Jews have been the poster children for American Religious Tolerance And Multiculturalism for most of American history, which has been a mixed blessing. We're the Most Familiar Other, but that also involves being reshaped into familiarity.
Which is how we get the American pop culture image of Judaism as, basically, the denomination of Christianity that doesn't have pork or Jesus.
It's also how we get the whole "Judeo-Christian" thing, which is mostly about Islamophobia and erasure of Jews.
It's also how we get the whole "Judeo-Christian" thing, which is mostly about Islamophobia and erasure of Jews.
It's how we can have so very, very many TV shows with Jewish characters (as a member of the ensemble, or as sidekicks), but almost no actual Judaism practiced onscreen, unless it's lighting a menorah, or (rarely) sitting shiva on a crime show.
You see the bar mitzvah afterparty, the glass-crushing and dancing at the wedding. If the camera ventures inside a synagogue, it's either to talk to a rabbi who's alone there, or to hear the rabbi giving a sermon (a safely familiar element for Christians).
If it's a show written by Aaron Sorkin, you might see a bit of a seder.
If you *do* see any part of Jewish practice that isn't either the celebration *following* the actual event, or something like a sermon that looks like Christian practice, it will almost always be Orthodox, and the strangeness of it (like the Amish!) will be emphasized.
It will exist to be foreign, as part of a fish-out-of-water story for a gentile main character.
(See, for example, The Good Wife.)
(See, for example, The Good Wife.)
It's changing, a little bit. Mrs. Maisel at least showed Lecha Dodi.
What would pop culture make of an average Torah study session, I wonder? (wouldn't end up on tv--too much crosstalk)
I would be willing to bet no American TV show has ever shown havdalah, despite how much Reform Jews LOVE havdalah (the Reform movement represents the majority of synagogue-affiliated American Jews).
Despite its inherent potential for comedy, even Mrs. Maisel didn't do the part of Lecha Dodi where we all stand up, turn around, and bow toward the door to greet the entrance of Shabbat.
Some latecomer ALWAYS walks in at exactly that point.
Some latecomer ALWAYS walks in at exactly that point.
I keep thinking about the Shabbat after the Pittsburgh shooting. On an average Friday evening, my shul usually has between 10 and 30 people show up. 300 people showed up in solidarity that night. It was lovely! We felt very supported.
And also:
And also:
We did almost the entire service in English (normally we do almost the entire thing in Hebrew). We skipped the interactive parts. The rabbi explained everything we were doing.
Almost everyone who was there was a visiting Christian.
Almost everyone who was there was a visiting Christian.
I got tasked with standing by the door and thanking people for coming as they left.
Tens of--maybe a hundred--people told me how beautiful our community was.
There were *maybe* 30 of us there, out of 300-ish attendees.
They hadn't seen our community.
Tens of--maybe a hundred--people told me how beautiful our community was.
There were *maybe* 30 of us there, out of 300-ish attendees.
They hadn't seen our community.
This isn't a complaint. I am touched and honored by how many people showed up to support us.
But it's an example of something more complex: that there is an elaborate and fluid dance of assimilation and acceptance between American pop consciousness and American Jews.
But it's an example of something more complex: that there is an elaborate and fluid dance of assimilation and acceptance between American pop consciousness and American Jews.
And that can make it very easy to see us every day, and never actually SEE us. And while I'm often pissed off about Christian hegemony, in this instance I'm not assigning any blame.
The reasons are complex, but in America they've been about opportunity as well as safety.
So much of interfaith outreach has involved finding commonalities that we've become very, very good at *demonstrating* commonalities, explaining commonalities, etc.
So much of interfaith outreach has involved finding commonalities that we've become very, very good at *demonstrating* commonalities, explaining commonalities, etc.
