Page 14 - C.A.L.L. #47 - Winter 2020/2021

Millennials Are no Different – the

World Is Why We Need New

Communities

September 29, 2020
By Aharon Ariel Lavi

An intentional community can serve as a framework for both individual growth and moral
behavior, as well as give people the opportunity to work collaboratively to make the world a
better place. To become the better version of themselves.

A Hasidic tale tells of a Rebbe in a Russian village who used to take a dip in the river every
morning. One day, the new local policeman saw the Rebbe diving into the frozen river. He ran
to the strange old man, shouting, “Who are you? Where do you come from? And where are

you going?” The old Rebbe smiled gently and asked the policeman: “How much do they pay
you?” “Ten Kufeykas a day,” answered the baffled young man. “I’ll tell you what,” said the
Rebbe, “I’ll pay you twenty if you come every morning and ask me who I am, where do I come
from and where I am going to.”

Human beings are dynamic and ever evolving creatures, and just like our muscle system
becomes atrophied if it is not stimulated enough, so does our moral and intellectual system.
Hence, it is crucial we get asked those questions constantly. Today we can get a mobile app
to remind us, but here I would like to argue that communities, and more specifically
intentional communities, are the optimal environment for becoming the better version of
ourselves.

These last few words may ring a bell with many readers as a common catch phrase among
what has been termed “Millennials,” meaning people born after 1982. Many see us as a
challenge to be addressed, especially in the Jewish context which is worried – and rightly so
– of diminishing affiliation. That catch phrase may even serve as an explanation: See? All
millennials care about is themselves.

As one of the oldest Millennials alive (born in December 1982) I would like to offer another
way of reading it. Millennials, like any other generation, are made of the exact same building
blocks and have the exact same needs. Human physiology and psyche do not change over a
short time (i.e. eons). What does change is the environment. Like everybody who preceded us

we have the need for food and shelter, and the problem with Millennials begins where this
problem ends. Indeed, poverty still exists and making a living always seems tough, but
relatively, especially in the Jewish context, Millennials are expected to possess more
resources than all previous generations.

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