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March 19, 1999/2 Nisan 5759, Vol. 51, No. 25
Scholars say being Jewish is a state of mind
ANNE BRADY
Managing Editor
Being Jewish has less to do with parentage and/or religious conversion than it does with belief and behavior, according to scholars from Hebrew University, who spoke this week in a panel discussion on "Refining Jewish Identity ... Israel and Abroad."
"For me, a Jew is someone who believes he's Jewish and does something about his Judaism," said Yair Zachcovitch, dean of the faculty of humanities and a biblical scholar at the Hebrew University Institute of Jewish Studies in Jerusalem. "For me, being a Jew is studying the heritage, and having shared collective memories and shared values.
"I hate labels - Orthodox, secular, Reform, Conservative. I'm a Jew. Enough is enough."
The panel discussion featuring Zachcovitch and Alan Hoffman, director of the Mandel Center for Jewish Continuity at Hebrew University, was presented at Temple Beth Israel in Paradise Valley on March 16, by American Friends of Hebrew University. It was moderated by Aaron Scholar, director of the Bureau of Jewish Education of Greater Phoenix.
Hoffman noted that the accepted sociological definition of identity is "the behaviors, beliefs and attitudes that are shared by a group of people."
"The question is, 'What is the content of the soil in which these beliefs, attitudes and behaviors are being nourished?' "
Both men stressed the importance of Jewish education and study, especially among the young, to preserve Jewish identity.
"Ignorance is the real threat," said Hoffman. "Were we to have a more culturally literate Jewish population, would (Jews of different denominations) have more to talk about? The answer is yes."
Hoffman said that in a study five or six years ago, the quality of materials and instruction in Judaism in public schools in Israel were found to be lacking. If parents in Israel today want their children to get a good Jewish education, they have to send them to private schools, he said.
"When I was in high school," Zachcovitch observed, "we all studied together. The only difference was on Shabbat. They (the religious Jews) went to shul, and we played basketball. Now parents have to choose."
Hoffman started out the discussion by explaining that although there are indeed clashes in Israel between the ultra-Orthodox and secular Jews, the greatest percentage of Jews in Israel, according to a recent study, classify themselves as "somewhat observant." Most mark Passover with a seder, keep kosher in their homes and have some sort of Sabbath ritual.
"In the middle, there is a vast (number of Jews) for whom traditions and being Jewish are very important," he said.
But Zachcovitch said he is "unimpressed" with the statistics on the percentage of Jews who celebrate Jewish holidays.
"They can enjoy lighting candles and eating latkes (potato pancakes), but almost no Israelis know anything about the stories behind Hanukkah," he bemoaned.
He said the conflict between the ultra-Orthodox in Israel, and Reform and Conservative Jews in the United States, saddens him because "it shows how ignorant Jews everywhere are of their own culture."
"Pluralism has always been a part of Judaism," Zachcovitch said.
"I am mad at those who claim a monopoly over Jewish texts," he said. "Actually, I'm mad at those who agree with those who claim a monopoly over Jewish texts."
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