Community Views
Editor's Notebook
Jewish Identity:
Is It A Burden?
Telling The Truth
About Our Religion
RABBI DAVID NELSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS
ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR
OK. So now we
all know. The
truth is out.
Madeleine K. Al-
bright is the
grandchild of
Jews who per-
ished in the
Holocaust. And
this fact ties her
in a personal and tragic way to
Jewish history.
Don't misunderstand. The
facts as they have been
released do not make
her a Jew. Ms. Al-
bright's family con-
verted to Catholicism;
and when she married,
she became an Episco-
palian.
So, what's the big
deal? What does it mat-
ter since all of this is
only significant in her
personal life?
It matters because at
the very heart of the is-
sue is Jewish identity.
Why had Josef and
Mandula Korbel cho-
sen to abandon their in-
herited religious
tradition? Because to
be Jewish was always
to risk persecution, and
they were proudly,
completely assimilated
Czechs.
The reality of Jewish
persecution has been
profoundly and tragi-
cally true from the Ro-
mans to the Crusades
to the Inquisition: Jews
were offered the choice
of remaining alive and
living in a country if
they converted to
Christianity or they
were forced to flee. A
sizeable number of
Jews chose to convert outward-
ly, pretending they had adopted
the religion of their persecutors.
These Secret Jews, known as
Marranos, lived as Christians on
the outside, but kept the faith
David Nelson is rabbi of
Congregation Beth Shalom.
and lived as Jews secretly in strates the degree to which Jews
are seamlessly integrated into
their homes and hearts.
Madeleine Albright is a proud, American society. "There are
strong Episcopalian woman now 10 Jews in the Senate and
whose future in government will 24 in the House of Representa-
not be jeopardized by the fact tives."
And yet we — who have in-
that the world now knows she
credible opportunities at every
has Jewish roots.
Don't underestimate people, turn, who need not fear for our
though. Out there are those who jobs, our education — how do we
will say "another Jew in the gov- deal with our Jewish identity?
ernment." To those people, the Sadly, too often not too much bet-
Nazi definition is as good as any: ter than Josef Korbel. We inter-
marry, we assimilate,
and we have become
what the late Salo
Baron described as "in-
verted Marranos."
Professor Baron
was referring to those
who identify outward-
ly with the Jewish
community while at
the same time refrain-
ing from making any
strong inner commit-
ment to Jewish study
and to Jewish living.
We worry if our chil-
dren miss a soccer les-
son but don't care if
they make it to syna-
gogue. Bar mitzvah? Is
that important? Sure,
to the young adult; but
does the family use
this as an opportunity
to learn more as Jews?
And the day of the
bar/bat mitzvah?
From where I sit as a
rabbi on the pulpit, it's
hard to find a parent
who accompanied his
or her child to services.
Most of the young peo-
ple (friends of the cel-
ebrant) were dropped
off, giving a message
that so clearly says
Madeleine Albright:
A lesson for us.
this is not an impor-
tant activity or a fam-
Jewish grandparents, even just ily activity.
Madeleine Albright grew up a
on one side, is enough to "mark"
a Jew. But the tragedy of the Catholic; her parents left Ju-
Holocaust is history; the prob- daism behind by making a con-
lems of the '20s and '30s are be- scious choice about not having a
Jewish identity. Will our lega-
hind us.
J.J. Goldberg, author of Jew- cy to future generations fare any
ish Power, says the security of better? I certainly hope so, but
Ms. Albright's position demon- we've got a lot to work on. Ell
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its Imo
Do You
O f Think?"
Is Passover preparation
getting out of hand?
To respond: "So, What Do You Think?"
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An unrepentant
cynic, I have
many, many un-
favorite phrases
that otherwise
have captured
the imagination
of so much of the
world's "sensi-
tive" population
"Sharing is caring," for
example, positively makes my
skin crawl, as does, "You
are special!" and "Find the
God within you" (Where?
In my chest cavity? Somewhere
around my knees? Please!
Don't say He's in my abdomi-
nal area, where I still have
quite a few post-pregnancy
pounds to lose!)
"Ignorance is
bliss," is not
trendy, but I still
hate it. Ignorance
is not bliss. It's ig-
norance. This is
especially true, I
have found, when
it applies to reli-
gion.
I'm uncomfort-
able with what
has become a "wa-
tering down" of
Judaism in an ef-
fort to emphasize what we have
in common with our neighbors,
especially the Christian ones.
Well-meaning men and women
often present themselves as
ambassadors of Judaism, de-
spite the fact that they know
next to nothing about our reli-
gion. When talking with gen-
tiles, they love to bring up "our
shared belief in God" and "our
mutual commitment to helping
those in need," as though faith
could be boiled down to a "For-
rest Gump"-like philosophy. Al-
ways, the underlying message
is "See, we're not so different
after all!"
But of course we are differ-
ent, and I fail to understand
what's wrong with saying that.
I suspect the reason for all
this "let's talk about what we
have in common" stuff is Jew-
ish insecurity. If we tell other
people how much we're alike,
they won't hate us. They won't
ostracize us or, even worse, try
to kill us.
That's a legitimate concern,
as there is plenty of historical
precedence. It's hard to think
of a group that hasn't perse-
cuted Jews.
I have never believed,
though, that the path to mutu-
al understanding and securi-
ty is downplaying our identity,
or carefully weeding out so
many vital details of your own
faith that it could be any reli-
gion. On the contrary: I've
found that most gentiles are
quite interested in hearing
what makes Judaism unique,
and enjoy engaging in dialogue
about critical issues from our
different religious perspectives.
In short, gentiles are respect-
ful of Judaism when Jews
themselves are not.
I have a friend, Pete, who
works at a Catholic newspaper
in New York. We have had
many long discussions about
religion. Because we are both
quite serious about our obser-
vance, we don't have much in
common on this subject. Of
course we both believe in God
and believe in helping those
less fortunate. But it pretty
much ends there.
I really like
Pete, and I enjoy
speaking with him
because he's so ed-
ucated. When I
ask him what the
Pope had to say
about this or that
issue, or what
Lent is, or how of-
ten Catholics go to
Mass, he can an-
swer. He never
speaks about his
religion in a de-
meaning or conde-
scending way. He does not
make fun of those Catholics
with whom he disagrees, even
in the most severe way (as op-
posed to that obnoxious Jewish
habit of poking fun at members
of our own faith: "Those fanat-
ics! You know how they are!").
Nor does Pete ignore central
tenets of Catholicism in an ef-
fort to prove that, gosh, we
Jews and Catholics are prac-
tically the same!
Because Pete speaks with
honor about his own faith, he
makes me respect it as well,
though it has nothing to do
with my life. And I know that
because of our friendship, Pete
now has a much better under-
standing of, and appreciation
for, Judaism. To be honest, I
find I have much more in com-
mon with someone like Pete,
with whom I can intelligently
talk about religion, than with
those Jews who have no inter-
est in or education about Ju-
daism.
Mutual respect comes not
from ignoring our differences
but from understanding and
discussing them, and always
speaking with the utmost
integrity. There is no place
for lies when considering this
most central aspect of our lives,
faith.
Which brings me to anoth-
er popular saying — one I ac-
tually like: "Honesty is the best
policy." ❑
An
honest
discussion
begins
with
knowledge.