This was my first year spending Simchat Torah on Manhattan's Upper West Side. I knew that it was a scene, so, last year, fresh off an awful breakup, I avoided it.
That was a good choice.
Unfortunately, this year, CJ and I were not so wise. We decided to stay, made plans for meals (I hosted two, he hosted one, and we were invited out a lot), and accepted invitations to parties. In general I don't love chag* parties, I don't find them to be in the spirit of the holiday, and I don't really enjoy drinking all that much. It's fine, I'll do it socially, but it isn't really how I like to spend my time.
Basically, what I'm trying to say is that I had an awful time. Instead of recapping, in gross detail, everything that went wrong, I'll give you a few highlights:
1. Simchat Torah night: no women dancing. At one point it was me, my friend, and three little girls. Their mom actually thanked us for ensuring that there was SOME dancing in the women's section.
2. All of the people who came to services to socialize, not to pray. I couldn't even hear the Torah reading on Simchat Torah morning.
3. The people who got falling down drunk, and then were loud and obnoxious in the streets/hallways, causing me to hear the remark from a doorman that "I hate this holiday, it's worse every year."
4. Anyone who thinks that it is ok to get drunk and make out at a chag party is incorrect. Make out at home. Ew.
5. The lack of spirituality. I came to dance, and to pray, and it seemed like I was the only one.
Long story short, next year I'm going back to Washington Heights.
*Chag is the Hebrew word for holiday.
Showing posts with label Know Your Jewish Community. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Know Your Jewish Community. Show all posts
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Monday, July 16, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: The Nine Days
The nine days are the days between the beginning of the month of Av, and the date when the temple in Jerusalem was destroyed.
I read an interesting piece in the shul bulletin this past Shabbat. It said that usually, Jewish mourning rituals go from more intense to less, the funeral, the seven days of shiva (stay in the house, no laundry, etc), then the 30 days of shloshim (no live music, no parties, no shaving), and the eleven months of saying kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the deceased). However, in the case of mourning for the temple in Jerusalem our mourning gets more and more intense. We start with the three weeks, then the nine days (where eating meat is forbidden, as is listening to live music, laundry, bathing for pleasure), and then the 9th of Av (which is a fast day).
I observe the nine days pretty stringently. I don't eat meat, I don't do laundry, listen to live music (or any music for that matter), or swim (that sucked when I was at camp). One of the other observances is to "refrain from purchasing anything that lifts your spirits." Ben-Yehudah of Esser Agaroth suggests that this means that we shouldn't buy the Harry Potter book until after the 9 days. Which sucks.
JoeSettler posts on the Muqata blog suggesting that a good 9 days activity is to attend the Cohanim and Leviim conference in Israel. Sadly, I am neither. A Mother in Israel has a "kosher cooking carnival" of foods that are permissable (read: not meat) during the nine days. Reb Barry Leff suggests that if you live in Israel, now is a good time to go out to your favorite meat restaurants, as they will be mostly empty. While I get what he's saying, I don't really know of anyone who keeps strictly kosher but eats meat during the nine days. Also, don't most meat restaurants change their menus and charge absurd prices? (Ahem, Estihana)
At any rate, there are a lot of blog posts about biblical stuff relating to the 1st of Av (like when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile) or the torah readings for this week (courtesy of DownHome Davar Torah), but I woke up feeling like I got hit by a train, so I'll let you find them yourself.
I read an interesting piece in the shul bulletin this past Shabbat. It said that usually, Jewish mourning rituals go from more intense to less, the funeral, the seven days of shiva (stay in the house, no laundry, etc), then the 30 days of shloshim (no live music, no parties, no shaving), and the eleven months of saying kaddish (the Jewish prayer for the deceased). However, in the case of mourning for the temple in Jerusalem our mourning gets more and more intense. We start with the three weeks, then the nine days (where eating meat is forbidden, as is listening to live music, laundry, bathing for pleasure), and then the 9th of Av (which is a fast day).
I observe the nine days pretty stringently. I don't eat meat, I don't do laundry, listen to live music (or any music for that matter), or swim (that sucked when I was at camp). One of the other observances is to "refrain from purchasing anything that lifts your spirits." Ben-Yehudah of Esser Agaroth suggests that this means that we shouldn't buy the Harry Potter book until after the 9 days. Which sucks.
JoeSettler posts on the Muqata blog suggesting that a good 9 days activity is to attend the Cohanim and Leviim conference in Israel. Sadly, I am neither. A Mother in Israel has a "kosher cooking carnival" of foods that are permissable (read: not meat) during the nine days. Reb Barry Leff suggests that if you live in Israel, now is a good time to go out to your favorite meat restaurants, as they will be mostly empty. While I get what he's saying, I don't really know of anyone who keeps strictly kosher but eats meat during the nine days. Also, don't most meat restaurants change their menus and charge absurd prices? (Ahem, Estihana)
At any rate, there are a lot of blog posts about biblical stuff relating to the 1st of Av (like when Ezra arrived in Jerusalem from the Babylonian exile) or the torah readings for this week (courtesy of DownHome Davar Torah), but I woke up feeling like I got hit by a train, so I'll let you find them yourself.
Thursday, July 12, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Grieving
Recently a number of people who have written in to Ask Amy (their first mistake) about grief etiquette. You see, they have lost someone, and some of their friends/family haven't said anything to them at all, or acknowledged the loss.
Amy says: "People don't intend to wound you or make your loss more difficult through their inaction. They're just doing what people do best: nothing."
I agree with her first point, that the people don't intend to hurt the mourner, but I firmly disagree with the second. I know (from personal experience) that often when someone makes an overture to a mourner the conversation ends up being about the overture maker. They want the mourner to acknowledge their grief, or to comfort them, or a million other things. Other people say nothing because they don't know what to say, or because they don't want to impose themselves on the mourner.
I fully support this last course of action. I'm fairly private about my emotions (blog notwithstanding), I don't like to show them in public, because I think that it shows a lack of control. I also don't like to be touched, so those hugs that some people think are helpful, really make uncomfortable. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one that feels this way. I'd rather be seen as cold than intrusive.
At any rate, I think that Judaism backs me up on this one. If you go to pay a shiva call*, you're supposed to wait until the mourner speaks to you, and then to let them take charge of the conversation. One of the worst things to do is to force them to talk about "their feelings." You can support them in other ways, by bringing food, so that they don't have to cook, by running their errands, or in some cases in-kind donations of labor or services.
I understand that this poor woman from Ask Amy has lost a great deal in the last few years, and that she is lonely and in need of support, but she should ask for it, as no one is a mind reader. And instead of assuming that the friends are lazy or careless, maybe that they are trying to give her some space and let her direct the relationship to fit her needs.
*Shiva call, during the first seven days after a funeral, the immediate family sits "shiva" (meaning seven) in a house. They don't leave, and the community is responsible for providing services for them (such as bringing food, providing enough people for a prayer quorum so that the mourners can recite the mourners' prayer) and visiting during this time. It is part of the very structured grief rituals of Judaism, which start with the funeral and go on for an entire year. Each designed to help the mourner re-acclimate to society, while recognizing their grief and loss.
Amy says: "People don't intend to wound you or make your loss more difficult through their inaction. They're just doing what people do best: nothing."
I agree with her first point, that the people don't intend to hurt the mourner, but I firmly disagree with the second. I know (from personal experience) that often when someone makes an overture to a mourner the conversation ends up being about the overture maker. They want the mourner to acknowledge their grief, or to comfort them, or a million other things. Other people say nothing because they don't know what to say, or because they don't want to impose themselves on the mourner.
I fully support this last course of action. I'm fairly private about my emotions (blog notwithstanding), I don't like to show them in public, because I think that it shows a lack of control. I also don't like to be touched, so those hugs that some people think are helpful, really make uncomfortable. And I'm sure that I'm not the only one that feels this way. I'd rather be seen as cold than intrusive.
At any rate, I think that Judaism backs me up on this one. If you go to pay a shiva call*, you're supposed to wait until the mourner speaks to you, and then to let them take charge of the conversation. One of the worst things to do is to force them to talk about "their feelings." You can support them in other ways, by bringing food, so that they don't have to cook, by running their errands, or in some cases in-kind donations of labor or services.
I understand that this poor woman from Ask Amy has lost a great deal in the last few years, and that she is lonely and in need of support, but she should ask for it, as no one is a mind reader. And instead of assuming that the friends are lazy or careless, maybe that they are trying to give her some space and let her direct the relationship to fit her needs.
*Shiva call, during the first seven days after a funeral, the immediate family sits "shiva" (meaning seven) in a house. They don't leave, and the community is responsible for providing services for them (such as bringing food, providing enough people for a prayer quorum so that the mourners can recite the mourners' prayer) and visiting during this time. It is part of the very structured grief rituals of Judaism, which start with the funeral and go on for an entire year. Each designed to help the mourner re-acclimate to society, while recognizing their grief and loss.
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Jewish Mothers
This post was sparked by one by Carolyn of Juggling Frogs, who talked about the idea of the "supermom." She links to A Mother in Israel's post on "The Truth about the Jewish Superwoman," which looked a little bit to me like a modern version of Eishet Chayil*.
Modern Jewish Mom is a website whose aim is to provide a space for modern Jewish women to talk about the issues in their lives, read articles and discuss. It's pretty cute, and much better designed than some of the new Jewish social networking stuff (ahem Jmerica).
On the standard mommyblogging side there is YoYenta, whose writing I generally find pretty interesting, and whose tags are pretty hilarious. Orieyenta, although not technically a mommyblogger, talks about her adorable daughter LO on a regular basis. For the record, if I had a kid that cute, I'd totally write about her all the time too.
Several other bloggers, while they talk about being a mother, it isn't the biggest part of their blog. For instance Alla Staroseletskaya of Cooking with Yiddishe Mama has a nice mixture of recipes. And probably something else, but I can't read Cyrillic.
I was going to flesh this out some more, but I've had a busy day, so I'll have to let it go.
Modern Jewish Mom is a website whose aim is to provide a space for modern Jewish women to talk about the issues in their lives, read articles and discuss. It's pretty cute, and much better designed than some of the new Jewish social networking stuff (ahem Jmerica).
On the standard mommyblogging side there is YoYenta, whose writing I generally find pretty interesting, and whose tags are pretty hilarious. Orieyenta, although not technically a mommyblogger, talks about her adorable daughter LO on a regular basis. For the record, if I had a kid that cute, I'd totally write about her all the time too.
Several other bloggers, while they talk about being a mother, it isn't the biggest part of their blog. For instance Alla Staroseletskaya of Cooking with Yiddishe Mama has a nice mixture of recipes. And probably something else, but I can't read Cyrillic.
I was going to flesh this out some more, but I've had a busy day, so I'll have to let it go.
Thursday, July 05, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Wedding Shtick
I'm actually not so sure about the origins of this one. I'm pretty sure that wedding shtick has its basis in the mitzvah to make a bride happy on her wedding day. The actual language is to "mesameach" the bride, which I think translates to "enhappy."
In the name of "enhappying" the bride (and groom) their friends dress up/ do foolish things, usually inside joke related. This also serves the purpose of letting the bride and groom sit down in between sessions of dancing, which are usually pretty athletic. Especially considering that the bride and groom have been fasting until about 5 minutes before dancing starts.
At any rate, I've seen some bizarre things, including guys dressed up as food (I think Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but the costumes were pretty bad, so: unclear), girls carrying those molecular models you get in chemistry class (the bride is a chem PhD), and a bridesmaid that looked like a matador. Oh wait, her dress was just unfortunate, it wasn't part of the "bull and bullfighter" dance that is prevalent, and incongruous (you know, the one where one person waves a napkin, and the other runs towards it with fingers on their head like horns?).
In the name of "enhappying" the bride (and groom) their friends dress up/ do foolish things, usually inside joke related. This also serves the purpose of letting the bride and groom sit down in between sessions of dancing, which are usually pretty athletic. Especially considering that the bride and groom have been fasting until about 5 minutes before dancing starts.
At any rate, I've seen some bizarre things, including guys dressed up as food (I think Aqua Teen Hunger Force, but the costumes were pretty bad, so: unclear), girls carrying those molecular models you get in chemistry class (the bride is a chem PhD), and a bridesmaid that looked like a matador. Oh wait, her dress was just unfortunate, it wasn't part of the "bull and bullfighter" dance that is prevalent, and incongruous (you know, the one where one person waves a napkin, and the other runs towards it with fingers on their head like horns?).
This video has an example of the bullfighter about 10 seconds in.
Instead of dancing, you could wave flaming nunchucks, like this guy. Also, if you look at the comments below, I like how one of the commenters seems to believe that flaming nunchucks are traditional at a Jewish wedding, saying "I wanna go to an Orthodox wedding, so fun." To which someone responded: "yeah they r fun, at my sisters wedding some guys put their black hats on fire (old ones ofcourse) and they juggles fire and knives 2." Really? Flaming hats? Clearly I'm attending the wrong type of weddings.
Now, like many Jewish traditions, this one has been co-opted by the guys. What seems pretty clearly to be a mitvah for the benefit of the bride is often in practice a bunch of guys doing silly things, often an inside joke with the groom.
Like these guys with their "Riverdance." Not that it isn't funny, but after googling "Wedding Shtick" I only came up with male entries. This could be, in part, because shtick often involves singing and/or dancing, which can be religiously problematic if done by women (in front of men).
More guys dancing.
For my own (hypothetical) personal wedding, I expect the girls to bring the game. For serious yo. I'm talking to you, roommate. And my wedding can totally be an "arts and crafts project."
Thursday, June 21, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Wedding Invitation SOPs
An SOP is a Standard Operating Procedure. I think that in the case of deciding who gets/doesn't get a wedding invitation, a couple needs to write down a set of guiding principles, otherwise cutting down the list seems arbitrary and unfair.
I've been thinking about this because one of my best friends from college (and actually camp, before that) is getting married, and she and her fiancee are having some difficulty over the guest list. Essentially: he wants to invite everyone that he's ever met, and she does not. When you have 70 guests to split between the two of you it gets a bit touchy. In order to mediate this, I have created a set of SOPs for guest invitations:
I. Required Guests (in descending order of importance)
A. Family
i. immediate, plus one level (a "removed" or "second") if you see them on a regular basis
ii. anyone that will give you an awesome present/remember you in the will
B. Friends
i. Best Friends
a. from childhood/high school, as long as you keep in touch regularly and have seen them within the last year (exception for those abroad)
b. College Friends-- keep these to a minimum, they probably don't have enough money to pay for a nice gift. Also, unclear how close to them you will be in five years.
C. People Who Will Be Really Angry If You Don't Invite them
i. in this case weigh the social discomfort of the lack of invitation against how much you actually want the person to be at your wedding
II. People About Whom You Are On The Fence*
A. More Distant Family
i. those who give great presents/are fun at a party are in
ii. also include those who will be REALLY insulted if they are not invited
iii. do not include those with whom you/your parents/relatives have had a 'falling out'
B. Not As Close Friends
i. You must have seen this person (in person) at least ONCE in the previous calendar year, preferably pre-engagement, you must speak to them no less than once every six months, and you have to actually enjoy their company
C. People Who Will Be Insulted, But You Care Less
i. same criteria as above
III. People Not To Invite
A. Family
i. Black sheep of the family, unless it will be really fun
ii. very distant relatives, except as a courtesy
B. Friends
i. former best friends that you haven't spoken to in forever
ii. anyone who doesn't return your calls/letters in at least a 2:1 (yours: theirs) ratio.
C. Those Who Will Be Insulted
i. people who you either don't care about, or who won't find out
D. Co-workers
i. with very few exceptions, these people are not your "real" friends.
*Appendix A: What to do about those on the fence
Make a list in descending order of those who you wish to invite but cannot due to space concerns. They are your second run. Alternate a person you wish to invite with one whom your fiancee wishes to invite, and when someone RSVPs in the negative (from one of your original guests, not those assigned to either your, or your fiance's parents) you may move someone up from the "bench" to the "field" and send them an invitation.
Disclaimer: this document is intended for humorous purposes only, and is not to be applied by real couples with actual weddings.
I've been thinking about this because one of my best friends from college (and actually camp, before that) is getting married, and she and her fiancee are having some difficulty over the guest list. Essentially: he wants to invite everyone that he's ever met, and she does not. When you have 70 guests to split between the two of you it gets a bit touchy. In order to mediate this, I have created a set of SOPs for guest invitations:
I. Required Guests (in descending order of importance)
A. Family
i. immediate, plus one level (a "removed" or "second") if you see them on a regular basis
ii. anyone that will give you an awesome present/remember you in the will
B. Friends
i. Best Friends
a. from childhood/high school, as long as you keep in touch regularly and have seen them within the last year (exception for those abroad)
b. College Friends-- keep these to a minimum, they probably don't have enough money to pay for a nice gift. Also, unclear how close to them you will be in five years.
C. People Who Will Be Really Angry If You Don't Invite them
i. in this case weigh the social discomfort of the lack of invitation against how much you actually want the person to be at your wedding
II. People About Whom You Are On The Fence*
A. More Distant Family
i. those who give great presents/are fun at a party are in
ii. also include those who will be REALLY insulted if they are not invited
iii. do not include those with whom you/your parents/relatives have had a 'falling out'
B. Not As Close Friends
i. You must have seen this person (in person) at least ONCE in the previous calendar year, preferably pre-engagement, you must speak to them no less than once every six months, and you have to actually enjoy their company
C. People Who Will Be Insulted, But You Care Less
i. same criteria as above
III. People Not To Invite
A. Family
i. Black sheep of the family, unless it will be really fun
ii. very distant relatives, except as a courtesy
B. Friends
i. former best friends that you haven't spoken to in forever
ii. anyone who doesn't return your calls/letters in at least a 2:1 (yours: theirs) ratio.
C. Those Who Will Be Insulted
i. people who you either don't care about, or who won't find out
D. Co-workers
i. with very few exceptions, these people are not your "real" friends.
*Appendix A: What to do about those on the fence
Make a list in descending order of those who you wish to invite but cannot due to space concerns. They are your second run. Alternate a person you wish to invite with one whom your fiancee wishes to invite, and when someone RSVPs in the negative (from one of your original guests, not those assigned to either your, or your fiance's parents) you may move someone up from the "bench" to the "field" and send them an invitation.
Disclaimer: this document is intended for humorous purposes only, and is not to be applied by real couples with actual weddings.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: The JIBs
The JIBs stand for Jewish and Israeli Blog Awards. You might remember them from our single post on the subject, or from the fact that everyone and his/her cousin has been talking about them.
My favorite post on the subject? Either of Michael's on whom G-d would vote for. Posted at Jewlicious, and Kosher Eucharist, I laughed twice. The best part of his post goes like this:
Lord: And you want my picks?
Michael: If it’s not too much trouble.
The Lord released a long, hissing breath.
Lord: Alright. JSpot.
Michael: Really, Lord? But I think they’re quee–
Lord: The Lord is down with downtown,
said the Lord, sweeping away 4000 years of religious certitude with one slightly inelegant play on words.
Michael: Okay then, Lord. But one more question. Since You’re a Buddhist now, what would You, the unfathomable entity who brought the universe into being, want to be reincarnated as?
Lord: Art Blakey. God out.
Michael: And His Presence left me.
On a slightly more serious note, Soccer Dad posts a criticism of the Awards, mostly centered around his own blog and efforts, but astute nonetheless. His main point is one with which I agree: "A certain blogger who's been impugning them [the JIBs} and saying that the vote should be about quality. The chutzpah here is that he complains that the JIB's are a popularity contest, but he benefits from that very fact. Since his is a high traffic site he wins JIB's each time out. I don't think much of his blog with its sloppy reasoning and poor spelling and general mean spiritedness. But he has the visitors, so he has the JIB's and will garner two or three more this year." That is the basic issue. When we're talking about blogs those with the highest circulation will win a vote-based contest. It is more a demonstration of who can best "get out the vote" rather than whose content is the best. Subjective as that may be. Yehuda of Jergames adds his criticism of the process (and his logic for why he didn't proceed to the next round), as well as some endorsements of other bloggers. He also acknowledges that because the awards are a volunteer effort that we should maybe give the organizers a bit of slack.
But, when you think about it, isn't the number of readers of a blog, in some ways, demonstrative of the quality (or perceived quality) of the blog? If you have 10,000 readers a month, then a certain number of people have chosen to read your blog, from all other blogs and media available. That means something. Is US Weekly a better publication than NY Times if it has higher subscription rates? No, but those people who buy US instead of NY Times find that it fits their needs. And that has a value too.
Ari, of Ari's Blog, takes the whole thing a little less seriously. His comment is that it is "a contest where there is no prize other than bragging rights... It’s actually funny, because many of the bloggers who have entered the fray are anonymous (like Jacob). So who can they really brag to anyway?" Meanwhile, he suggests two new categories: neighborhood awards, and humility awards. While I think that his idea is great, one of my critiques of the JIBs is that they have too many categories. Seriously. Especially in the first round. I have a short attention span and cannot be bothered to vote more than 15 times. For anything.
As I mentioned earlier, the contest seems to be mostly about getting out the vote, so I thought I'd give a short listing of some of the participant bloggers who have engaged in this practice most recently:
Rabbi Gil Student of Hirhurim
Beth of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Technofile
Jewish Athiest
Menachem Wecker of Iconia
Steve of It's Almost Supernatural
Tzemach Atlas of Mentalblog.com
Ted W. Gross of Help! I have a fire in my kitchen.
Jewish Blogmeister
Brooklyn Wolf of Wolfish Musings
Mottel of Letters of Thought
Darnell Clayton of Isragood
And that's only May 9th forward. I am sure that if I went back to the date of the beginning of first round voting, that I'd find another flurry of request posts. This is, by the way, not to critique these individuals for their efforts, but rather to report on the state of the J-blogosphere.
My favorite post on the subject? Either of Michael's on whom G-d would vote for. Posted at Jewlicious, and Kosher Eucharist, I laughed twice. The best part of his post goes like this:
Lord: And you want my picks?
Michael: If it’s not too much trouble.
The Lord released a long, hissing breath.
Lord: Alright. JSpot.
Michael: Really, Lord? But I think they’re quee–
Lord: The Lord is down with downtown,
said the Lord, sweeping away 4000 years of religious certitude with one slightly inelegant play on words.
Michael: Okay then, Lord. But one more question. Since You’re a Buddhist now, what would You, the unfathomable entity who brought the universe into being, want to be reincarnated as?
Lord: Art Blakey. God out.
Michael: And His Presence left me.
On a slightly more serious note, Soccer Dad posts a criticism of the Awards, mostly centered around his own blog and efforts, but astute nonetheless. His main point is one with which I agree: "A certain blogger who's been impugning them [the JIBs} and saying that the vote should be about quality. The chutzpah here is that he complains that the JIB's are a popularity contest, but he benefits from that very fact. Since his is a high traffic site he wins JIB's each time out. I don't think much of his blog with its sloppy reasoning and poor spelling and general mean spiritedness. But he has the visitors, so he has the JIB's and will garner two or three more this year." That is the basic issue. When we're talking about blogs those with the highest circulation will win a vote-based contest. It is more a demonstration of who can best "get out the vote" rather than whose content is the best. Subjective as that may be. Yehuda of Jergames adds his criticism of the process (and his logic for why he didn't proceed to the next round), as well as some endorsements of other bloggers. He also acknowledges that because the awards are a volunteer effort that we should maybe give the organizers a bit of slack.
But, when you think about it, isn't the number of readers of a blog, in some ways, demonstrative of the quality (or perceived quality) of the blog? If you have 10,000 readers a month, then a certain number of people have chosen to read your blog, from all other blogs and media available. That means something. Is US Weekly a better publication than NY Times if it has higher subscription rates? No, but those people who buy US instead of NY Times find that it fits their needs. And that has a value too.
Ari, of Ari's Blog, takes the whole thing a little less seriously. His comment is that it is "a contest where there is no prize other than bragging rights... It’s actually funny, because many of the bloggers who have entered the fray are anonymous (like Jacob). So who can they really brag to anyway?" Meanwhile, he suggests two new categories: neighborhood awards, and humility awards. While I think that his idea is great, one of my critiques of the JIBs is that they have too many categories. Seriously. Especially in the first round. I have a short attention span and cannot be bothered to vote more than 15 times. For anything.
As I mentioned earlier, the contest seems to be mostly about getting out the vote, so I thought I'd give a short listing of some of the participant bloggers who have engaged in this practice most recently:
Rabbi Gil Student of Hirhurim
Beth of My Vast Right Wing Conspiracy
Technofile
Jewish Athiest
Menachem Wecker of Iconia
Steve of It's Almost Supernatural
Tzemach Atlas of Mentalblog.com
Ted W. Gross of Help! I have a fire in my kitchen.
Jewish Blogmeister
Brooklyn Wolf of Wolfish Musings
Mottel of Letters of Thought
Darnell Clayton of Isragood
And that's only May 9th forward. I am sure that if I went back to the date of the beginning of first round voting, that I'd find another flurry of request posts. This is, by the way, not to critique these individuals for their efforts, but rather to report on the state of the J-blogosphere.
Monday, May 07, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: The Salute to Israel Day Parade
Yesterday I attended the Salute to Israel Day Parade. Hell yeah I did. I visited my "Grandmother" with whom I was going to go, but turned out that she wanted to wait until after noon to leave, and I wanted to enjoy every minute of the parade. 11-4. Oh yeah baby. In the end I met up with the roommate, and from our perch on 71st and 5th we got a fairly good view, and I got a sunburn on 1/2 of my face.
I also discovered that I am super-lame. As I stood there, at approximately 11:22am, I found myself getting a bit choked up. Not just with my love and pride for Israel, but for these individuals. You see, the early morning slots are reserved for those people for whom it might be too hot to march later. I watched the Jewish War Veterans walk by, most in uniform, some with walkers, or in cars, and then I saw the AVI. The American Veterans of Israel's war for independence. If that wasn't enough, they were shortly followed by lines of firefighters from the tri-state area, and then the boy and girl scouts. I was a girl scout, so to watch little girls in a (somewhat) familiar uniform (there is a redesign every three years or so) march, holding Israeli flags, was really touching for me. After them came the Tzofim, the Israel Scouts.
As much as I make fun of Israel's paramilitary youth organization, the scouts are great. They marched down 5th avenue, in uniform, singing and holding large signs with the names of missing soldiers (Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser, Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, and Guy Hever). At this point I was actually crying. Fortunately the schools started to pass by shortly thereafter, and nothing about Frisch makes me want to cry. I do have one question, though. What's with the marching bands? They looked like random high schools. Now, I love marching bands, and I thought that they were terrific. The only reason that the roommate and I could come up with for their participation was that the schools were historically Jewish and have a relationship with the parade. But anyone who has a better idea, please let me know. Also, please explain the bagpipes.
Other people I saw: Dr. Ruth Westheimer, on the back of a little golf cart, Senator Chuck Schumer (announcing Am Yisroel Chai, and that his name means "shomer" or guard), Anthony Weiner, who might be the cutest representative that I've ever seen, and Jerry Nadler.
I wasn't the only one who went to the parade (obviously), I heard estimates of up to 1 million participants/observers, which of course made CJ say things all day like "all you need is 30 people with tnt strapped to their chests, and you could decimate New York's Jewish population." Nice, my boyfriend is paranoid. However, other people seemed to be having a good time, like Urban Infidel who has some great pictures, including some of Neturei Karta. Angel of Women Honor Thyself also has a fairly good photo gallery. You can see even more pictures, these by Jacob Richman of Good News From Israel on his website, although sadly none are of me, the roommate, or CJ.
I wasn't really sure about the history of the parade, Barbara of Barbara's Tchatzkahs gives a good run-down. And of course, just in case you thought that the parade was only sunshine and butterflies, there were some protesters. Neturei Karta, obviously, and Maytha of Kabobfest, who claims in his post that the police presence at the parade was because "f you are for Israel, you deserve protection; however, if you are against Israel, you are considered a danger or threat to society." I disagree there, I think that there are police escorts and presence at all of the parades (I remember some from the Greek Independence Day Parade a few weeks ago), and as paranoid as I think CJ is, any gathering of Jews, for Israel or any other reason, does become a target for terrorist activity.
Long story short: It was a great parade, and next year I want to be in a marching band, but I only play trombone. Anyone else play a useful instrument?
I also discovered that I am super-lame. As I stood there, at approximately 11:22am, I found myself getting a bit choked up. Not just with my love and pride for Israel, but for these individuals. You see, the early morning slots are reserved for those people for whom it might be too hot to march later. I watched the Jewish War Veterans walk by, most in uniform, some with walkers, or in cars, and then I saw the AVI. The American Veterans of Israel's war for independence. If that wasn't enough, they were shortly followed by lines of firefighters from the tri-state area, and then the boy and girl scouts. I was a girl scout, so to watch little girls in a (somewhat) familiar uniform (there is a redesign every three years or so) march, holding Israeli flags, was really touching for me. After them came the Tzofim, the Israel Scouts.
As much as I make fun of Israel's paramilitary youth organization, the scouts are great. They marched down 5th avenue, in uniform, singing and holding large signs with the names of missing soldiers (Ehud "Udi" Goldwasser, Gilad Shalit, Eldad Regev, and Guy Hever). At this point I was actually crying. Fortunately the schools started to pass by shortly thereafter, and nothing about Frisch makes me want to cry. I do have one question, though. What's with the marching bands? They looked like random high schools. Now, I love marching bands, and I thought that they were terrific. The only reason that the roommate and I could come up with for their participation was that the schools were historically Jewish and have a relationship with the parade. But anyone who has a better idea, please let me know. Also, please explain the bagpipes.
Other people I saw: Dr. Ruth Westheimer, on the back of a little golf cart, Senator Chuck Schumer (announcing Am Yisroel Chai, and that his name means "shomer" or guard), Anthony Weiner, who might be the cutest representative that I've ever seen, and Jerry Nadler.
I wasn't the only one who went to the parade (obviously), I heard estimates of up to 1 million participants/observers, which of course made CJ say things all day like "all you need is 30 people with tnt strapped to their chests, and you could decimate New York's Jewish population." Nice, my boyfriend is paranoid. However, other people seemed to be having a good time, like Urban Infidel who has some great pictures, including some of Neturei Karta. Angel of Women Honor Thyself also has a fairly good photo gallery. You can see even more pictures, these by Jacob Richman of Good News From Israel on his website, although sadly none are of me, the roommate, or CJ.
I wasn't really sure about the history of the parade, Barbara of Barbara's Tchatzkahs gives a good run-down. And of course, just in case you thought that the parade was only sunshine and butterflies, there were some protesters. Neturei Karta, obviously, and Maytha of Kabobfest, who claims in his post that the police presence at the parade was because "f you are for Israel, you deserve protection; however, if you are against Israel, you are considered a danger or threat to society." I disagree there, I think that there are police escorts and presence at all of the parades (I remember some from the Greek Independence Day Parade a few weeks ago), and as paranoid as I think CJ is, any gathering of Jews, for Israel or any other reason, does become a target for terrorist activity.
Long story short: It was a great parade, and next year I want to be in a marching band, but I only play trombone. Anyone else play a useful instrument?
Friday, April 06, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Passover Food
I hate Passover food. As a mostly-vegetarian, my diet contains a lot of beans, corn, rice, legumes, and grains, so Passover sucks (if only I were sephardi/dating a sephardi, there could be an end in sight). However, most Jews seem to love Passover food. How do I know this? Lots of people gain weight during Passover. Ergo, they are eating a lot, and they must be enjoying it, right?
Amy of Cooking With Amy has a couple dessert recipes that don't look so heinous. Although the heinousness of Passover deserts is, of course, relative to how much you want a dessert. Gillian Pollack of Food History talks a little bit about traditional Greek Passover foods, which are probably better than traditional Eastern European Passover foods, which include things like gefilte fish--the hot dog of the fish family.
One Jewish Dyke of her eponomyous blog has a bit of a rant about the prohibitive cost of Passover food. Which, I agree, is absurdly high. However, in this case one can understand how the overhead would be much higher, even than regular kosher food. She seems to be a bit surprised at the existence of Passover Pizza (mmm Passover "convenience" foods, whoda thunk it?), as is Jason Weinberger of Spot of Bother. All I can say on the subject is that Jews get stupid while shopping for Passover. You have a short period of time in which to do your shopping, a limited supply, and a shortage of good ideas. The result? My Mom has 4 different vinegars, and 3 canisters of spray oil, but no soups (except for matzoh ball). I have 3 cans of tuna, a container of light KLP mayo, and a package of string cheese.
Anyone else have a weird food combo? Also, for the record, as I live in NY, I don't need to stockpile, as I have been going, every morning to one of the (three!) kosher supermarkets within a five block radius of my apartment to purchase premade food, at great expense. It is, however, cheaper than buying the raw materials, AND the necessary equipment to assemble it, as I have zero Kosher for Passover utensils/equipment.
Amy of Cooking With Amy has a couple dessert recipes that don't look so heinous. Although the heinousness of Passover deserts is, of course, relative to how much you want a dessert. Gillian Pollack of Food History talks a little bit about traditional Greek Passover foods, which are probably better than traditional Eastern European Passover foods, which include things like gefilte fish--the hot dog of the fish family.
One Jewish Dyke of her eponomyous blog has a bit of a rant about the prohibitive cost of Passover food. Which, I agree, is absurdly high. However, in this case one can understand how the overhead would be much higher, even than regular kosher food. She seems to be a bit surprised at the existence of Passover Pizza (mmm Passover "convenience" foods, whoda thunk it?), as is Jason Weinberger of Spot of Bother. All I can say on the subject is that Jews get stupid while shopping for Passover. You have a short period of time in which to do your shopping, a limited supply, and a shortage of good ideas. The result? My Mom has 4 different vinegars, and 3 canisters of spray oil, but no soups (except for matzoh ball). I have 3 cans of tuna, a container of light KLP mayo, and a package of string cheese.
Anyone else have a weird food combo? Also, for the record, as I live in NY, I don't need to stockpile, as I have been going, every morning to one of the (three!) kosher supermarkets within a five block radius of my apartment to purchase premade food, at great expense. It is, however, cheaper than buying the raw materials, AND the necessary equipment to assemble it, as I have zero Kosher for Passover utensils/equipment.
Monday, March 26, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Sedarim
Now I'm going home for the Sedarim* (as is Harley), so I don't have to worry this year about where I will find myself on the first two nights of Passover. I will be in the bosom of my family, watching my father giggle at the line "and Moses took his rod into his hand and performed signs with it, and wonders." That NEVER gets old.
At any rate, not everyone will be laughing at such puerile jokes (my mom, for instance) instead they will be at many different types of Sedarim. An article in the NY Observer describes a couple of famous seders held/attended by the LA giliterati. (Warning: NY Observer articles tend to go offline after a couple weeks, so if the link is broken, I apologize) Now I'm all for people experiencing Judaism in whatever way is meaningful for them, but I have an issue with this article. And this is it: "When Roman Polanski was shooting Chinatown and wanted to return to his native Poland in order to celebrate Passover, the film’s producer, Bob Evans, intervened and threw one of his own. The Kiddush was read by Kirk Douglas."
Roman Polanksi wanted to go home for Passover, and was offered, instead, a place at a seder run in an obviously non-traditional fashion (which is great, but I can't imagine that the sedarim in Poland are anything other than traditional). It just strikes me as wrong: "oh, you wanted to go home? We can't afford the time off from shooting, so we'll just make do here. See? Just like home, except with Kirk Douglas involved, so it is clearly better."
Anyway, I did a scan of some of the major sites to see what other kinds of Passover experiences are available, so here's my rundown:
Jewcy: only the one option, In Haggada Da Vita in LA. If you live in NY, sucks to be you.
BluePrint: a "Guide to Passover" which seems to have a fair bit of coverage. A bunch of different options for different experiences, and is not limited to the first two nights. And if you navigate through their community calendar you get a plethora of options.
92nd Street Y: has a community seder, but I'd be wary as it is run by the "director of Jewish outreach" (outreach is often a keyword for intermarried), but then again, I'm a bit cynical.
Blogerher: links to a "seder-finder" which is super-useful. Caveat: all the sedarim are run by Chabad. Less useful.
If you're running your own seder, MyJewishLearning.com has a piece on how to add drama to your seder. My family doesn't need any more drama, as shown by the "wine removal incident" of 2004. At any rate, we might actually use the Open Source Haggadah to build our own, as my mom is getting really sick of the "Moses' rod" jokes. Really sick. But seriously, Aish has a list of "10 Ways to Enjoy the Seder" (my suggestion: drink heavily, and sit next to the Pedant) and Tamara Eden posted her response which includes some more global suggestions.
On a more practical note, if you think that the sederim tend to be too long, David Bernstein of The Volokh Conspiracy has a suggestion for a 30-minute seder. For those who wish to incorporate feminist themes into the seder (and really, who wouldn't?) MilbyDaniel gives a good rundown of rituals, and some history. Other progressive options include those of Saul Kaiserman at New Jewish Education who suggests leaving an empty chair in honor of victims of the Darfur genocide.
I will be enjoying my family's fairly traditional seder where candy is given for good questions and good answers, the wine flows freely, and so do the jokes about Moses' rod.
*Sedarim is the Hebrew plural for Seder. The direct translation of "seder" means order, but in this context it is the festival meal that takes place on the first night/two nights of Passover, generally including a great deal of ritual, and readings from a book of liturgy called the Haggadah.
At any rate, not everyone will be laughing at such puerile jokes (my mom, for instance) instead they will be at many different types of Sedarim. An article in the NY Observer describes a couple of famous seders held/attended by the LA giliterati. (Warning: NY Observer articles tend to go offline after a couple weeks, so if the link is broken, I apologize) Now I'm all for people experiencing Judaism in whatever way is meaningful for them, but I have an issue with this article. And this is it: "When Roman Polanski was shooting Chinatown and wanted to return to his native Poland in order to celebrate Passover, the film’s producer, Bob Evans, intervened and threw one of his own. The Kiddush was read by Kirk Douglas."
Roman Polanksi wanted to go home for Passover, and was offered, instead, a place at a seder run in an obviously non-traditional fashion (which is great, but I can't imagine that the sedarim in Poland are anything other than traditional). It just strikes me as wrong: "oh, you wanted to go home? We can't afford the time off from shooting, so we'll just make do here. See? Just like home, except with Kirk Douglas involved, so it is clearly better."
Anyway, I did a scan of some of the major sites to see what other kinds of Passover experiences are available, so here's my rundown:
Jewcy: only the one option, In Haggada Da Vita in LA. If you live in NY, sucks to be you.
BluePrint: a "Guide to Passover" which seems to have a fair bit of coverage. A bunch of different options for different experiences, and is not limited to the first two nights. And if you navigate through their community calendar you get a plethora of options.
92nd Street Y: has a community seder, but I'd be wary as it is run by the "director of Jewish outreach" (outreach is often a keyword for intermarried), but then again, I'm a bit cynical.
Blogerher: links to a "seder-finder" which is super-useful. Caveat: all the sedarim are run by Chabad. Less useful.
If you're running your own seder, MyJewishLearning.com has a piece on how to add drama to your seder. My family doesn't need any more drama, as shown by the "wine removal incident" of 2004. At any rate, we might actually use the Open Source Haggadah to build our own, as my mom is getting really sick of the "Moses' rod" jokes. Really sick. But seriously, Aish has a list of "10 Ways to Enjoy the Seder" (my suggestion: drink heavily, and sit next to the Pedant) and Tamara Eden posted her response which includes some more global suggestions.
On a more practical note, if you think that the sederim tend to be too long, David Bernstein of The Volokh Conspiracy has a suggestion for a 30-minute seder. For those who wish to incorporate feminist themes into the seder (and really, who wouldn't?) MilbyDaniel gives a good rundown of rituals, and some history. Other progressive options include those of Saul Kaiserman at New Jewish Education who suggests leaving an empty chair in honor of victims of the Darfur genocide.
I will be enjoying my family's fairly traditional seder where candy is given for good questions and good answers, the wine flows freely, and so do the jokes about Moses' rod.
*Sedarim is the Hebrew plural for Seder. The direct translation of "seder" means order, but in this context it is the festival meal that takes place on the first night/two nights of Passover, generally including a great deal of ritual, and readings from a book of liturgy called the Haggadah.
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Going to Synagogue
When I was a kid, my parents would take me to synagogue every Saturday morning. Rain, shine, sleet, or snow, we'd be there. It wasn't until I was a little older that I even realized that there were services on Friday night, let alone other days of the week (an example of my stellar Hebrew school education).
In college I went through a phase (we'll call it my "frum" phase) where I davened* (usually with a minyan*) three times a day. Now I am somewhere between those two. I don't pray during the week unless it is a holiday, a fast day, or some other exceptional occurance, but I am pretty good about going Friday nights and Saturday mornings. If I am feeling ambitious I'll even go to mincha* on Saturday.
Here's the problem though. I don't belong to a synagogue in New York. There are about 30 million on the Upper West Side, many of which I attend with some regularity. My "favorites" are probably KOE, Darkhei Noam, and Young Israel for their hot kiddush*. From this list you can probably tell a lot about my hashkafa*, or at least that I'm sort of confused.
Into this breech steps Dan Sieradski (aka Mobius) and his Shul Shopper. In case you've been living under a rock for the past little while, it is, in his own words a "Zagat guide" to synagogues. Let me say that I am a really big fan of this idea. If you're new in town, or new to the community, or to Judaism, or observance, or just want to know what's out there, it is amazing.
But here is my concern. I know that Dan has said that he'll keep a close watch for lashon hara*, and other forms of negative speech, but I think that it'll be hard to patrol, and hard to seperate legitimate criticism from people who are just being unkind. For example, the line between "I didn't like this style of service" and "this type of service is not correct/unacceptable/worthless" may seem pretty thick, but I can think of a few examples where it might not be. This doesn't mean that the project shouldn't be attempted, or isn't worthwhile, just something to be addressed.
Good luck Dan, and we're rooting for you.
Definitions:
- Daven: to pray
- Minyan: a prayer quorum of 10. Different movements define this differently, with all but the Orthodox including women in the count.
- Mincha: The afternoon prayer service, takes about 15 minutes.
- Kiddush: from the word kadesh or holy, the word means "sanctification." In this context, however, it refers to the light refreshments served after a blessing is made over wine/grape juice to sanctify the day. Hot kiddush includes cholent (a meat stew) and kugel (a sort of pudding a la bread pudding, but often with noodles or potato) and could take the place of lunch.
- Hashkafa: personal or individual religious observances/beliefs
- Lashon Hara: lit. the evil tongue, refers to gossip (malicious or otherwise)
Monday, January 29, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Weddings
I'll leave Harley to eloquently say what I can only think. It seems strange to me that in the midst of death there is life, and so yesterday (Sunday) I went to the wedding of a good friend from college. At this point I've been to a few Jewish weddings, but the sentiment of the friends (the bride's friends at least) is "I can't believe that she's really married." It is that same type of Magical Thinking as Harley spoke about in her last post.
Anyway, it occured to me that Jewish weddings (at least traditionally observant ones) are pretty far from what a non-Jew, or secular Jew expects when they walk into the hall. Main differences:
-No speeches, drunken or otherwise at the reception
-almost everyone leaves early except immediate family and bridal party
-seperate dancing
-the pre-nup is read aloud during the ceremony
-sometimes the hug under the bridal canopy is the first time that the couple has ever touched
Helen of Indian Wedding has a pretty good rundown of the ceremony. She misses some of the symbolism, but it is a good outline. AtTheFamilyPlace has an interesting post by Tuppy where he/she says: "Beginning with a matchmaking ceremony, spiritual devotion is studied in stages before a lifelong partner is chosen. Contrary to common belief, this practice also requires that both people be physically, emotionally and spiritually attracted to each other." I am not entirely sure what is meant by that. I wonder if there was some article published that claimed that Jewish matchmaking is entirely businesslike and devoid of feeling.
At any rate Ellie of the Dilettante Handbook reposted an article about a mass Jewish wedding (20 couples) in Havana. There had been no one to officiate so while all of the couples were married according to Cuban law, they hadn't had a Jewish ceremony. 3 Argentinian rabbis performed the ceremonies. Efratti describes a secular Israeli wedding that she attended. Pretty similar to an Orthodox Jewish wedding, the only differences being in the style of the bride's dress, and how the genders mix before and after the ceremony itself. If you want to see examples of what an Orthodox wedding looks like, go to OnlySimchas, which is a sort of bulletin board for good news in the Orthodox community: engagements, weddings, births, bar mitzvahs, people making aliyah, and so on. Also, it is a good way to waste a lot of time. Ask my roommates, we spent a great portion of our senior year avoiding writing our respective thesii and instead checking out bridesmaid dresses. Clearly a good use of our time.
Whatever, don't judge.
Anyway, it occured to me that Jewish weddings (at least traditionally observant ones) are pretty far from what a non-Jew, or secular Jew expects when they walk into the hall. Main differences:
-No speeches, drunken or otherwise at the reception
-almost everyone leaves early except immediate family and bridal party
-seperate dancing
-the pre-nup is read aloud during the ceremony
-sometimes the hug under the bridal canopy is the first time that the couple has ever touched
Helen of Indian Wedding has a pretty good rundown of the ceremony. She misses some of the symbolism, but it is a good outline. AtTheFamilyPlace has an interesting post by Tuppy where he/she says: "Beginning with a matchmaking ceremony, spiritual devotion is studied in stages before a lifelong partner is chosen. Contrary to common belief, this practice also requires that both people be physically, emotionally and spiritually attracted to each other." I am not entirely sure what is meant by that. I wonder if there was some article published that claimed that Jewish matchmaking is entirely businesslike and devoid of feeling.
At any rate Ellie of the Dilettante Handbook reposted an article about a mass Jewish wedding (20 couples) in Havana. There had been no one to officiate so while all of the couples were married according to Cuban law, they hadn't had a Jewish ceremony. 3 Argentinian rabbis performed the ceremonies. Efratti describes a secular Israeli wedding that she attended. Pretty similar to an Orthodox Jewish wedding, the only differences being in the style of the bride's dress, and how the genders mix before and after the ceremony itself. If you want to see examples of what an Orthodox wedding looks like, go to OnlySimchas, which is a sort of bulletin board for good news in the Orthodox community: engagements, weddings, births, bar mitzvahs, people making aliyah, and so on. Also, it is a good way to waste a lot of time. Ask my roommates, we spent a great portion of our senior year avoiding writing our respective thesii and instead checking out bridesmaid dresses. Clearly a good use of our time.
Whatever, don't judge.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Bootstrapping
According to No Shame in My Game:
"Established German Jews who had gained success in America by the end of the nineteenth century were embarassed by their poor brethren from the shtetls of Eastern Europe who were then landing in boatloads. The middle-class reformers among them who established well-financed and effective social service agencies to take care of their poor "Russian" kinsmen were motivated in no small measure by the desire to conceal these mortifying cases from the watchful eyes of mainstream society." (pg 168)
This method of assimilation has been followed in a number of ethnic enclaves, recently, and with the most success by Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The above paragraph is located within a chapter about the breakdown of social networks which can help the working poor to achieve social and economic mobility.
The question becomes, when these social networks break down, whose responsibility is it to replace/fix them? Is it the government? I tend to think so, but after reading an article on the projected raise of the minimum wage (from WashPo of course) it occurs to me, perhaps belatedly, that such a raise does not come without many possible pitfalls for those whom it is supposed to help. Clearly minimum wage cannot help the working poor on its own, our country is also desperately in need of welfare reform (and in my mind socialized healthcare). It is no accident that today the WashPo also ran an editorial by Robert J. Samuelson suggesting that we should cut entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security) to the boomer generation.
This topic has been one under discussion recently by my group of friends. The roommate's gentleman caller is the child of immigrants, and firmly believes in "bootstrapping." You know, pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. Just like Carnegie did. Just like many of our immigrant grandparents, great-grandparents did. However, in this time and place, I think (and No Shame agrees) that bootstrapping is limited to individuals or groups who have:
-Social or human capital, ie skilled workers, those who speak English well, can live cheaply or for free with family or friends.
-Few or no encumberments (like children or elderly relatives). One cannot support a single person, let alone more than one, on minimum wage in New York City, even by living in poor, depressed, or dangerous neighborhoods, without some form of assistance, either from a communal living situation, or public funds.
-Luck. A single accident or illness is catastrophic without health insurance and/or employment insurance.
We have created a situation where the poverty cycle is nigh on inescapable for many reasons (as outlined in the book No Shame, really, go read it), and no safety net for those trapped beneath it. Hard work is no longer enough to get ahead; as a society we need to accept that truth as the first step towards real change. Accord the working poor the dignity that they deserve, and then give up a larger cut of our paychecks so that their children have the same opportunities that ours do.
And here is where I get preachy and patriotic: America should be a land of opportunity, a true meritocracy, where equality of opportunity exists. The possibility for social mobility is what has made this country great, because with the chance for advancement comes our work ethic, and our ingenuity. Yes, we need to save Darfur, help rebuild after the tsunami and Katrina, but we also need to look in our own backyards.
"Established German Jews who had gained success in America by the end of the nineteenth century were embarassed by their poor brethren from the shtetls of Eastern Europe who were then landing in boatloads. The middle-class reformers among them who established well-financed and effective social service agencies to take care of their poor "Russian" kinsmen were motivated in no small measure by the desire to conceal these mortifying cases from the watchful eyes of mainstream society." (pg 168)
This method of assimilation has been followed in a number of ethnic enclaves, recently, and with the most success by Chinese and Japanese immigrants. The above paragraph is located within a chapter about the breakdown of social networks which can help the working poor to achieve social and economic mobility.
The question becomes, when these social networks break down, whose responsibility is it to replace/fix them? Is it the government? I tend to think so, but after reading an article on the projected raise of the minimum wage (from WashPo of course) it occurs to me, perhaps belatedly, that such a raise does not come without many possible pitfalls for those whom it is supposed to help. Clearly minimum wage cannot help the working poor on its own, our country is also desperately in need of welfare reform (and in my mind socialized healthcare). It is no accident that today the WashPo also ran an editorial by Robert J. Samuelson suggesting that we should cut entitlements (Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security) to the boomer generation.
This topic has been one under discussion recently by my group of friends. The roommate's gentleman caller is the child of immigrants, and firmly believes in "bootstrapping." You know, pulling oneself up by one's bootstraps. Just like Carnegie did. Just like many of our immigrant grandparents, great-grandparents did. However, in this time and place, I think (and No Shame agrees) that bootstrapping is limited to individuals or groups who have:
-Social or human capital, ie skilled workers, those who speak English well, can live cheaply or for free with family or friends.
-Few or no encumberments (like children or elderly relatives). One cannot support a single person, let alone more than one, on minimum wage in New York City, even by living in poor, depressed, or dangerous neighborhoods, without some form of assistance, either from a communal living situation, or public funds.
-Luck. A single accident or illness is catastrophic without health insurance and/or employment insurance.
We have created a situation where the poverty cycle is nigh on inescapable for many reasons (as outlined in the book No Shame, really, go read it), and no safety net for those trapped beneath it. Hard work is no longer enough to get ahead; as a society we need to accept that truth as the first step towards real change. Accord the working poor the dignity that they deserve, and then give up a larger cut of our paychecks so that their children have the same opportunities that ours do.
And here is where I get preachy and patriotic: America should be a land of opportunity, a true meritocracy, where equality of opportunity exists. The possibility for social mobility is what has made this country great, because with the chance for advancement comes our work ethic, and our ingenuity. Yes, we need to save Darfur, help rebuild after the tsunami and Katrina, but we also need to look in our own backyards.
Wednesday, January 03, 2007
Know Your Jewish Community: Modesty
I got started thinking about this topic after reading the article "What is Wrong With Cinderella" in the New York Times Magazine. The issue of modesty, or tzniut is one the I wrestle with fairly frequently. I used to dress exclusively in long skirts, and shirts that covered my collar bone and elbows. I felt that this was the way to be modest, but more than that, it sent a message about me to other traditionally observant Jews: that I was serious.
According to Semgirl, one should dress with modesty, but she is disturbed by the emphasis placed on this one observance over other virtues such as education, kindness, and dignity. Orthomom reports on a ruling in B'nei Barak that women should only shop at the 30 or so "pious" stores who stock only clothing that is appropriately modest. Beisrunner of All Your Beis addresses why the observance of modesty has historically been a female preserve. He suggests that it is because when the rules were made that women's desire was less of a factor than it might be now; they existed only as objects of desire, and not as people with desires.
I would submit that our concept of modesty has changed (as ably pointed out by Therapy Doc on Flam News), we, as a society have returned to the days when children were dressed as little adults, except this time the adult fashions that they are emulating are those of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Shira of On the Fringe, seems to agree, she states that the high incidence of less modest clothing is "evidence of a cultural shift." She even cites as an example a bat mitzvah girl (aged 12-13) who on her big day wore a low cut top that exposed her clevage.
I'm a big fan of dressing appropriately for the situation. Another comment that Shira made is that women used to dress in less formfitting clothes in professional situations. I for one, can't be sorry that those days are over. I like looking nice for work, there is something about looking good (and obviously professional) that helps me feel good about getting out of bed and going to work. For the record men's suits are a garment designed pretty much exclusively to make men look good. There is really no female equivalent, so I see the preponderance of attractive and well-cut women's suits as a step forward, an understanding that women are working in higher numbers and more prestigious positions, so they deserve the same accomodations as their male counterparts.
As for my personal dress, I still wear mostly skirts, but I now wear short sleeves, and sometimes allow my scapula to show. My feelings were that:
1) It is frickin' cold in New York. Some days skirts just don't cut it for warmth. G-d doesn't want me to freeze.
2) Wearing a long skirt and long sleeves in the summer makes me stand out, regardless of how covered I am, and draws (often uncomfortable) attention outside of New York where wearing a denim skirt is almost a statement of belief.
3) It is incredibly unfair that men don't have similar guidelines, how come they can swim, hike, bike, and ride horses in public, yet I can't? Unacceptable.
4) Why is it MY responsibility to keep someone else from sin? Also, I'm not really that egotistical to think that I am soooo hot that men are going to fall all over themselves if I show my elbows.
Granted, I think that the guidelines are a good starting point, but that the social outcomes are uncomfortable at best, and anti-feminist/repressive at worst.
According to Semgirl, one should dress with modesty, but she is disturbed by the emphasis placed on this one observance over other virtues such as education, kindness, and dignity. Orthomom reports on a ruling in B'nei Barak that women should only shop at the 30 or so "pious" stores who stock only clothing that is appropriately modest. Beisrunner of All Your Beis addresses why the observance of modesty has historically been a female preserve. He suggests that it is because when the rules were made that women's desire was less of a factor than it might be now; they existed only as objects of desire, and not as people with desires.
I would submit that our concept of modesty has changed (as ably pointed out by Therapy Doc on Flam News), we, as a society have returned to the days when children were dressed as little adults, except this time the adult fashions that they are emulating are those of Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Shira of On the Fringe, seems to agree, she states that the high incidence of less modest clothing is "evidence of a cultural shift." She even cites as an example a bat mitzvah girl (aged 12-13) who on her big day wore a low cut top that exposed her clevage.
I'm a big fan of dressing appropriately for the situation. Another comment that Shira made is that women used to dress in less formfitting clothes in professional situations. I for one, can't be sorry that those days are over. I like looking nice for work, there is something about looking good (and obviously professional) that helps me feel good about getting out of bed and going to work. For the record men's suits are a garment designed pretty much exclusively to make men look good. There is really no female equivalent, so I see the preponderance of attractive and well-cut women's suits as a step forward, an understanding that women are working in higher numbers and more prestigious positions, so they deserve the same accomodations as their male counterparts.
As for my personal dress, I still wear mostly skirts, but I now wear short sleeves, and sometimes allow my scapula to show. My feelings were that:
1) It is frickin' cold in New York. Some days skirts just don't cut it for warmth. G-d doesn't want me to freeze.
2) Wearing a long skirt and long sleeves in the summer makes me stand out, regardless of how covered I am, and draws (often uncomfortable) attention outside of New York where wearing a denim skirt is almost a statement of belief.
3) It is incredibly unfair that men don't have similar guidelines, how come they can swim, hike, bike, and ride horses in public, yet I can't? Unacceptable.
4) Why is it MY responsibility to keep someone else from sin? Also, I'm not really that egotistical to think that I am soooo hot that men are going to fall all over themselves if I show my elbows.
Granted, I think that the guidelines are a good starting point, but that the social outcomes are uncomfortable at best, and anti-feminist/repressive at worst.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Grandmothers
Last night I took CJ to meet my little old lady. I visit an older woman every week, once a week, as part of Dorot's Friendly Visiting program (you should check it out, they desperately need volunteers). Anyway, I have been visiting this woman for 5 years now, and she is basically a grandmother figure ( I have no living grandparents). CJ and I went to visit her, have some polishe latkes (apparently they are different) and shmooze*.
Amusing comments from the LOL, in no particular order:
-no, you go sit down, I am not used to a man in the kitchen.
-What? You want to help? With women in the kitchen? No.
-He is very cute. Hopefully the children will have your nose.
-You have a good job? You can support her?
I nearly died. My own grandparents all spoke English with an American accent, and even though several were foreign-born, had lost all vestiges of their European past, at least to my childhood observations. Before the LOL I had never had a true interaction with an Eastern European Jewish grandmother. All I can say is, if you haven't, you're missing out. The blunt honesty, constant feeding, and unqualified affection, all are pretty great.
*Shmooze is Yiddish for talk, hang out
Amusing comments from the LOL, in no particular order:
-no, you go sit down, I am not used to a man in the kitchen.
-What? You want to help? With women in the kitchen? No.
-He is very cute. Hopefully the children will have your nose.
-You have a good job? You can support her?
I nearly died. My own grandparents all spoke English with an American accent, and even though several were foreign-born, had lost all vestiges of their European past, at least to my childhood observations. Before the LOL I had never had a true interaction with an Eastern European Jewish grandmother. All I can say is, if you haven't, you're missing out. The blunt honesty, constant feeding, and unqualified affection, all are pretty great.
*Shmooze is Yiddish for talk, hang out
Monday, December 18, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Annie
TR said:
Annie,
As a non-religious person, I find it fascinating when a child (belonging to any faith) is more observant than his or her parents. It makes me question two assumptions of my assumptions:
1) That children are brainwashed by their parents to conform to a certain religion. The fact that you are more religious than your parents certainly suggests that you chose Judaism to some extent.
2) That religion is becoming increasingly obsolete and will eventually vanish from technologically advanced societies. If enough people maintain or increase the level of observance that their parents had, this will not be the case.
For the record, I was raised in a not-so-strict Episcopalian household. Both of my parents believed in God. If I wanted children (I don't), I would raise them as agnostics and strongly discourage, but not prohibit, them from joining a religion.
Annie, I am very curious as to why you decided to be more observant than your parents. Don't elaborate on this point if you don't want to, but if you did, I'd be very interested.
-TR
Now, I know that you all have been wondering about me, so I'll try to address The Rooster's comments, in as non-confrontational a way as possible.
1) I'd like to point out that I am not "more religious" than my parents, just more traditionally observant. I'm not really sure about their beliefs, but I am fairly certain that they line up with mine. My parents are dedicated members of a Conservative synagogue (my Dad is currently serving as president), and have been for many years. That said, my parents definitely instilled me with Jewish values and beliefs, and provided an atmosphere where I could grow Jewishly.
My brother(s) were both exposed to roughly the same atmosphere and made very different choices. The kid is anti-Judaism (as well as anti just about everything else), he just wants to fit in and be like everyone else, while my older brother is rather apathetic (those who know him may disagree with me here) although he has a very strong Jewish identity, and plans to marry Jewish and have Jewish babies. Which, as we know, is the most important thing.
2) If you look at the numbers (a la a recent study by Steven M. Cohen), I am not an anecdotal case, there is a demographic shift towards observance (for those who are affiliated within the Jewish community), and Orthodoxy. I personally believe that it is, in part, because traditionally observant people who have no wish to be clergy feel that they don't have a real place within the Conservative movement, outside particular centers such as Teaneck, NJ and Sharon, Mass.
As for my personal choices: when I was about 11 my family moved out of the US, as you may know in the rest of the world the choices for Judaism are Orthodox, or Orthodox. So we went to an Orthodox synagogue, and made good friends. I saw their lifestyle and really enjoyed it, the spirituality, the fact that there was a code of law which provided moral and ethical guidance for most situations and the sense of community. I liked having an enforced day off for prayer, reflection, study, and family. I liked that even eating was raised from being merely a neccesity to being an expression of faith... you can't just eat anything, you have to think about if it is acceptable, and then thank G-d for it.
As I got older I also began to enjoy the text study and intellectual side of Judaism. I love learning Mishna, and to a lesser extent Talmud. I find it a fascinating window into my people's past, and am often surprised at how sensitive the rabbis were to the needs of individuals; not just economically, but also emotionally. Yes, they were chauvenist, and racist/xenophobic, etc, but they were also of their time. I, like the late, great, Tikvah Frymer-Kensky, believe that Judaism isn't inherently patriarchal or chauvenist, but that it did not develop in a vacuum, and has been affected by its surrounds for thousands of years.
Hope that that answers your question. Anything else?
Annie,
As a non-religious person, I find it fascinating when a child (belonging to any faith) is more observant than his or her parents. It makes me question two assumptions of my assumptions:
1) That children are brainwashed by their parents to conform to a certain religion. The fact that you are more religious than your parents certainly suggests that you chose Judaism to some extent.
2) That religion is becoming increasingly obsolete and will eventually vanish from technologically advanced societies. If enough people maintain or increase the level of observance that their parents had, this will not be the case.
For the record, I was raised in a not-so-strict Episcopalian household. Both of my parents believed in God. If I wanted children (I don't), I would raise them as agnostics and strongly discourage, but not prohibit, them from joining a religion.
Annie, I am very curious as to why you decided to be more observant than your parents. Don't elaborate on this point if you don't want to, but if you did, I'd be very interested.
-TR
Now, I know that you all have been wondering about me, so I'll try to address The Rooster's comments, in as non-confrontational a way as possible.
1) I'd like to point out that I am not "more religious" than my parents, just more traditionally observant. I'm not really sure about their beliefs, but I am fairly certain that they line up with mine. My parents are dedicated members of a Conservative synagogue (my Dad is currently serving as president), and have been for many years. That said, my parents definitely instilled me with Jewish values and beliefs, and provided an atmosphere where I could grow Jewishly.
My brother(s) were both exposed to roughly the same atmosphere and made very different choices. The kid is anti-Judaism (as well as anti just about everything else), he just wants to fit in and be like everyone else, while my older brother is rather apathetic (those who know him may disagree with me here) although he has a very strong Jewish identity, and plans to marry Jewish and have Jewish babies. Which, as we know, is the most important thing.
2) If you look at the numbers (a la a recent study by Steven M. Cohen), I am not an anecdotal case, there is a demographic shift towards observance (for those who are affiliated within the Jewish community), and Orthodoxy. I personally believe that it is, in part, because traditionally observant people who have no wish to be clergy feel that they don't have a real place within the Conservative movement, outside particular centers such as Teaneck, NJ and Sharon, Mass.
As for my personal choices: when I was about 11 my family moved out of the US, as you may know in the rest of the world the choices for Judaism are Orthodox, or Orthodox. So we went to an Orthodox synagogue, and made good friends. I saw their lifestyle and really enjoyed it, the spirituality, the fact that there was a code of law which provided moral and ethical guidance for most situations and the sense of community. I liked having an enforced day off for prayer, reflection, study, and family. I liked that even eating was raised from being merely a neccesity to being an expression of faith... you can't just eat anything, you have to think about if it is acceptable, and then thank G-d for it.
As I got older I also began to enjoy the text study and intellectual side of Judaism. I love learning Mishna, and to a lesser extent Talmud. I find it a fascinating window into my people's past, and am often surprised at how sensitive the rabbis were to the needs of individuals; not just economically, but also emotionally. Yes, they were chauvenist, and racist/xenophobic, etc, but they were also of their time. I, like the late, great, Tikvah Frymer-Kensky, believe that Judaism isn't inherently patriarchal or chauvenist, but that it did not develop in a vacuum, and has been affected by its surrounds for thousands of years.
Hope that that answers your question. Anything else?
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Jewish Youth Culture Publications
Gawker seems to want to know where Not Chosen works. In the interests of helping them, I'm going to give a run-down of a few of the major Jewish publications.
Heeb: hipster, counter-culture, and generally quite entertaining, focus
es a lot on pop-culture.
According to their website: "Armed with poisoned pens and some duct tape, Heeb Magazine was brewed in Brooklyn in 2001 as a take-no-prisoners zine for the plugged-in and preached-out. Still wreaking havoc with unflinching coverage of arts, culture and politics, Heeb has evolved into a critically-acclaimed lifestyle magazine and the self-anointed voice of young Jews today. Now a multi-armed media monster, Heeb reaches hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide who look to it as the unholy gospel of the smart, funny and absurd."
Also, DK writes for them.
For more click here.
Zeek: A bit more highbrow, if with lamer release parties, Zeek is a "literary journal."
This means that not only are their contributors unpaid (I think), but also that the content is supposed to be arty. The contributors are not limited to the younger generation, either for good, or for bad, and they, like Heeb have a theme each issue. Founded in 2002, it is, according to its website:"an independent Jewish journal of thought and culture, which features innovative writers, artists, and critics whose work speaks to questions of Jewish culture, society, and spirit." For more click here.
Guilt and Pleasure: a product of Project Reboot, an attempt to attract young Jews to Judaism with culture. Or to solve the problem of (lack of) affiliation. Or to create Jewish culture. Or something. Anyway, aside from the reasons for its conception, Guilt and Pleasure is terrific. Highbrow, beautifully written and designed, fantastic art, and always has interesting pieces. Its goal, as per the website is to "make Jews talk more." Not so sure that that was really an issue with Jews as a people, but it certainly serves as the basis for many conversations, like "did you know that there was an official IDF magician?" or "why aren't there so many Jewish boxers anymore?" Long story short? I love G&P.
For more click here.
Jewcy: Tahl Raz's new project (did I mention that he is super-cutie?) it is supposed to be a sort of Slate-like, open source content, online magazine. The content is fairly uneven, but there are some terrific pieces, like the wikified Amidah, any content by Laurel Snyder or Joey Kurtzman, and of course their t-shirts. The tagline: "what matters now" seems a bit pretentious, but considering that the paid staff of Jewcy aren't claiming that they are the arbiters of what matters, I'm willing to let it go. I intitially agreed with Steven I. Weiss' view of Jewcy, but it's been growing on me.
For more click here.
Nextbook: I am not sure that this counts, but it should. A Jewish "Arts and Letters" Nextbook is just fabulous. They have online content, podcasts, a newsletter, and some programs that I wish that I could go to including a program called "one book, one congregation" where an entire synagogue can be a book club with books written specifically for the purpose. The topics include biographies of Maimonides, Emma Lazarus, Barney Ross, and others. For more click here.
For the record, I don't think that Not Chosen works at any of these magazines.
Heeb: hipster, counter-culture, and generally quite entertaining, focus
es a lot on pop-culture.According to their website: "Armed with poisoned pens and some duct tape, Heeb Magazine was brewed in Brooklyn in 2001 as a take-no-prisoners zine for the plugged-in and preached-out. Still wreaking havoc with unflinching coverage of arts, culture and politics, Heeb has evolved into a critically-acclaimed lifestyle magazine and the self-anointed voice of young Jews today. Now a multi-armed media monster, Heeb reaches hundreds of thousands of readers worldwide who look to it as the unholy gospel of the smart, funny and absurd."
Also, DK writes for them.
For more click here.
Zeek: A bit more highbrow, if with lamer release parties, Zeek is a "literary journal."
This means that not only are their contributors unpaid (I think), but also that the content is supposed to be arty. The contributors are not limited to the younger generation, either for good, or for bad, and they, like Heeb have a theme each issue. Founded in 2002, it is, according to its website:"an independent Jewish journal of thought and culture, which features innovative writers, artists, and critics whose work speaks to questions of Jewish culture, society, and spirit." For more click here.
Guilt and Pleasure: a product of Project Reboot, an attempt to attract young Jews to Judaism with culture. Or to solve the problem of (lack of) affiliation. Or to create Jewish culture. Or something. Anyway, aside from the reasons for its conception, Guilt and Pleasure is terrific. Highbrow, beautifully written and designed, fantastic art, and always has interesting pieces. Its goal, as per the website is to "make Jews talk more." Not so sure that that was really an issue with Jews as a people, but it certainly serves as the basis for many conversations, like "did you know that there was an official IDF magician?" or "why aren't there so many Jewish boxers anymore?" Long story short? I love G&P.
For more click here.
Jewcy: Tahl Raz's new project (did I mention that he is super-cutie?) it is supposed to be a sort of Slate-like, open source content, online magazine. The content is fairly uneven, but there are some terrific pieces, like the wikified Amidah, any content by Laurel Snyder or Joey Kurtzman, and of course their t-shirts. The tagline: "what matters now" seems a bit pretentious, but considering that the paid staff of Jewcy aren't claiming that they are the arbiters of what matters, I'm willing to let it go. I intitially agreed with Steven I. Weiss' view of Jewcy, but it's been growing on me.
For more click here.
Nextbook: I am not sure that this counts, but it should. A Jewish "Arts and Letters" Nextbook is just fabulous. They have online content, podcasts, a newsletter, and some programs that I wish that I could go to including a program called "one book, one congregation" where an entire synagogue can be a book club with books written specifically for the purpose. The topics include biographies of Maimonides, Emma Lazarus, Barney Ross, and others. For more click here.
For the record, I don't think that Not Chosen works at any of these magazines.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Modern Orthodox
If any of you actually read through yesterday's conversation, you would see that I defined Modern Orthodoxy as: "being modern, being religious, seeing the issue, and saying: Well, f**k."
Apparently I am a prime example of the "100th Monkey Syndrome" (brought to my attention by YoYenta!). According to XGH of Existential Angst "every blog" in the jblogosphere went over the question of "What is Modern Orthodoxy" a year ago. I am behind the curve. In the interests of creating new material, he focuses instead on what it means to be "Orthodox." Which is a short list.
XGH was responding to a recent post by Rabbi Gil Student of Hirhurim, on what it means to be Modern Orthodox (MO). While I don't really love his flippant "You might be Modern Orthodox if..." style, the points are unobjectionable, and describe me pretty well. Until the end, where he cautions his readers to "note that stringency and meticulousness in halakhah is not on this list." WHAT? I am unclear as to whether he is saying that MO does not include this practice, or if it goes without saying because the practices/beliefs are otherwise Orthodox.
Freelance Kiruv Maniac of the blog Voice from the Wilderness, in a post which he calls "remotely relevant" to the discussion on Hirhurim, gives three examples from a talk on Modern Orthodoxy of the problems that he sees with the ideology. They are: New ways of studying the Bible; the critical study of the history of halakhah; and new approaches to women's ritual roles.
In the blog post that started this debate Jshick of The Zionist Conspiracy asks a number of questions about how to classify Modern Orthodox people as Modern Orthodox. He says that "many who would be placed on the MO side of the divide are serious about Jewish observance and Torah study. Many on the charedi side have a positive view toward Israel and to secular knowledge and a negative view toward out-of-control daas Torah that leads to book bans and edicts regarding the Internet." He, in turn, is responding to Chananya Weissman's article in the Jewish Press on labelling observant Jews.
So, basically, the answer is: "Well, f**k."
Apparently I am a prime example of the "100th Monkey Syndrome" (brought to my attention by YoYenta!). According to XGH of Existential Angst "every blog" in the jblogosphere went over the question of "What is Modern Orthodoxy" a year ago. I am behind the curve. In the interests of creating new material, he focuses instead on what it means to be "Orthodox." Which is a short list.
XGH was responding to a recent post by Rabbi Gil Student of Hirhurim, on what it means to be Modern Orthodox (MO). While I don't really love his flippant "You might be Modern Orthodox if..." style, the points are unobjectionable, and describe me pretty well. Until the end, where he cautions his readers to "note that stringency and meticulousness in halakhah is not on this list." WHAT? I am unclear as to whether he is saying that MO does not include this practice, or if it goes without saying because the practices/beliefs are otherwise Orthodox.
No, drawing kippot on famous people never gets old.
Freelance Kiruv Maniac of the blog Voice from the Wilderness, in a post which he calls "remotely relevant" to the discussion on Hirhurim, gives three examples from a talk on Modern Orthodoxy of the problems that he sees with the ideology. They are: New ways of studying the Bible; the critical study of the history of halakhah; and new approaches to women's ritual roles.
In the blog post that started this debate Jshick of The Zionist Conspiracy asks a number of questions about how to classify Modern Orthodox people as Modern Orthodox. He says that "many who would be placed on the MO side of the divide are serious about Jewish observance and Torah study. Many on the charedi side have a positive view toward Israel and to secular knowledge and a negative view toward out-of-control daas Torah that leads to book bans and edicts regarding the Internet." He, in turn, is responding to Chananya Weissman's article in the Jewish Press on labelling observant Jews.
So, basically, the answer is: "Well, f**k."
Friday, November 10, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Jewish Identity
Jewish identity is a can of worms.
I'd like to start with the following quote from Rabbi Aron Moss at The Human Touch:
"The biggest threat to Jewish survival is confused Jewish identity. Sadly, today in many Jewish schools and families, Jewish identity is built through teaching Holocaust awareness and a fear of marrying out. The Jewish community’s preoccupation with assimilation and anti-Semitism is not the solution, it is the problem."
I find that blog posts about Jewish identity fall into three categories:
1) abstract discussion about "what IS Jewish identity"
2) what are the "problems"
3) personal accounts/feelings/struggles
As for my personal account: I just told Harley, my identity is pretty darn confused. I can recite the b-attitudes off by heart, as well as all of the books in the New Testament, but until I was 16 or so, I didn't know enough Hebrew to follow along with the amidah*. As I have gotten older, my perspective has changed, I now firmly believe that people should be able to observe/not observe whatever the heck that they want and call it Judaism. After all Shabbetai Tzvi converted to Islam, and claimed that it was the culmination of his Jewish beliefs.
Although Israel is an integral part of my Jewish identity, it isn't for 1/3 of young American Jews. QRSwave of The Truth Will Set You Free lists a few non-Zionist Jewish identities that already exist, so that you can pick your own.
And because you missed my microsoft paint magic, I have included an image of some ways that people define Jewish identity. See if you can guess what the heck I meant by each (and no, the last part isn't blank by accident, it is so that you can fill in your own).
*The word Amidah comes from the Hebrew word for standing, and refers to the silent devotion, which is part of every prayer service. During the weekday it is comprised of 18 blessings, so it is often called the "Shemoneh Esrei" or 18.
I'd like to start with the following quote from Rabbi Aron Moss at The Human Touch:
"The biggest threat to Jewish survival is confused Jewish identity. Sadly, today in many Jewish schools and families, Jewish identity is built through teaching Holocaust awareness and a fear of marrying out. The Jewish community’s preoccupation with assimilation and anti-Semitism is not the solution, it is the problem."
I find that blog posts about Jewish identity fall into three categories:
1) abstract discussion about "what IS Jewish identity"
2) what are the "problems"
3) personal accounts/feelings/struggles
As for my personal account: I just told Harley, my identity is pretty darn confused. I can recite the b-attitudes off by heart, as well as all of the books in the New Testament, but until I was 16 or so, I didn't know enough Hebrew to follow along with the amidah*. As I have gotten older, my perspective has changed, I now firmly believe that people should be able to observe/not observe whatever the heck that they want and call it Judaism. After all Shabbetai Tzvi converted to Islam, and claimed that it was the culmination of his Jewish beliefs.
Although Israel is an integral part of my Jewish identity, it isn't for 1/3 of young American Jews. QRSwave of The Truth Will Set You Free lists a few non-Zionist Jewish identities that already exist, so that you can pick your own.
And because you missed my microsoft paint magic, I have included an image of some ways that people define Jewish identity. See if you can guess what the heck I meant by each (and no, the last part isn't blank by accident, it is so that you can fill in your own).
*The word Amidah comes from the Hebrew word for standing, and refers to the silent devotion, which is part of every prayer service. During the weekday it is comprised of 18 blessings, so it is often called the "Shemoneh Esrei" or 18.
Monday, November 06, 2006
Know Your Jewish Community: Xenophobia
5 frum Brooklyn teenagers stand accused of viciously beating a Pakistani man.
This story was posted by: Chapetzim under the title Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Five Jewish Teenagers in Brooklyn, Adam Lawson of Modern Tribalist, Lonkd at Bangitout.com, and Vos Iz Neis under the title Brooklyn Teens involved in hate crime arrested.
Jew90 posted the story, and added the comment that" Something tells me that if the ethnicity and/or the religion of the victim and his attackers was switched certain weblogs would be going into apopleptic meltdown and citing various 'clash of civilisation' doomsayers and declaring it another front of a global jihad." Instead, as Dovbear reports, there are a group of apologists within the Jewish community. Orthomom reports on these apologists in even greater detail, calling them "sick. Truly, truly, sick." MinorFastDays, who considers this act a chillul hashem,* wants these boys to be charged "to the fullest extent of the law."
Dovbear and ATownCrier are both surprised by the fact that Yeshiva boys could attack anyone. ATowncrier goes so far as to ask what Yeshiva kids are doing with brass knuckles. On a slight variation of that, Rabbi Andy Bachman points out that these are all "kids" below the age of 18, and so their community must bear some responsibility for their actions. Shmarya at Failed Messiah also talks about community responsibility, exhorting his readers that "Midwood was the home-base for Rabbi Meir Kahane's US operation. Kahane's yartzeit is fast approaching. His followers were and are drawn heavily from both the Modern Orthodox and haredi communities. You do the math."
Last, but not least, Cole of Jewschool and JVoices asks how should one respond to a hate crime?
It is at times like this that it seems to me that our shtetl** mentality of "they oppress us because we are better, we are the chosen people" has worked a little bit too well.
*Chillul Hashem is a desecration of G-d's name through the actions of Jew who can be identified as Jewish.
**Shtetl literally means a ghetto in Yiddish.
Update 11.7.06: a Yiddish-speaking friend has just corrected me on the following: Shtetl means small town (town denoting a place with a market square, as opposed to a village, which has none), not ghetto. “Geto” means ghetto in Yiddish.
This story was posted by: Chapetzim under the title Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Five Jewish Teenagers in Brooklyn, Adam Lawson of Modern Tribalist, Lonkd at Bangitout.com, and Vos Iz Neis under the title Brooklyn Teens involved in hate crime arrested.
Jew90 posted the story, and added the comment that" Something tells me that if the ethnicity and/or the religion of the victim and his attackers was switched certain weblogs would be going into apopleptic meltdown and citing various 'clash of civilisation' doomsayers and declaring it another front of a global jihad." Instead, as Dovbear reports, there are a group of apologists within the Jewish community. Orthomom reports on these apologists in even greater detail, calling them "sick. Truly, truly, sick." MinorFastDays, who considers this act a chillul hashem,* wants these boys to be charged "to the fullest extent of the law."
Dovbear and ATownCrier are both surprised by the fact that Yeshiva boys could attack anyone. ATowncrier goes so far as to ask what Yeshiva kids are doing with brass knuckles. On a slight variation of that, Rabbi Andy Bachman points out that these are all "kids" below the age of 18, and so their community must bear some responsibility for their actions. Shmarya at Failed Messiah also talks about community responsibility, exhorting his readers that "Midwood was the home-base for Rabbi Meir Kahane's US operation. Kahane's yartzeit is fast approaching. His followers were and are drawn heavily from both the Modern Orthodox and haredi communities. You do the math."
Last, but not least, Cole of Jewschool and JVoices asks how should one respond to a hate crime?
It is at times like this that it seems to me that our shtetl** mentality of "they oppress us because we are better, we are the chosen people" has worked a little bit too well.
*Chillul Hashem is a desecration of G-d's name through the actions of Jew who can be identified as Jewish.
**Shtetl literally means a ghetto in Yiddish.
Update 11.7.06: a Yiddish-speaking friend has just corrected me on the following: Shtetl means small town (town denoting a place with a market square, as opposed to a village, which has none), not ghetto. “Geto” means ghetto in Yiddish.
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