OTHER VIEWS
Single Exposure
M
ommy, do I know anybody
that's not Jewish?" my 4-
year-old son asked me
while we were driving home from the
pizza place.
Discussing religion was nothing
new My children often comment on
how friends and family members
observe Judaism.
I started to answer, "Mr. B., our
neighbor" when he interrupted. "I •
mean like a friend or someone in my
family."
"How about cousin Natalie's hus-
band?" I offered. The peremptory
tone in my son's voice grew.
"He doesn't even live in Michigan
and he's not a kid!"
I was a little bit troubled that I
couldn't come up with a "good
answer" for him. Our kids have
always attended Jewish schools. Their.
summer camps were more diverse, but
offered comfortable associations with
school friends attending the same ses-
sion. We live in a "mixed" neighbor-
hood, however, the neighbors with
kids on our street happen to be
Jewish. How do I teach tolerance of
diversity when my children barely
associate with people of other faiths?
I discuss these concerns with my
peers, some of whom send their chil-
dren to Jewish day schools and some
who do not. Parents who send their
kids to parochial school feel strongly
Susan E. Schulman is a West
Bloomfield resident.
that children need to know who they
are first, before they try to figure out
the rest of the world.
The curriculum helps build a reli-
gious and cultural identity, and the
students benefit from an insulated
social circle. Public schools, on the
other hand, present a truer snapshot
of the world, nurturing students'
knowledge of religious diversity. One
Jewish friend sends her daughter to
public school and chuckles about her
two best friends:. One is Japanese and
one is Chaldean. "But she is starting
Joe Cornell dance class and will be
going to bar mitzvahs soon," my
friend comments, so her social circles
may change.
How Important Is It?
My son's question still bothered me. Is
it important for a young child to
know about other religions? He learns
and participates in acts of chesed
(human kindness) almost daily: caring
for siblings, helping the elderly, giving
charity, respecting adults. Although
we promote these behaviors based on
Jewish values, they are truly tools to
hell p him relate to all people. He may
be too young to recognize it, but as a
parent I see it working when he inter-
acts with others.
Back in the car, my daughter was
thinking, as always. "Ann, the baby
sitter, isn't Jewish!" she yelled tri-
umphantly. I won't forget the first
time that blond-haired, blue-
Kosher Pretzels
eyed teenager walked into our
Nonetheless, the issue of reli-
kitchen. My daughter's face lit
gion subtly appears. As
up with the prospect of play-
Halloween approached, the
ing with a real-live Barbie
boys gave my son a package
doll.
of pumpkin-shaped pretzels.
I thought the first question
He noticed the kashrut
on her lips would be, "Do you
symbol on the bag and
SUSAN E.
know how to braid hair?" But
assumed his new friends kept
SCHULMAN
instead she asked, "Do you
kosher. Though surprised to
Community
speak Hebrew?" I held back
learn they were not even
Views
my laughter and was
Jewish, he seems unaffected
impressed with Ann's answer:
by this knowledge.
"No, I speak French, but you could
When my son ogles Christmas dec-
teach me some Hebrew."
orations in his buddy's house, he casu-
Our daughter wrote "Ann" phoneti- ally asks me about religious differ-
cally in Hebrew, then led her to the
ences, but only after he has enjoyed
basement to play school. Like any
another round of sliding down the
parent watching a new baby sitter
gigantic box! Again, child play over-
interact with their. children, I stood
shadows religion.
silently at the top of the staircase. I
Ultimately, my son found an answer
saw my toddler stroking Ann's hair,
to his own question. I am delighted
while my older son surprised her with
that Jewish values and good midot
a hug and kiss on the back of her
(behaviors and character traits) are
head. Ann is a lovely role model for
shaping his identity. They help him
my children; inviting my daughter to
relate kindly to all children and
teach her Hebrew helped build rap-
adults. He knows that we are giving
port between people of different
tzedakah. (acts of righteousness) when
faiths.
he places pennies in the Salvation
Most recently, my son befriended
Army kettle.
our piano teacher's darling boys, who
Then he pauses to consider whether
are not Jewish. They are about his age
Santa Claus might be Jewish, since
with shared interests in child-size
he has a beard and wears a hat."
vehicles and gigantic, empty boxes.
With laughter and learning, this
Playing together only half an hour
Jewish child is growing into a child of
each week, the children are oblivious
the world. ❑
to each other's religion.
`Maoz Tzur' To The Tune Of ...
0
ne of my favorite memories as a
camper at Camp Ramah in
Canada happened during a reg-
ular weekday morning service.
Toward the end of the Shacharit serv-
ice, the ba'al tefillah (prayer leader)
began singing "Adon Olam" to the tune
of "Light my Fire," by Jim Morrison
and the Doors. For those of you not of
a "certain age," the Doors were a 1970s
rock and roll group — not particularly
noted for their religious piety
While not one of my "favorite" ver-
sions of "Adon Olam" (I prefer "Rock
Around the Clock" or "Scarborough
Fair"), the memory has stayed with me
over the years and has even acquired
some significance beyond its story value.
The term that musicologists use to
describe the use of a pre-existing melody
with a new, unrelated text is a contrafac-
tus. An example of a contrafactus is the
American hymn "My Country Tis Of
Thee," which is sung to the original
melody of the English anthem
environment. For example,
freut euch liebe Christen emein.
"God Save the King". (Today,
during the 13th and 14th cen-
And the source for the haunting
we might cqllcontrafacta "copy-
turies, a great deal of cultural
melody of "Eli Tzion," sung on Tisha
righ t infringement.")
and social exchange took place
b'Av and during the three weeks of
In Jewish liturgical music, the
between Franco-German Jews . mourning preceding it, has been identi-
use of "foreign tunes" is much
and neighboring Christian
fied as a Gregorian chant belonging to
more prevalent than is generally
the liturgy of Saint James of Santiago de
communities.
known. Especially within the
Compostela.
Chasidic tradition, the adoption
CANTOR
There is a reason I chose to share this
Borrowed Tunes
of foreign melodies was actually
bit of Jewish music history trivia — and
DANIEL S.
considered meritorious. The
As a result of this cultural
the story of my least favorite "Adon
GALE
Chasidim believed that even
interchange, many of our "tra-
Olam" — during the Chanukah season.
Community
profane tunes contained a
ditional" Jewish melodies trace
From the perspective of contemporary
Views
spark" of holiness, and to use
their origins to the German
Jewish living, this cross-cultural sharing
such melodies for sacred purpos-
popular song tradition of the
in our musical tradition can be seen to
es was to "rescue" this spark within the
time (called minnegesan,e.
represent the struggle for balance
between Jewish and non-Jewish influ-
melody.
Our Jewish musical ancestors did not
There is a wonderful Yiddish expres-
limit their cultural borrowings to the
ences in our own lives.
The very songs we sing in our syna-
sion that captures this idea: The phrase
secular music environment. According
Zurickfinden a nigh zu seinem shoresh,
to Eric Weiner in his classic volume on
gogues today demonstrate that the early
means "to return a melody to its origin." Jewish music Voice Still Heard the pop-
chazzanim (cantors) did not close their
In our synagogues today, there are
ular melody for "Maoz Tzur" was origi-
ears to the world around them. Rather,
countless melodies whose source is from
nally composed by none other than
our ancestors incorporated the best ele-
our ancestors' surrounding non-Jewish
Martin Luther, for a chorale titled Nun
GALE on page 38
"
JitT
12/19
2003
37