Near the end of class this afternoon someone mentioned how they worry that the way the Holocaust is portrayed today might lead to the desensitization of future generations. We also discussed how the United States’ perception of the Holocausts differs from that of Europe in that it focuses the event on the losses of the Jewish people while in some ways downplaying those of other groups. From these two points, I could not help but think of a discussion I had with a friend a few years ago who was pointing out the many ways he thought Jews exerted power in the United States. He discussed Jewish influence in politics, though that would be considered more specifically an Israeli influence, and also within Hollywood and the media, stating that if you played a Jew in huge production Holocaust movie you were automatically a “shoe in” for an Oscar but if you did an amazing job playing a Nazi your chances at getting an award were quite low. Another point he made was how the Jewish suffering during the Holocaust was “over publicized” in the US, ignoring other groups that suffered.

I think many people would consider my friend an anti-Semitic but I would disagree. Our class seemed to share a few of his ideas though perhaps in a more sensitive and politically correct way. Nevertheless, pulling from the article we read today “Lest We Forget!” by Jonathan Webber, it would make sense that the US perception of the Holocaust is focused on Judaism. Webber writes that the Holocaust has become a way to identify oneself as Jewish within secular Judaism. This form of identification has not been so much associated with God or rabbinic forms of Judaism, thus resulting in conflicts between the Secular and Rabbinic Jewish community regarding their individual stance on this historical tragedy.  Organized and popular reform and secular Jewish communities mainly exist in the United States. Webber focuses his article on the subject of the Holocaust myth however, the idea outlined above already provides insight on why the Holocaust “belonged exclusively to Jewish history” in America (Webber 107).

In this class, a large portion of our discussion surrounding cultural boundaries is in relation to how Jews created boundaries between themselves and other cultures. We have spent some time talking about the differences between movements in Judaism and among individuals, but we have not really referred to these differences as boundaries. I wonder if this language is rarely used to discuss interactions among Jews, because it is uncomfortable to recognize that Jews are actively working to separate themselves from each other, as well as other populations. Borrowing, rejecting, and dividing are concepts that are most certainly not exclusive to Jews’ relations with non-Jews. It would be nearly impossible to acknowledge all of the ways in which this happens within Judaism. Because of this, I would like to explore how I have begun to recognize my own borrowing and rejecting processes within Judaism and how these processes have shaped my own cultural boundaries.

I recently attended a very untraditional Rosh Hashanah(Jewish New Year) service in a neighborhood park. I do not think of myself as particularly traditional, Jewish or otherwise, but I think that in experiencing something so untraditional, I was made much more aware of my traditional tendencies. Some of the Jewish cultural boundaries we discussed in class relate to food, costume, music, and religious practices. Costume is an example of a boundary I used to separate myself from fellow Jews in the park on Rosh Hashanah. Because we were in a park, many people there wore jeans and other casual attire. As appealing as wearing jeans sounded to me, I could not bring myself to wear them. Something felt funny to me about dressing so casually for one of the most important days on the Jewish calendar. I chose to wear a skirt. This boundary is not only a visible boundary to others, but also a personal time boundary. I believe that part of my inability to dress casually came out of the desire to create an internal boundary between my everyday life and the time of the High Holy Days. This can arguably be done through means besides clothing, but perhaps my use of clothing reflects my borrowing of more traditional ideas. My clothing that day created more than one boundary. I arrived in a jacket covering my shoulders that I later removed after spending some time in the sun. Uncovering my shoulders would always be seen as unacceptable in an Orthodox setting, and it would have been equally inappropriate during a High Holy Day service in my Conservative synagogue.  By rejecting this notion of modesty I made a second boundary. This time it was not between a more liberal Jewish population and me, but rather a more conservative one.

This specific costume choice is only one small example of boundary making in my own life and lives of other Jews. Of course, my experience is not representative of all Jews, it is not meant to be generalized. However, I feel that my borrowing, rejecting, and boundary creating is particularly reflective of my experience as a Conservative Jew.  I find the desire or need to create boundaries to be very interesting. This Jewish desire for separation starts on a large scale with separation from other cultures, continues into divisions in the form of movements in Judaism, and still proves necessary in the lives of individuals. Sometimes we experience and internalize boundaries without even realizing, but it is especially fascinating to step back and examine their existence and influence in our lives.