What do Jews share? 1. The long, ugly, brutal and shameful history of persecution suffered by our parents and ancestors. 2. Love! That wonderful - magical - mysterious - overwhelming cacophony of emotions and chemical responses which bind us to our partners, our children and our tribes for the preservation of our species, that acts as the foundation for the formation of families and the creation of that company that prints pithy emotional slogans on tiny candy hearts at Valentines Day. 3. Culture. From Gerswhin, to Saul Bellow, Isaac Beshevis Singer, the shared affection for Yiddish curse words. My favorite? Alter kockers! The Marx Brothers, Fiddler on the Roof, Blazing Saddles, Woody Allen... and Alicia Silverstone. OK, Alicia Silverstone might just be the fellas. 4. Tradition. Friday night dinners with family, Passover, Chanukah, et al. Plus, the passion and pride felt when these traditions are passed along to our children. Jews are typically progressive. Modern Judiasm is malleable and has a mechanism to adapt and adopt modernity. Of the major religions -- Judiasm is the only one that historically has welcomed women and gays into leadership positions. 5. Philanthropy. 6. We are bound together by a shared love of Jewish food. Brisket, matzo ball soup, black and white cookies, kuggle, brisket, matzoh ball soup, pastrami, black and white cookies, black and white cookies... So: thats a LOT of things that bind us together - the sum total of which -- combine to make us Jewish. (read the full post by John Hotchkiss) huffingtonpost/jon-hotchkiss/post_6701_b_4629544.html
Posted on: Thu, 23 Jan 2014 17:08:38 +0000
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