I found our class about Jewish music very interesting. I was unaware that there was such a wide variety of sounds and genres that qualified as “Jewish” music. I had never really considered that music other than that played in temple or at other Jewish ceremonies could be classified as Jewish music. I really enjoyed the array of samples we heard. Some of the prayers we heard at the beginning of the class were familiar to me. To me, this is what I picture as Jewish music. I think of prayers and hymns that I hear in temple as Jewish music. I was, however, very interested to hear that many of the tunes the prayers were set to were developed recently (most within the last century).

The most interesting part of the class was when we began to listen to the more contemporary music. As I said before, my perception of Jewish music has always been prayers and music played in synagogue. Listening to some of the modern-day Jewish music, such as the reggae styling of Matisyahu, really got me thinking differently about what defines music as Jewish. Instead of keeping with my original thoughts that Jewish music had to be religious in nature to be considered “Jewish”. Matisyahu is just one example of secular Jewish music. I thoroughly enjoyed listening to his song Jerusalem. The lyrics coupled with the reggae music was new, but very pleasurable. This may be a strange comment to make but while I was listening to Matisyahu, I couldn’t help but think Jerusalem was just as much a Jewish song as religious prayers and hymns you hear in temple.

Lowenstein also talked about the origins of Jewish music and how many of the tunes and other aspects of the music came from different cultures and groups of people. I spent a good deal of time talking about the fluid boundaries of Judaism (and in particular Jewish music) in my midterm essay. Lowenstein says on page 177, “We know that much Jewish folk music, whether secular or religious, is borrowed from, or at least influenced by, the musical traditions of the people among whom the Jews lived.” I was very unaware prior to taking this class that so much of Jewish music comes from other cultures. This class period as well as the corresponding readings completely changed my perspective of Jewish music.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the fieldwork assignment interviews merely because I learned so much from them. One of the discussion topics that really caught my attention was the talk of interfaith marriages. I also remember talking about Jewish appearance and ancestry in class. I am particularly interested in this topic because I am the product of an interfaith marriage. My mother is an Irish Catholic and my father is Jewish.

I was very surprised to read through the interviews and see how many people were opposed to marrying outside of the Jewish faith. I never considered the topic much because it has never been a concern for me. However, I think the most interesting aspect of these discussions was the reasoning behind keeping marriages between people of Jewish faith.

Many of the interviewees were questioned about potential life partners and the importance of their religious beliefs. An overwhelming number of young participants said they could not see themselves marrying outside the Jewish religion. One participant even said that if she were to fall in love with someone who was not Jewish she would expect him to convert. Even some of the participants who were older mentioned being opposed to interfaith marriage, not just for themselves, but also for Jewish people throughout the world. I posed this question of interfaith marriage to one of my participants. My eighteen-year old friend agreed with the majority of those who were interviewed. She said that she does not plan on marrying someone who is not Jewish. Her mother has always told her, “Be sure you find yourself a nice Jewish boy one day”.

Lowenstein’s chapter on appearance and ancestry provided insight into the reasoning behind marrying within the Jewish people. The fear of converts after the rise of Christianity and Islam in areas predominantly populated by Jews was something I knew nothing about. Separation from these other religions led to communities almost entirely populated by born Jews (Lowenstein, 225). There has been much evidence, however, to suggest that the Jewish population has never been completely devoid of the gene pool of the outside world.

I thought this would be an interesting matter for me to comment on simply because this is a topic that, although it directly applies to me as a product of an interfaith marriage, it is not something I have ever thought much about. Also, I would say about half of the families (maybe more) who belong to my temple are interfaith couples. All of this opposition to marrying outside of Judaism was something that surprised me and really opened my eyes to a new aspect of my religion that I was unaware existed.

Something that was very prevalent throughout the fieldwork assignment interviews and was also a topic I talked about a great deal in my first paper is the concept of Judaism as more than just a religion, but as a cultural group.

Judaism is a unique religion in the sense that many people who identify as Jewish are not devout or do not observe religious holidays or attend temple. A few people in their fieldwork interviews even mentioned that they are atheists but still identify as Jewish people. I have noticed this phenomenon in my daily life. I have many friends and family members who are proud of their Jewish history. Many have mentioned they feel as though they belong to some sort of special “club” that is extremely difficult to gain access to. Despite their pride in their religion, they rarely attend temple (some of them not at all) and often they are unaware of High Holy days and other holidays. Very few know Hebrew and those who do know it know a small amount from when they had their bar/bat mitzvahs. Religion is virtually absent from their lives, yet they identify as and take great pride in their Jewish roots.

The way many of the interviewees as well as friends and family in my life stay connected to Judaism is through cultural things such as food, music and family. A common theme running throughout the interviews is the concept of secular Judaism. This is how a majority of the participants identify themselves, indicating that being Jewish is a an excuse to, for example, get together and enjoy delicious Jewish meals and spend time with family and friends. Many of the participants also talked about being Jewish meaning making and following Jewish as well as family traditions. The people that I interviewed mentioned the same things in great detail. My grandmother for example spoke extensively about the pride she feels as a Jewish woman. She said “We can’t really explain the religion but can only feel pride when we talk about it.” This is the general feeling I got from the women I interviewed as well as the rest of the participants.

This leads me back to this concept of secular Judaism and the rarity of it. I have friends who come from a plethora of religious backgrounds, and none of them feel the same way about their religion as my Jewish friends. When asked her heritage, my best friend replies “American and Jewish”. Judaism is more than just a religion to many people (in particular I think the younger generations) and this unique and special cultural identity connects Jews from all over.