Q&A: Rumspringa
Rumspringa
Question
Hello Rabbi,
What do you think about the phenomenon of Rumspringa in Amish society?
That is, do you think this educational approach has a positive aspect, in which a teenager experiences a different way of life before committing to religion? And do you think the Jewish world should adopt it (maybe not systematically, but selectively for someone who is “confused”)?
Answer
I’m not familiar with the term, though I assume you mean the trial year they give each boy and girl. I’m completely in favor, but it doesn’t have to be a practical experiment (living in another society). A person should decide his path for himself; with that I agree. And for someone who is confused, it’s even less advisable to give him such an experiment, because he’ll come out even more confused. The questions one needs to grapple with are not questions of existential experience, but of truth and what is proper, and therefore living in another society has rather limited significance in that sense.