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 6355360 @MCIMAIL . COM . its Imo Do You O f Think?" Is Passover preparation getting out of hand? To respond: "So, What Do You Think?" 27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034 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.