My interest was sparked for Judaic studies, so I decided to take another course and found this class.  I was particularly interested in this course because it would give me a whole other viewpoint on Judaism.  The former class focused only on a little bit of European Jews and the rest in America, where as this class would let me study Jews as a more global phenomenon.  Lucky for me, I was correct about that.

As we are at the end of the course, I am still more concerned with the cultural side of Judaism more than anything, as can be noted by the topics of my writings.  I feel like this course was necessary for me to come to that conclusion though.  We learned just how important a culture is in determining how Judaism functions.  We listened to how similar music styles were between Jews and non-Jews alike in the same geographic area and similarly with the food people eat.  I got the same feeling of amazement when reading about elderly Jewish women from Libya and comparing them to elderly Jewish women in America.  Their rituals and lifestyles are so markedly different, and the only explanation is different cultures.  One of the few real connections between the two is that they both identify themselves as Jewish.  Similar associations can be made with almost all the literature we read.

This course leaves me with a few more questions about Judaism and different cultures that may not have any answers.  How has Judaism been able to stay alive when it has been spread so thin across the globe?  How far back can some traditions be traced and why are those the ones that lasted while others didn’t?  Where will Judaism be in twenty years?  Alright, well the last one you definitely cannot answer, but it is interesting to think about.

This reminded me of all the literature we read about acculturation and Jews always being able to function and fully participate in the larger, non-Jewish culture.  It especially reminded me of the story of Gamaleil and the bathhouse, and in particular the quote “I did not come into her borders, she came into mine.” Gamaleil did not enter the bathhouse as a worshipper of the Greek gods.  He entered as a citizen of Greece, going about his everyday business just like any other Greek.  This is the same situation as my friends.  They are not partaking in Christmas activities as believers in Christianity; they are doing so as Americans.  You do not have to be Christian in order to enjoy songs about Santa Clause or watch A Christmas Story for twenty-four hours in a row.  In fact, there is hardly any religion in the holiday aside from going to church.  That is at least what I gained through my Christian side of the family.  What the holiday is more about is time shared with family and friends, finding ways to help your neighbors and enjoying the festivities and decorations.  All of those things do not require an ounce of religion.  What they do require though is being a part of the larger culture and partaking in such activities.

Brisket symbolizing the American Dream is a perfect example of Judaizing a cultural concept.  On the one hand, we have the American Dream as the rags to riches story, where people come to the country poor but are able to work their way into wealth and they show that by buying large, extravagant things.  On the other hand, we have a largely poor immigrant population looking to have a better standard of living and quality of life.  What better way to show that they gained some sort of status in the new country than by purchasing the biggest, best cut of beef possible, something they only had on a rare occasion in their old country only if they could afford it.  Now, brisket is used in the Jewish home to designate any special occasion from Jewish holidays like Passover to birthdays and anniversaries.

Brisket Judaized the American Dream by taking something that is commonly agreed upon as Jewish and applying it to the basic framework.  I look at it almost as a way the new immigrants pronounced that they were just as American as anyone else, but they still have a strong sense of their Jewish identity that they will not let go.

So, that got me thinking about other ways that the American Dream has been Judaized.  I feel like one can argue that the monstrous sandwiches from Jewish New York delis are another symbol.  This is because in these delis Jews are the business owners, another aspect of the American Dream, and they can show just how well their business is doing by serving such large quantities of meat on a sandwich.  I am sure that one can find many other examples, however I cannot think of anything else so exemplary of the concept.  Or maybe my mind is just hooked on food.

I think this is a very interesting approach to the subject.  Whether or not Jews claim to uniqueness is true, it still has a great effect on Jewish identity.  Many of the interviewees said that they proud to be Jewish, however there was not a real explanation as to why.  I know that I am proud to be Jewish, but the explanation is hard to come by.  I admit that part of it does stem from the fact that Jews are a unique part of society.  It is nice to feel a part of something that is bigger than you that also makes you different from most of the people in the world.  It is almost like being a part of an exclusive club.  Another part of it is that I take pride in the Jewish history.  The perseverance shown by my ancestors and other Jews alike through centuries upon centuries of discrimination and hate is highly inspirational.  I also have pride in keeping the traditions of Judaism, like having Passover Seder.

Overall, describing why you are proud to be Jewish is a difficult task.  I found it hard to express the specific reasons why I am proud of my Jewishness, however I do believe that it is connected to Jews believing they are a unique people.  If you think of yourself as the Jews described in the Bible, it is hard not to have high sense of pride in yourself and your people.

Essentially, I believe that what makes Jewish music Jewish is the context, in this case the lyrics.  The Jews have been around for so long and integrated into too many different cultures to have a standard, sweeping definition that applies to Jews in America, Yemen or wherever else a person is that considers themselves Jewish.  Think about the music we listened to in class Monday the 5^th.  The music from the Middle East sounded typical of any music from that area.  The song that almost sounded like an opera came from a trained opera singer.  The last two songs that are from our generation sound like songs that are playing on the radio.  The only thing that connects all of these songs is the lyrics.

Jewish music has to have something overtly Jewish about it, and the only thing that can do that is the lyrical content.  A lot of the songs we listened to were prayers and psalms, sung in a variety of ways with completely different instruments.  We even heard the same song a couple times, however they each sound completely different.  The only way these songs can be equated to being Jewish is the fact that they are songs are Jewish prayers.  Religion is not the only factor in the lyrics that makes a song Jewish though.  I consider the Matisyahu song we heard Jewish (yeah I know he talks about religion in it too) because he talks about Jewish history.  He mentions the Holocaust and the subsequent change to the face of Jewish Identity by being afraid and using the example of people changing their names.  The Eprhyme song I do not consider actually Jewish.  I could understand almost everything he was saying, and the only mention to Jewish culture was in the chorus with “crash like glass at a wedding.”  Other than that it was just his journey through the different genres of music he likes. If there was more of a mention to Jewish culture in any way then it could be possibly Jewish.  I would compare his music more to the Beastie Boys (not nearly as good), as it is clearly performed by a proud Jewish person but has no merit as a Jewish song.

And no, I do not believe just because a song is sung by a Jew makes it a Jewish song, like the one we heard the woman singing in Ladino.  I do not think anyone would consider Bob Dylan’s music prior to his born again period Jewish.  His music, even though possibly influenced by Jews, was just simply the music of a generation and culture with many other influences as well.  As for non-Jews singing what I qualify as Jewish songs, they would still be Jewish because of the content.  It works the other way around too.  “Oh Holy Night” is still a Christian song no matter if a Jew or a Muslim is singing it.

Later on in Sunday school (as I was presumably paying more attention) I learned of other practices around the world.  I got the explanation that it does not matter how you practice but more so develop a relationship with God.  The teacher went on to explain that the Bible is open to interpretation and everyone does so differently.  I did not truly understand how embedded the concept of interpretation was in Judaism until much later in life when I was out of Sunday school and only attending Temple on the major holidays like the exemplary secular Jew I am.

Though I do not remember learning about the Talmud in Sunday school (there were new buildings and billboards at this point), it serves as a great stepping-stone for interpreting Judaism.  When I learned about it I was amazed that Jews were interpreting the Bible and extrapolating ideas of religious law for about 1800 years.  At this point I was in high school (still gazing at the skyline) and knew more about Judaism in other parts of the world.  I found the idea of interpretation a sufficient enough explanation of how there could be so many different forms of the same religion.

But then I came to college, where I learned, and still am, that interpretation is just one part of the equation that equals the vast array of the types of Judaism.  With the help of courses I took about human behavior in both the psychology and economics department (not to mention this course), I saw the extreme importance of the culture a person is raised in.  Even though the Talmud is the interpretation of the Bible, people still need to interpret the Talmud.  This leads to interpretations of the interpretation in entirely different contexts with the outcome of extremely different results. So now it seems utterly impossible to have ever had a single form of Judaism.  A lot of time has passed since I asked my father who those people walking down the street were.