Jews are not a community of proselytizers; they do not seek converts to Judaism. In fact, rabbis traditionally discourage conversions. Jews believe in one God and do not attempt to humanize Him as Christians do, but their tradition has been to leave others to their own beliefs. Jews almost never excommunicate one of their members, nor have they ever in their history been on a crusade to root out heretics (Prothero, 2010, p. 251). The mark that Jews have made in the modern world is as a result of their achievements. It is not for anyone else to say how fervently an individual embraces his religious beliefs, but it certainly seems to the outsider that Jews are guided more by their commitment to community, including the family, than by any other teachings of their faith. Shapiro (2013) argues that American Orthodox Jews have, in some ways, embraced Orthodoxy even more tightly as a way to protect their families against what they see as increasing vulgarity in our culture. Orthodox Jews are also distressed by declining birth rates, increasing divorce rates, militant feminism, and the legalization of homosexual marriage. Unlike some Christian religions, however, the Jews do not protest publicly or denounce others in the name of God. They do, however, look to these changes as threats to the family, their basic unit of community. In a larger context, a threat to the family is a threat to being Jewish, for threats ultimately undermine the community and the connectedness people feel toward their community. In a 2011 address to the annual meeting of the Jewish Federation of Metropolitan Chicago, Rahm Emanuel reflected on what it means to be Jewish. Emanuel, Chicago's first Jewish mayor, represented Illinois in Congress and then became White House Chief of Staff in 2008. He resigned to serve his city. "To be a Jew," he said, "is to be a member of a community -- and that's not just our community, but the community at large… We have an obligation beyond our community to serve." With this statement, Emanuel acknowledged that there is a Jewish community that is eager not just to assimilate, but to contribute in a meaningful way. Prothero...

252) says that, with Judaism, community was the starting point. Emanuel's words, and his service, demonstrate the Jewish belief in this idea.
Imagine Hollywood with Woody Allen or Steven Spielberg. Think of comedy without the Marx Brothers, science without Einstein, music without Gershwin, economics without Bernanke, the Justice Department without Ginsberg, or baseball without Koufax. The list could continue, filled with names of Jewish people who have made significant contributions in their chosen fields. One cannot wholly attribute their success to Judaism, or argue that they would not have been as successful had they not been Jewish. Obviously there are many non-Jews who have made their mark in the world, just as there are millions of Jews who have lived their lives without public distinction. Nevertheless, the disproportionate number of successful people among Jews, particularly in the United States in the last one hundred years, suggests that the influences of community are very strong and provide the impetus for achievement and service.