Culture and Ethnicity

I am sorry that I have not updated the blog in the last few weeks. I have a lot on my plate right now so I just wanted to leave you with an essay that I wrote for my conversion classes with my rabbi.

The Role of Culture and Ethnicity in Judaism

The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice, and the desire for personal independence - these are the features of Jewish tradition that make me thank my stars that I belong to it. ---Albert Einstein

Judaism is not only a religion it is a total way of life. Ethnicity and culture are important parts of Judaism. Culture and ethnicity are both expressed through such mean as art, food, literature, music, entertainment, language, family, community, and the struggle for social justice. Ethnicity is defined as being part of a "group of people recognized as a class on the basis of certain distinctive characteristics, such as religion, language, ancestry, culture, or national origin. (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983 p. 242) One of the defining characteristics of Jewish ethnicity is the Jewish religion. Judaism was the first well-known, worldwide monotheistic faith. The Jewish religion is recognized worldwide as a distinctive characteristic of the particular ethnic group known as Jewish. The language(s) of Judaism are also a particular aspect of Jewish ethnicity. Hebrew, the religious and vernacular, is the language of Judaism. There is also Yiddish that, while not as widespread among Jews, has also become identified with Judaism the same as Hebrew has over the centuries. The ancestry of the Jewish people goes back thousands of years to the patriarchs and matriarchs. In addition to this the birth of a child to a Jewish mother perpetuates the ancestry of the Jewish people since that child is Jewish. While Jews have been spread out throughout the world there has always been a connection to the land of Israel. This connection has only grown stronger in the last fifty years with the establishment of the State of Israel. Ethnicity is inextricably linked to culture.

Culture is defined as “the arts, beliefs, customs, institutions, and all other products of human work and thought created by a people or group at a particular time.” (The American Heritage Dictionary, 1983 p. 169) The arts and entertainment arenas have been home to many Jews. There has not been much argument about what constitutes Jewish entertainment but what constitutes Jewish art has been less than universally accepted. One of the unique aspects of Jewish art is how the Law affects what can and cannot be used in art. For example, Jews are not allowed to represent G-d in any form of art. There are also other Laws, such as those regarding the use of the sun and moon in art, which affect what (religious) Jews are permitted to use in their art. This shows how Jewish ethnicity (religion) affects and interacts with Jewish culture. Judaism is no different from other cultures in that it has its own unique beliefs. These beliefs in Judaism range from the religious to the superstitious—from monotheism to the story of Lillith. There are customs that are unique to Judaism such as eating latkes on Chanukah and tri-cornered pastries on Purim. There are also customs that, while not unique to Judaism, are found throughout Judaism. One of these customs is the fight for civil rights and social justice. Judaism does have its unique institutions. Some of these are the synagogue, the Temple, yeshivas, and the Jewish Community Center.

While there are plenty of similarities between Jews regarding their ethnicity and culture it must be kept in mind that there are also many varying degrees within Judaism. There are differences between Sephardim and Ashkenazim; between Israeli Jews and American Jews; between Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist, and Reform movements; and, of course between each individual Jew.

© Rachel-Esther bat Avraham 2003-2008