At Home in Diaspora? Word from: Alieza

Eric Hobsbawm, writing in the London Review of Books ("Benefits of the Diaspora"), argues that the tensions of being a minority in the Diaspora helped propel Jews into leading roles in all the major academic fields after emancipation. He also supports the disturbing opinion that "ghettoization" of Jews in Israel will blunt this tension and therefore slow the creative drive, preventing the creation of revolutionary ideas by Jews pushing the envelope in order to prove themselves to their host communities.

Learning gemara - a text written mostly in the Diaspora- with Israeli's I realize that their experience with neutral non Jewish neighbors is non-existent. And to my dismay, in Jerusalem I encounter less diversity than say at City College, in NYC.

But is it so bad that in becoming a 'normal' country, one where we are the hosts and not the minority, we might only produce a handful of Nobel prize winners, instead of the spate of Diaspora-born winners that Hobsbawm lists? Is the discomfort of being an outsider, the awareness of your conditional acceptance into society, worth an abnormally high creative drive?

I have read several books about exiled and hyphenated identities: Eva Hoffman's "Lost in Translation," Edward Said's "Out of Place" and Said Kashua's "Dancing Arabs" ( all highly recommended). These writers long for a wholeness that they lost because of the multiple languages and multiple/minority cultures they must balance. They all, however, write in their "new" language, and write beautifully. I wonder if their sense of alienation allows them to understand their old and new worlds in delicate intricacy and ironic clarity. And yet I would never wish upon someone the experience of exile or second class status for the purpose of creativity, as I would never wish upon a writer depression or madness, even though many of the great writers were certifiable and certified at times.

What is the danger in remaining the exiled Nation? While Hobsbawm talks about the wonders of emancipation, he glosses over the Holocaust, as if the years from emancipation until today have been one Hegelian trajectory towards acceptance of minorities and Jews specifically. While he claims that Jews who adapted to their host culture were accepted and even respected, there is still an inherent bigotry in singling out the interesting Jewish race, as a group which has a surprising penchant for knowledge, and rises to the top of academic societies. [I felt quite uncomfortable reading the boastful list of Jewish accomplishments in his article.] The Jews are an oddity, exotic creatures. We saw in Germany the lightning fast choice to persecute the formerly accepted German Jewish writers, scientists, philosophers, statesmen and businessmen. While Jews may have been accepted on the surface, they were still Other enough that awe and respect of the intelligent Jew was quickly transformed into envy and hatred.

Should we choose dull our creativity for the sake of a state whose expressed purpose is to protect Jews? Or should we risk another period of persecution by giving up the idea of a ghettoized Jewish state? I don't want either. I have gained so much living in NY that I can only hope that globalization, internet, and travel will prove Hobsbawn wrong. Actually, I am curious to see how Jewish culture will develop in Israel, not in isolation from the world, but autonomously, free from the strains of being a minority in exile. Too bad Hosbawm missed the boat home, we could use him here.

Jewish Metal Music Word from: Mordy

There are two different blogs for news about Heavy Metal music and Jews. That seems like a copious amount for two very different topics. Metal Jew is the first, and has a lot less updates than the second site, but all seem fairly ontopic to the theme of Metal and Jews. The other is Metal Israel which is primarily about the general secular metal scene, but as it occurs in Israel (which seems to have a load of metal fans). The Jewish aspect is generally played down. Which makes sense, considering the different titles. Actually Metal in Israel is so popular, it even has its own magazine, Jerusalem Metal.

My favorite metal news from Israel recently though is a poster advertising a Morpheus/Eternal Gray show that says, “It’s Time To Sin Again.” The punchline is that the Tel Aviv concert was Yom Kippur night.

I've since gotten into Orphaned Land since the Commentator published a review about them. I am unsure that the album is about anything Jewish, but I love the sound. And this is coming from someone who hates most metal music. So there is Jewish metal out there (maybe I'll interview David Lazzar some time in the future. He is the metal god of Lubavitch Yeshivas). You just have to know where to look.

Extremes Word from: Alieza

I just finished reading Memoirs of a Jewish Extremist: An American Story by Yossi Klein Halevi. It traces the author's journey from a Holocaust obsessed JDL activist to a moderate Zionist with Humanist leanings. I found it a light enjoyable read, containing a couple exquisite chapters.

Overall the book is a meditation on the appropriate role of victimhood in Jewish American identity and the unhealthy repercussions of viewing the world through the prism of the Holocaust.


These ideas reverberated in an article in The Nation on Arts and Letters Daily. Anderson argues that until recently Germans have denied themselves the right to cope with the affects of World War II (fire bombings, sons of absent soldier-fathers) through literature because of the incredible guilt of the death camps. He claims that recent books that express German civilian victimhood need not be equated with deniers of the Holocaust.

Intellectually of course I agree, every individuals pain is legitimate and should be recognized and heard by others as part of people's coping processes; I am troubled then that my stomach twists into a knot when reading descriptions of books that talk of World War II with no reference to Jews, good or bad. Has our community done such a thorough job conditioning me to fear German anti-Semitism? Or is self preservation a natural evolutionary reaction that my intellect has not conquered?

Unsatisfied with these possibilities, I wonder if mostly the generalizations about German literature are dangerous. I remember reading a similar article in the New York Review of Books last year; it pointed out that some neo-Nazi writers were using the suffering of German civilians as a way to deny the Holocaust, claiming that the Jews created the Holocaust to overshadow the victimhood of the Germans.

I think one thing we need to grapple with this new year is the very thin grey line between our natural need to preserve the memory of the Holocaust -fight anti-Semitism-and the dangerous growth of racism that stems from viewing ourselves as perpetual victims?

in brief Word from: David

Ever wondered if there was an Israeli publication similar to Mima'amakim? There are several and one journal of poetry Mashiv Haruach is profiled in a recent Ha'aretz article.

Goods Word from: Jake

We're starting off the year on a good note, I'll tell you that.

First off, the details for our Publication Party are finally set in stone. Sun Nov 6th at 8 pm, Cornelia Street Cafe. Killer list of poets, some musical surprises and oh, Basya Schechter playing a few solo tunes. We'll put up the flyer with the info a couple of days.

Also I finally got around to putting together the page with photos and sounds from the second Jerusalem show.

Our mailing list is now on Google Groups. I'll send invites to everybody tomorrow, please make sure you're not blocking that provider.

And...best saved for last. The shipment of the new journals is coming next week!!

Tembelevisia Word from: David

'Curb Your Enthusiasm' is the most Jewish show ever to appear on American television. Larry David has been revealed as the wizard behind the comedic curtain-more didatic then Jerry Seinfeld, a bit less likable than Jason Alexander, but oh so funny! (So says the New Yorker.) Brooklyn born, uneasy in Los Angeles, Larry and his buddies (Jeff Garlin, Richard Lewis) are completely assimilated into American culture and at the same time unknowingly preserve elements of Yiddish theater. Susie Essman's diatribes put Shalom Aleichem's market women to shame. Cheryl Hines excells as the 'shiksa wife.' Guest stars include Mel Brooks, Wanda Sykes and Ted Danson. Even Gina Gershon appears as an Orthodox would-be Madame Bovary in one episode. 'Curbed' is entering its fifth season, so find a friend with HBO or try this.

Ynet brings us footage of a 'wecker' in Jerusalem. Not Menachem, but an actual 'waker' who goes around Jerusalem arousing worshippers to attend Selihot. Musician Zvika Pik doesn't just look like Larry David with longer hair, but has the same shtick in this clip. And simcha classic Yo-Ya gets a new lease on life from 'hip soul' creator Momy Levy and 'master of vocal effects' Michael Winslow.

P.S: 'Tembelevisia' is a Hebrew term that roughly translates as 'idiot box' popularized by Rav Amnon Yitzchak. Of course, he has his own program on Israeli cable TV.

Sketchbook: A Moment Word from: Shlomo

...captain phylacteries, mesorah chains, ladders into the heavens, super chavrutah with Elijah Gorilla, iconoclasm in the gemara, sefirot sockets, agressive idealist, and three atempts at a guy on a conveyer belt...

Religion in the Village Voice Word from: Shlomo

More Tooting and You Say It's Your Birthday Word from: Jake

Shana Tova all! May the new year bring you all more delicious publications, more break-throughs in the Jewish Art world, more Jewish reggae musicians (there's a real dearth going on) and chassidic cheerleaders, suspension of disbelief in the novel and the meta-meta-novel which is life, and, last but not least, more comments on our blog posts. To follow up on Lilit's word, here's another pic from the Washington Square park gathering, where sun shone fervently on the following media yids (left to right): Esther of Jewlicious, Lilit, your humble cervantes uh, i meant servant, and Dan Mobius of Jewschool. And here's another good one with the same cast plus Isaac Galena of bangitout.

But more importantly, there's a big birthday coming up. This Sunday Oct 9th, John Lennon is turning 65. As may know, in my sect we believe that he, the Messiah, will return into this world, and lead our scattered nation back to holy Liverpool. In the meantime, at the Imagine Circle on 72nd street there's going to be a major party-down all day, something like this.

toot your own shofar Word from: Lilit Marcus

I suck at html, but I don't suck at self-promotion.

You can see Jake and myself here with Esther "J-Daters Anonymous" Kustanowitz and Dan "Mobius" "Jewschool" "Orthodox Anarchist" Sieradski in this photo, taken last Sunday at the free Matisyahu show in Washington Square Park.

That's so much blogging in one picture! And then I am blogging about it! The meta never ceases.

On Hazanut Word from: David

Reading the JHSMW program left me postively reactionary-begging for an alternative to 'cool' Jewish music, for the antidote to avant-garde artists fusing various cultures and styles. Thank heaven that the Hazan (Cantor) will never be trendy. Elements of cantorial and liturgical music can be sampled, remixed, and influence musicians as diverse as Willie The Lion, Zohar Argov, and Emil Zrihan. Hazanim, like opera singers, tour and perform for small but educated audiences. However, an unique element of expression will always be confined to the synagogue and often limited to it's 'edah (ethnic or geographic community).

David Olivestone writes that "(Hazanut) is the Jewish equivalent of classical music...(and) needs to be worked at to be understood." There has always been a love of Hazanut in my family-a distant cousin of mine, also named David Druce conducts The London Cantorial Singers. Yet I too have struggled with this form of art and religous expression. Tishrei's lengthy and complex services, compared to a 'medieval poetry slam' provide ample time to cultivate this taste. An added bonus for writers, English majors, and standardized test takers is to sift through an archaic Mahzor, finding such words as 'vouchsafed' and 'wert.'

Seriously though-what should the role of a Hazan be? Should he* be a full-time employtee, and if not should the synagogue draw up on a pious man or a philanphropist? Pick a spirited young man or an elder who remembers the tunes of an earlier diaspora? Is he the 'ba'al tefila', master of prayer, a dignitary who speaks on behalf of the congregation? Is he a 'pintele yid' who leads other yidn into spasms of tears? Or is he the first among equals, a band leader who smacks the lectern while sampling popular tunes to keep everyone inspired? The Hebrew word 'Hazan' may have originated as 'Hazanu' Aramaic for official and some congregants, especially if they find the Hazan dislikable as a person or musician may feel that they are being spoken for. Worshippers who are looking for an emotional release rather than an aesthetic experience, may benefit from listening to the discordant voices around them. I often close my eyes and listen to the various accents, tones of age, and emotions near me. Try it when the Machzor's pages blur together and the clock begins to grabs your attention.

As for listening to Hazanut-just as one has to search far and wide for things like 'authentic' blues, underground rap, 'non-commerical' jazz, it takes insider knowledge and a bit of to hear quality religous music. In the New York area, an astute listener can hear the musical traditions of places like Frankfurt-Am-Main in Washington Heights, Halab (Aleppo) in Deal, Bukhara in Forest Hills, Modzitz in Flatbush. WQXR broadcasts Friday evening services from Temple Emanu-El on the Upper East Side. Israel-Music has a wide selection of discs: Syrian baqashot, Morrocan piyutim and readings of Pirkei Avot, Yerushalmi selihot, Egyptian bar mitzva songs and selections from a Yemenite Rosh HaShana service.

I rarely go to concerts, but was this convinced to attend a local synagogue's Lag Ba'Omer event. A Hazan of Morrocan origin sang songs in Hebrew, Judeo-Arabic, and Ladino. A Muslim keyboardist, accompanied him hopefully not offended by the giant picture showing the Beit HaMikdash as it would look in present-day Jerusalem. Parents danced with their children, while a video showing a Hillula in Israel played silently. For a look at the Askenazi tradition, I recommend Chazzanut Online which has substantive material that this article lacks. Cantors World has an excellent film on the life of Yossele Rosenblatt z'l. Virtual Cantor is a free way to learn the standard Ashkenazi and Israeli-influenced American 'nusach.'

*My choice of gender is deliberate. As for women Hazanim (Rahel, any thoughts?), I must admit that my perception of Hazanut is that it is a deeply masculine activity. Listening to a women read Psukei D'zimrah at Shir Hadash was something that I intellectually appreciated, but viscerally reject. Is it worth uprooting these attachments for the sake of inclusion? Is it wrong that what I demand of a religous experience that must be limiting for other worshippers? Hazanut is evolving at a slow but steady pace, but I hope to always hear a bearded man, his sonorous timbres reaching from his belly to the heavens.

By no means do I think I can speak for everyone, but I'll take the chance and try:

Happy Rosh Hashana from Mimaamakim!