Kurlander bucks the trend. He is an active and persuasive member of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington, serving as its vice president for financial resource development, and next year as its board chairman. As the eight candlelit nights of Hanukkah came to a close last week, Kurlander, 48, spoke with The Washington Examiner about the demands of faith and the value of commitment. Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith?
I am Jewish. I appreciate the cultural connection to people of a similar background, a similar history, and a similar sense of community. I value the Jewish commitment to helping others who are less able to help themselves. And I value, too, the importance that Judaism places on individual lives, and on doing something meaningful with one’s life.
Did anyone or any event especially influence your faith, or your path in life?
I’ve been heavily influenced by the Soviet Jewry movement — by the Jews who were not allowed to leave the Soviet Union because of political oppression. In the mid-1980s I traveled there, and I met with some of the Jewish people who had just gotten out of prison, or who were confined to their home, or who had lost their position in academe or in business. They were called the Refuseniks, because they were refused permission to emigrate. They lived the life they could without the ability to freely practice their religion. My work with the community really helped me appreciate the things we take for granted here.
Eventually, after the fall of communism, about 1 million Russian Jews made aliyah — or immigration to Israel.
Americans’ memberships in clubs and organizations has declined over several generations. As an active member of the Jewish Federation, what do you believe we stand to lose if we don’t take part in these sorts of community or religious groups?
The risk, as I feel it, is that there won’t be enough people to take care of those in our community who are needier than ourselves. If there isn’t an organization, or a connection to people with a shared set of values, then there’s likely to be a lack of commitment. That commitment is what provides the resources truly to help others, with time and with money. If the connection isn’t there, the resources diminish, and people in need are left without alternatives. And that, in turn, leads to the diminishment of the community overall.
This season is often a time of reflection for people, and anticipation of light overcoming darkness. Can you think of any great Jewish thinkers or leaders who we can read, or learn about at this time of year, to broaden our perspective, or enlighten our reflection?
A number come to mind — and of course if you forget to mention a great then the whole world comes down on you for it. Moses always comes to mind, as one who was chosen by God to lead the Jewish people out of Egypt, and to teach them the Torah. Another would be Theodor Herzl, the father of modern political Zionism in the state of Israel. I take strength from Moses, as the teacher of everything Jewish, and from Herzl, as a believer in the state of Israel.
One other person — the historical Jewish teacher, Hillel. I have a saying attributed to him on the wall of my office — it’s what it really comes down to for me: “If I am not for myself, who is for me? But if I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”
At your core, what is one of your defining beliefs?
I believe that everyone has a responsibility to help others less fortunate, whether with their time or their financial resources, and preferably both. I believe that responsibility means a lifetime commitment, not a one-time or occasional obligation. My faith supports me in fulfilling the commitment of tikkun olam, which literally means to repair the world.
– Leah Fabel
