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Letters

More on Christian communities

Dear Communities,
I recently ordered and receive the back issue, "Christian Communities, Then and Now" (#92, Fall '96). Thank you! While I realize your intention was not necessarily to be comprehensive, I would have liked to see an article about L'Abri, a Christian community founded in Switzerland by Dr. and Mrs. Francis A. Schaeffer. Branches of this community exist in several countries, even though Dr. Schaeffer died in the early '80s. Also, there is the Catholic Worker--the movement as well the newspaper--founded by Dorothy Day and Peter Maurin, with settlements and farms in various locations. If you do another issue in the future on this topic, please consider including articles on these communities.
Barbara Wheeler
Cedar Falls, Iowa

... And Jewish communities

Dear Communities,
Recently a reader inquired about Jewish communities. Though I am no expert, I do have some information on this topic, and I would appreciate any feedback or observations from others. When one thinks of Jews and community, the Kibbutz movement immediately comes to mind. There are 269 kibbutzim  in Israel, which are fully communal, both in production and consumption. Socialist Zionists founded most of these in the attempt to turn Jews from all over the world, many of whom were refugees, into workers and farmers. Kibbutzim   also served as a vital system for defending the country and absorbing immigrants. However, the experiences of Israeli and North American Jews have been radically different. While some valiant attempts have been made during the 20th century to form various types of Jewish intentional communities in North America, they have not endured over time. I do not believe that there is a lack of Jews who are interested in living communally; while no hard data is available, from what I have seen and heard, a large proportion of Jews are represented in non-Jewish intentional communities and cooperatives. In my opinion, within the North American Jewish community, the Jewish Havaurah   or "fellowship" movement most resembles the values on which many intentional communities are based. Havaurah   members generally study, pray, and celebrate Judaism together, and while most do not live together, these groups are structured on cooperation and participatory democracy. Additionally, a fascinating community, Moshav Noam Co-operative Housing Project, has emerged in Toronto. Members of a Reconstructionist synagogue, Darchei Noam, have turned a six-story building with 133 units into an "egalitarian, democratic, and co-operative environment," which "provide[s] accommodation for a mix of ethnicities, ages, family structures, and income levels." The members are 75 percent Jews and 25 percent non-Jews from Canada, as well as from Somalia, Ethiopia, Central America, and the Caribbean. Seventy percent of the housing units are subsidized based on income level, and five percent of the units are dedicated to people with physical disabilities. There are other much smaller Jewish housing cooperatives in urban areas, though they are mostly focused on students. I have lived in Ofek Shalom, a 13-person co-op in Madison, Wisconsin, for three years. Our community tends to be about 50 percent students, with ages ranging from 18 to 32. I am also in the process of forming a Jewish housing cooperative in Philadelphia next year which would attract a more diverse group of people. There is no reason for Jewish intentional communities not  to exist. Because Jewish customs and traditions are so different from those of the majority Christian population in North America, these communities could provi de a compelling opportunity for Jews to celebrate their own culture and heritage in a cooperative and supportive environment.
Laurie Zimmerman
Cincinnati, OH