Thanks to a number of our Twitter followers, I found this fascinating article on Jewschool.com, describing what he calls “Post-Geographic Judaism.”

Here’s the basic idea, in a nutshell:

[...] There is no shortage of testimonies of people who are bogged down by the geographically-defined Jewish communities in which they live [...] A decline in synagogue attendance and offline affiliation does not necessarily mean the death-knell for Jewish observance when organic, intentional online communities are seen as equally relevant and salient as their offline counterparts [...]  Building offline religious/cultural affiliation can only be done in the framework of the new sociology.  The offline relationship is no longer the “goal” of the online interaction — social media must be appreciated as equally valid and viable alternative modes of communication [...]

I thought that the article made many interesting and valid points.  Aren’t the growing popularity of online interaction and religious self-definition some of the driving factors behind JPS’ Tagged Tanakh project?  (For more info on that, see the really cool slideshow at the bottom of this post.)

But I’m not totally convinced.  I posted the following question on the Jewschool article:

[...]  Don’t you think there’s something to be said for physical, interpersonal experiences? I think people enjoy using the internet and social media as a tool, but is it ultimately satisfying to limit your identity expression and exploration to a computer screen? And how do you account for the growing popularity of nondenominational (offline) programs like Limmud, or the exponential growth of nondenominational minyanim in NYC?

What do YOU think?  Please, share your thoughts!

-Naomi