You suggest two different aspects of what it means for Jews to live in urban neighborhoods. One is that the neighborhood Edelstein was trying to preserve was probably one where many Jews lived close to one another and as a result were able to live amidst multiple varieties of jewish experience: religious, social, political, cultural etc. Clearly cities that no longer have dense urban Jewish communities (i.e. most U.S. cities) no longer have the potential for that kind of dense rich Jewish life.
In addition, as so many Jews move progressively further from the urban centers in their regions (and from the urban ills that come along with those centers), they often remove themselves from engagement in the social and political problems that our communities and societies must confront.
It seems ironic that moving away from the city, physically and spiritually, results in Jewish communities that are both less Jewish AND less engaged in the broader society.
You suggest two different aspects of what it means for Jews to live in urban neighborhoods. One is that the neighborhood Edelstein was trying to preserve was probably one where many Jews lived close to one another and as a result were able to live amidst multiple varieties of jewish experience: religious, social, political, cultural etc. Clearly cities that no longer have dense urban Jewish communities (i.e. most U.S. cities) no longer have the potential for that kind of dense rich Jewish life.
In addition, as so many Jews move progressively further from the urban centers in their regions (and from the urban ills that come along with those centers), they often remove themselves from engagement in the social and political problems that our communities and societies must confront.
It seems ironic that moving away from the city, physically and spiritually, results in Jewish communities that are both less Jewish AND less engaged in the broader society.