The Delicate Art of Collective Effervescence

By Samuel Cohen
New York University

Have you ever experienced a really powerful moment, when you recognized you were participating in something extraordinary? Emile Durkheim would call this transcendence collective effervescence. In Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Durkheim describes this theory as when the "act of congregating" becomes a "powerful stimulant," drawing people together and transporting them into an "extraordinary height of exultation." This experience tends to happen during religious ceremonies, but the concept can be applied to any powerful communal moment.

In his article "The Impact of Israel Experience Programs on Israel's Symbolic Meaning," Shaul Kelner views Israel experience programs through the lens of collective effervescence. In examining Taglit-Birthright Israel trips in particular, Kelner notes that unique and powerful moments on the trip (hiking Masada at sunrise, visiting the Western Wall) led to dramatically increased appreciation of the trip and internalization of the symbols associated with the moment. These "peak experiences were perceived as so powerful and uplifting that they were valued as ends in themselves, and created new understandings of Israel that were inextricably tied to these moments." Due to collective effervescence, "the symbol, rather than the social experience, is presumed to be the force that transports people" to a mentality that transcends the banal.

I wonder if we could apply the same concept to the world of Jewish education. Anyone who has experienced these powerful moments knows that their recollection of those moments stays vivid many years after the event. Isn't that what an educator seeks to do—implant vivid memories that will outlast the activity itself? The knowledge gained from boring classes or dull services is fated to die after the student leaves the room. But knowledge intertwined with a powerful emotional moment will endure, and most importantly, the symbols associated with the moment will continue to evoke passionate feelings. A moment of collective effervescence in the classroom serves not only to cement the content of the lesson within the participant's mind, but also to register the accompanying "symbolic residue" (as Kelner describes it) as a key factor of the transcendent moment. In this way, a powerful moment in an educational setting becomes a tool to engender continued connection with and affection for the source of the content—whether it be the educator, the setting, or the community.

But herein lies the problem. While it is entirely possible, attempting repeated effervescence in an educational setting would nevertheless be difficult—not to attain, but to properly label. Kelner notes that participants on Taglit-Birthright Israel programs had several of these transcendent moments, but they sometimes connected the emotion to the trip, not to Israel itself. While this is surely good news for Taglit's sponsors, it does not correspond to their ultimate goal: generating a stronger connection to Israel. True, participants generally come home with this strengthened relationship, but the conversion rate from "This is an awesome experience because of Birthright!" to "This is an awesome experience because of Israel!" is not as efficient as it could (and should) be.

Therefore, it is the task of Jewish educators who attempt to achieve collective effervescence to properly label the result for the participants. To do this, the educator must first decide what the label should be: Israel, or KOACH, or Conservative Judaism, or Judaism in general, etc. The next challenge is to make this label clear to the participants. According to Kelner, Durkheim posited that "people are unable to recognize clearly the actual social dynamics acting upon them and instead direct their attention to more concrete elements of the experience's setting" (145). Through this convolution, it is the symbols associated with the group which seem to ignite the effervescence—not the social experience itself. Like the winemaker who labels his bottles with his company name, so too the educator must label his product—otherwise the result would just be an unmarked bottle of generic wine, an educational lesson without a deeper goal.

Collective effervescence is a delicate art. It demands much forethought and is reliant on the alignment of many variables in order to be successful. Despite these challenges, I think the concept of deliberately involving collective effervescence in Jewish education is entirely within our grasp. Rather than let current educational standards (Jewish day school, summer camp, Israel experience programs, confirmation class, etc.) languish where they are and think of them as "good enough," we will benefit if we strive to engineer potent educational packages: activities which trade the ordinary for the extraordinary, the usual for the unusual, the routine for the effervescently exhilarating.

Sam Cohen is a freshman at NYU, double-majoring in Applied Psychology and Jewish History and Civilization.  Sam loves photography (check out his photos at www.adivphotography.com), and is excited to be serving as the President of NYU KOACH in 2010.

[Posted 12/16/09]