JEWISH CULTURE
February 26, 2016

"Culture is to humans what instinct is to animals," wrote anthropologist Clifford Geertz. Culture tells us how to think about important decisions and whom to love. Culture is the mental illustrations we use and the values we embrace. It is our art, our sports, our entertainment and our beliefs. Culture expresses and shapes the value system by which we live, and the images, rituals, symbols and myths by which we explain our lives to ourselves and others. Culture is our meaning system, because we are unique animals who require meaning to live.

Liberal Jews attempt to live in two cultures, in our case: American and Jewish. We immerse ourselves in American culture and absorb every detail. We think by American images and illustrate our conversations with American cultural icons, like sports and television references in everyday conversations.

Identity consists largely of the culture by which we think. But liberal American Jews primarily use American cultural symbols.

There are Jewish myths by which we live, also. Every Jew I have ever met thinks of him/herself as once having been a slave in Egypt, for instance. Often we are motivated to feed the hungry and provide a safety net for the poor out of our Jewish identity, identifying with what it's like to be downtrodden through history, even though most of us, personally, have never been oppressed. How many times have I said from the pulpit, "The most frequently cited line in the Torah is, 'You shall love the stranger, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt,'" and gotten a favorable response? Essential Jewish mythology matters in our lives. It motivates us to do real things, like provide food for the poor and serve meals at the reStart Shelter. But it's a mixed bag.

Most people I know don't primarily think of Jewish examples when making critical decisions in their lives. They don't think Purim's coming, what am I going to send people for shalach manot; or what does Judaism say about this health care decision I am about to make? We divide between Jewish and American culture, although Judaism actually provides answers for all of life's questions. Many people form friendships based on ethnic familiarity, but the lower the age group the less likely that is to happen. For American Jews, most personal culture is actually American, and their individual mental images are American examples, often taken from sports or other entertainment.

This is the first of a series of articles I will write and post here. I intend to examine how Jewish culture works, using the upcoming seders as my example. I'll look at Jewish law and lore, halakhah and midrash, as well as art found in the haggdah. My point is this: Jews who lived in an entirely Jewish milieu thought Jewishly, utilizing Jewish symbols, narratives and rituals in their lives. We may be less definitive about out theologies, but we don't have to be less determined about our Jewish culture. Being steeped in Jewish images, like the matzah on the seder plate, the 4 cups of wine or opening the door for Elijah, and using them as examples in our lives, is very possible for liberal as well as traditional Jews. We just need to emphasize Jewish culture more consciously.

I'll talk about how we might do that, and hopefully, there'll be lots of comments and some discussion back and forth.

Shabbat shalom.