Mark Wildes: Is Modern Orthodox Outreach the Way Forward? [Denominations 3/4]

January 27, 2026

AI Summary

5 min read

In 1996, when Rabbi Mark Wildes told people he was leaving his assistant rabbi position at a prominent Manhattan synagogue to start a new outreach organization for unaffiliated young Jewish professionals, the reaction was telling. “Oh, I guess you didn’t get any real rabbinic offers,” people said. That moment captures the central tension of this episode: the modern Orthodox community has produced remarkably few professional outreach workers, even as it possesses what many consider the most compelling model of sustained Jewish communal life in America. Wildes, founder of the Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), has spent 27 years trying to change that.

The Passion Problem

Wildes and host David Bashevkin agree on a core diagnosis: modern Orthodoxy lacks passion for outreach, and that lack is self-reinforcing. “If we were a little more meshugana about our own frumkeit,” Wildes says, “I think we’d probably be a little more upset that not enough of our fellow Jewish brothers and sisters are practicing it.” The community’s very normalcy—its integration into professional life, its cultural similarity to mainstream America—works against it. Why would someone make the dramatic sacrifices required for Orthodox life if the people already living it seem only mildly enthusiastic?

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What you'll learn

1 (04:19) **Episode Introduction** - David Bashevkin introduces the topic: the relationship between Modern Orthodoxy and Jewish outreach (Kiryov), and the difficulty of defining both terms.
2 (25:36) **Guest Introduction: Rabbi Mark Wildes** - David introduces Rabbi Mark Wildes, founder of the Manhattan Jewish Experience (MJE), who has spent 27 years doing Modern Orthodox outreach.
3 (27:32) **The Role of Orthodoxy in Outreach** - David asks whether Wildes assumes every American Jew has the potential to live a fully integrated Orthodox life.
4 (32:17) **Does Modern Orthodoxy Have an Outreach Problem?** - David notes the lack of Modern Orthodox professionals dedicated to outreach and asks why.
5 (37:02) **Why Don't Yeshiva University Graduates Go Into Outreach?** - David asks why Kiryov is no longer a career aspiration for top rabbinical students.
6 (41:26) **The Challenge of Integration: Alumni Who Leave** - David asks if MJE alumni have ever left the Orthodox community after integrating, and what the issues were.
7 (47:56) **Preventing the "Bait and Switch"** - David asks how Wildes ensures alumni are resilient enough to weather the disappointment of moving from a cocooned outreach environment to the realities of everyday Orthodox life.

+ Full timestamped outline available in the app

Guests on this episode

Mark Wildes David Bashevkin

Show Notes

In this episode of the 18Forty Podcast, we speak with Mark Wildes, founder and director of Manhattan Jewish Experience, about Modern Orthodox outreach.

In this episode we discuss:

Why aren’t more aspiring rabbis attracted to kiruv?
How can we help people make the transition from outreach programs to the “real world”?
How can we make the case for Shabbos for the masses?

Tune in to hear a conversation about the “non-professional kiruv” of the Modern Orthodox community.

Interview begins at 22:45.

Rabbi Mark Wildes was ordained from Yeshiva University, but before becoming a rabbi, he received a JD from the Cardozo School of Law and a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University. Since founding MJE 20 years ago, Rabbi Wildes has become one of America’s most inspirational and dynamic Jewish educators. He lives with his wife Jill and their children Yosef, Ezra, Judah and Avigayil on the Upper West Side where they maintain a warm and welcoming home for all.

References:

Stop, in the Name of God: Why Honoring the Sabbath Will Transform Your Life by Charlie Kirk

The Lonely Man of Faith by Joseph B. Soloveitchik

This Is My God by Herman Wouk

“Is Modern Orthodox Kiruv Possible?” by Steven Gotlib

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