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August 6, 2004/Av 19 5763, Vol. 55, No. 46
The new Jewish culture
LEISAH NAMM
Managing Editor
When you hear the phrase "Jewish culture," what comes to mind?
For many Jewish American 20- and 30-somethings, it's a baby doll T-shirt with "Jewcy" printed across the chest, a copy of Heeb magazine and a bottle of He'Brew: The Chosen Beer.
It's a world where pop-icon Madonna promotes kabbalah and won't perform on Friday nights in honor of Shabbat, and two versions of comedian Adam Sandler's "The Chanukah Song" have become staples of December radio playlists.
It's a world in which relatively few young adults affiliate with established institutions, but many connect to an online Jewish community through chat rooms or Web sites.
"Has a pop culture phenomenon replaced the need for community?" asks the writer of a recent article in The Los Angeles Jewish Journal.
Can the pop culture so prevalent among contemporary Jewish young adults enable them to establish lasting connections with their roots or, like most trends, will they soon move on to the next array of what's in vogue?
Can young adults establish a sense of Jewish identity by wearing an "Oy Vey" necklace written in Hebrew-style letters, or does a lasting commitment to Judaism actually require old-fashioned Torah study?
Some organizations are reaching out to the MTV generation with colorful graphics and catchy headlines. Take a look at Aish.com, the Web site for the international outreach organization Aish Hatorah. Topics range from "Jewish World" and "Dating" to "Spirituality" and "Jewish Literacy." A recent top story carries the headline "Happiness, etc., You're happy aren't you?"
GenerationJ.com, a site hosted by Jewish Family & Life, also sports a hip look; recent articles include "You're invited to Shabbat dinner with the Material Girl" (that's Madonna, in case you're not familiar with '80s pop music culture) and "Frustration in Israel, How much longer?"
JDate offers Jewish singles' chat rooms, often the only link the site's users have with Jewish communal life - especially in cities like Phoenix, where 62 percent of Jewish households are unaffiliated with the organized Jewish community, according to the 2002 Greater Phoenix Jewish Community Study.
Do online connections and trendy T-shirts provide a strong enough link to keep young adults connected to Jewish life? While some may argue that they reflect a dissolution of Jewish values and heritage, others believe the "pop" connection is better than none at all, and that it may be the first step toward developing stronger ties and becoming an active part of the established Jewish community.
While 21st-century Jewish culture may appear quite different from that of our parents, let's hope that the virtual communities will serve as a gateway into real-life Judaism.
Contact the writer at leisah_namm@jewishaz.com.
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