Race and Judaism

In class today, we discussed a particularly interesting topic. We were discussing what role race plays and Judaism. Are Jews even a race of people? Are there certain factors about our particular genetic makeup that constitutes what can or cannot be considered Jewish? The politically correct answer is absolutely not, yet there are still members of the Jewish community that choose to identify themselves as a particular race of people. For instance, today in class, several of the Jewish students had never heard of African-American Jews until later on in their lives (like around the time of their bar/bat mitzvah). There was also a case when a woman, when referring to a Jewish cantor with Asian facial features, asked questions about her being a convert or if she was adopted. I think that the reason that this is such a touchy subject is for the fact that Judaism is a multi-dimensional group of people that base identity factors on not just religious elements but also on cultural factors.

There was also something else that got me thinking. We had the opportunity to watch a film called Black Israel. It discussed the topic of Black Jews and what that meant in the grand scheme of the idea of Judaism and what that means. A key spokesperson on the topic of African-American Jews is Rabbi Capers Funnye, In talking about this idea, he made a pretty bold argument. He claimed that the first Jews in existence were Black. In the section of the film, he based this on evidence from the "hebraic practices" of tribes in Africa that have existed for hundreds of years before the slaves were taken from Africa. He also compares the struggles and plights of the African people with those of the Jewish people. But, does that mean that because two groups of people have had somewhat similar pasts that they are derived from the same roots? I personally do not think it does. I think that there can be a lot of grounds for having things in common and having a better understanding of one another, but I do not think that it means that they have to be the same group of people.

On the Birthright Experience.

I was given a bunch of interesting perspectives on the whole Birthright issue in class today. I was surprised to find that of all the folks in the class there was only one person who said that they would be willing to go back to Israel and spend more time over there. Others who experienced the trip had a fun time, but said that they had no desire to go back there to live. I also discovered that there was a big push on those tho experience the trip to live there. Why is this? It seems to me that there is a very strong Zionistic agenda behind the whole experience. It seems to me that there is a "retreat high" that accompanies these kind of trips. By retreat high, I mean the amazing feeling that comes with the experience. You feel like you can set the world on fire by yourself or are consumed with the experience. It always happens that the high eventually goes away. The high is an extremely good thing because it always magnifies the passions and most of the time yields constructive results. It seems to me that the experience was more like a vacation though because just about everyone who went to Israel for a Birthright trip or tour walked away WITHOUT a concrete, transforming experience. At least none that lasted anyway. I actually think that most experiences in life are like this. Religious, community building, retreats, conferences, everything. I wish I knew more about what exactly it is that goes on at these things. I actually checked out the main website for the Taglit-Birthright Israel and saw a page completely dedicated to the young adult demographic. I even watched the little video that promotes it, and the first thing I observed was the bright, seemingly tropical colors. Clean cut, young guys and girls with sunglasses only added to the vacation image of the website and thus, the whole Birthright experience. Could a vacation type atmosphere be one of the reasons for the lack of lasting impressions for those who participate in the Trip?

Jewish Sounds?

F359 has been an amazing class for me. It really has helped me to get exposed to different aspects of Judaism that I would have probably not have been exposed to otherwise. Not only have I seen different movements of Judaism, I have gotten a chance to look at everyday aspects through "Jewish eyes." One of these aspects that is incredibly important to me is music. One of the topics we discussed was the issue of Jewish music and what it is. But does it even exist? There are arguments on each side of the question that I have been exposed to. First of all, there are certain aspects of music that I think of when I think of Jewish music. From the instruments to melodic and harmonic structure, there seems to be similarities within what one might call Jewish music. When the vocals are sung in the Hebrew language, there are certain vowel and consonant sounds that stick out. Words that contain a "ch" within themselves are usually what I think of. Along with this, many forms of Jewish music were influenced from music within the middle east. To me, I hear very distinctive modal characteristics that resemble forms of the phrygian mode as well as the harmonic minor scale. The instrumentation also plays a role. The sound of clarinets, violins, and violas are usually what I think of when I think of Jewish music. On the other side of the argument says that there is no such thing as Jewish music. Some feel this because there are so many counter arguments that could be made against its existence. For example, if I learned Hebrew and decided to write a song about my favorite kind of ice cream and write it in a phrygian mode, then does that make it Jewish? Even if a Jew writes a song that sounds like Metallica or Stone Temple Pilots, does that make it Jewish because it was by a Jew? I do not feel that it does. I think what gives music Jewish characteristics comes down to the intentions and the ideologies that exist behind the music is being listened to.

"This Land is Your Land"

The concept of Jewish travel and tourism is a fascinating thing to me. Especially when it comes to taking a trip over to Israel. I think that it is such an awesome thing to have a place in the world that affects so many people in such a specific way. Looking at my own life, I guess that really the only place that could be compared to this part of the Jewish experience would be the Vatican in Rome. Many Catholics that I know have traveled there or plan to travel there because it is the center of Catholic Christianity. Thinking about it, Jerusalem or Bethlehem would be other places that would hold extreme significance in sentimental ways because of the important aspects of the life of Christ that took place there. There is a big difference between the two viewpoints though. While Jerusalem, the Vatican, and Bethlehem may be extremely important because of the events that have taken place there, Israel is important because of this factor but more importantly because of what it is. It is a state that is claimed for the Chosen people of God. The mere fact that the land is called "Israel" carries with it a lot of significant symbolism. Since it's institution, Jews of all ages are encouraged to study the meaning of this important place as well as it's history. We read a reading this past class that was addressing one of these seminars that teach young people about Israel and important places within its geography as well as symbolic locations that are discussed in the Torah. Having a state completely dedicated to one group of people, no matter how diverse they are, allows those affiliated with it to have a tangible aspect of their identity.

Don't Believe Everything You Read

The holocaust was obviously one of the most horrific events to ever happen in human history. It has affected and continues to affect, and will continue to affect humanity for the rest of time. Recently, a woman who wrote a popular holocaust memoir that has sold thousands and thousands of copies and touched many many people came out and admitted that her story was fictional. This made countless of people upset and offended, particularly some of us in my F359 class at Indiana University. But, why was this an issue what made us upset? Why, if the book still reached us in a deep personal level and promoted a feeling of respect and reverence for the gravity of the event, are we still offended by the falseness of the memoir? I do have a possible explanation. Could it be that because of our age and disconnectedness with the whole event, the stories that we hear from others recalling the holocaust are all we have to hang on to? So, if one of those stories that we have accepted are shown to be false, it causes us to rethink other things that we have accepted as truth. This is a very disturbing feeling for we as people. It feels as though the rug has been swept out from under us. Like our foundation is shaken. In the end, however, I feel that experiences like these can only in the end produce good fruits and make us more secure in the knowledge we have. These experiences teach us a valuable lesson in life: to not believe everything we read, question the information we are given, consider the point of view of the sources that give us the information, and ultimately, to think for ourselves. All this is well and good, but even so, the falseness can be offensive because the word of those who claim they have experienced such tragedies are pretty much all we have to go off of. When someone tells us that a piece of information is the truth, and then later claim that it wasn't, especially when it was a truth that affected us on a very deep level, I think that it will always hurt in some way or another.

"Funny, she doesn't LOOK Druish!"

This is a quote that is in what I believe to be one of the funniest movies of all time--Mel Brooks' "Spaceballs." The movie was written and directed by a Jewish guy and I think that him placing a quote like that in the film addresses Jewish appearance stereotypes. I have been thinking a lot about our discussion over a movie we watched in class called "The Tribe." Throughout the film (which was basically a commentary on Jewish identity) was this whole issue of Barbie. The reason this was such a big deal is because people argue that Barbie is a representation of the times and portrays in a stereotypical way certain aspects of American life like lifestyles, cultures, and careers. One issue that members of the Jewish community had with Barbie was the fact that even though she was created by a Jewish woman, the doll doesn't look very Jewish. As a matter of fact, the only way I was able to tell that the inventor of Barbie was Jewish was because Dr. Cohen told us in class. I must not have any idea what a Jew is supposed to look like. I have heard about certain stereotypes about Jewish appearance but I think that they are stupid. Here's the main issue for me though. No group of people want to be stereotyped or pinned down to others expectations as far as actions or looks go, yet some people are complaining because the appearance of Barbie doesn't represent a group of people well enough. To me, this almost sounds like those concerned are kind of ASKING to be stereotyped. What does it mean to look Jewish, or Christian, or American, or Peruvian, or Alaskan, etc...? Does it mean anything?