Daphne’s Interview with Rabbi Mike Harvey

What are your ties to St. Louis? Where did you live? Where did you go to school?

I attended Middle and High School at MICDS, class of 2000. I lived in the Creve Coeur/Maryland Heights area. St. Louis is still close to my heart as my father and many of my best friends still reside there. Before COVID-19, our family would take trips back to St. Louis.

Where did you go to college/rabbinical school?

I attended Boston University, graduating in 2004 with a B.A. in Psychology. I attended Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion between 2010-2015, graduating with a MAHL (Masters of Hebrew Letters) and a Smicha (Rabbinic Ordination).

How did your rabbinical school shape your views on Judaism?

Each HUC-JIR campus has a particular focus. The campus I attended, in Cincinnati, Ohio, was focused on academics. My views on Judaism were changed exponentially over the five years of seminary. With each discovery of scholarship, the stories I learned in religious school became more and more silly, and more complicated. Instead of a more spiritual rabbi, which I planned on becoming, I became a biblical scholar, deeply critical of the text. Judaism needs more educated congregants, and I look forward each time I get to teach.

How did you meet your wife? Tell us about your kids?

My wife and I were a success story from JDate, actually. She was in Louisville finishing up her PhD as I was finishing my seminary. We were married in 2014. Our son Asher was born in 2015, and our daughter Noa was born in 2019.

Which congregations have you served?

Throughout my tenure at HUC-JIR, I served congregations, small and large, in Arkansas, Missouri, Ohio, Alabama, Mississippi, and Texas. After my ordination, I served the Hebrew Congregation of St. Thomas, in St. Thomas, V. I. after that, I served Temple Israel in West Lafayette, Indiana.

Explain your stance on the baby boomers.

I'm not sure it's fair to blame the downfall of synagogues on a generation, but it may be fair to speculate that things were fine until they got here. Bruce Cannon Gibney, in his book A Generation of Sociopaths How the Baby Boomers Betrayed America, writes: "[The Baby Boomer’s] collective, pathological self-interest derailed a long train of progress, while exacerbating and ignoring existential threats like climate change. The Boomers’ sociopathic need for instant gratification pushed them to equally sociopathic policies causing them to fritter away an enormous inheritance, and when that was exhausted, to mortgage the future. When the consequences became troubling, boomer leadership engaged in concealment and deception in a desperate effort to hold the system together just long enough for their generational constituencies to pass from the scene. The story of the Boomers is, in other words, the story of a generation of sociopaths running amok."

I think about this quote a lot when I think of the damage done to our houses of worship. Baby Boomers like being right, like being in charge. They reject expertise if it comes from someone younger, they reject the idea that they are nothing less than perfect and full of wisdom; they believe they own everything they touch, donate to, and they believe all should bow down to them in obedience, as they did to their parents; though, their parents earned that respect.

How are you following your wife's career?

I think about this quote a lot when I think of the damage done to our houses of worship. Baby Boomers like being right, like being in charge. They reject expertise if it comes from someone younger, they reject the idea that they are nothing less than perfect and full of wisdom; they believe they own everything they touch, donate to, and they believe all should bow down to them in obedience, as they did to their parents; though, their parents earned that respect.

I am lucky to be in a situation where my wife's income can sustain our family after my departure from the congregational rabbinate. She works from home and I am a stay-at-home dad.

What is "Teach Me Judaism"?

“Teach Me Judaism” is an online educational resource I began a few months ago. Its mission is to close the knowledge gap between congregants or unaffiliated Jews and rabbis, and to help bridge the gap between teachers and students so we understand our Jewish texts and writings at a more even level.

How do we revive synagogues and recruit younger people to come?

The entire synagogue system is on life support. The younger generations do not want to pay thousands of dollars in dues for services they can get for free elsewhere. The entire structure must be changed. I recommend checking out a book called "Playlist Judaism" by Kerry Olitzky.

What do you have to say about Gen X and the Millennials? About yourself?

Born in 1981, I align more with Gen X-ers than Millennials. I have been surrounded by both generations and see vast differences between them. Gen X is the forgotten generation. We quietly worked hard, didn't complain through the 3 recessions our Baby Boomer parents created, and now we find ourselves (as with younger generations) in a dying economy, drowning in student loan debt, and unable to buy houses, cars, or invest in the stock market, which the baby boomers (particularly the 1%) own 50% of. As for Millennials, Susanne Goldstein recently wrote: "You don’t get a trophy for not getting your work done. You don’t get a trophy when you don’t feel like finishing something. And you certainly don’t get a trophy when you quit. For an entire generation of young adults, this is an exceedingly difficult reality to face. The scariest thing about it? They don’t even realize this is a problem."
I think the reason there is so much tension between the Boomers and Millennials is because they are so alike. Though Boomers forget who gave those Millennial children those participation trophies.


I do believe that Millennials are a bit entitled, but they are entitled to what the Boomers had and refuse to pass down.

What else do you have to say about baby boomers?

Back in the 1950s, the 1 percent were taxed in the 80-90 percent range. With this money we were able to do great things with our country, including to go to the moon. Now with the tax rate for the rich in the 40 percent range, everyone wonders why things aren't going so well. The truth is, the Boomers inherited a fortune, spent it, and now wish to keep what they have instead of sharing the wealth. Fifty years of "trickle down" economics was a Baby Boomer lie to keep them rich. It's a hard group to work for and work with. They will be the death of Jewish congregations, and worst of all, they will never take accountability for it.

By Daphne

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