On Jewish Identity

Matisyahu shaved his beard in December. The rapper whose embrace of the Chassidic lifestyle gave him a distinctive look and propelled him to some degree of fame is continuing his evolving faith journey. That next step apparently involved the removal of a lot of hair.

In our star-obsessed world, we spend a lot of time and energy analyzing others’ Jewish identities. Matisyahu’s work with an electric shaver is much more than a simple fashion statement and has led to much discussion of what this means for his faith.

At the other end of the Jewish identity spectrum is Daniel Radcliffe’s recent revelations that he considers himself Jewish. Radcliffe, who played Harry Potter in the movie adaptations of J.K. Rowling’s popular book series, has shared several times in the last year that he considers himself to be Jewish (his mother is Jewish) although he is not “religious in the slightest”. It is, however, enough excuse to have a number of Jewish websites obsessively reporting on his every move.

As a small Jewish community, Temple Judah members have a very wide range of Jewish identities and practices. Some of us keep Kosher, wear Kippot, or clear the chametz from our homes for Passover while others don’t. Some of us attend services every week while others choose to only attend high holy days. It’s important for the strength of our community that we respect one-another’s’ approaches to Jewish life.

The strength of our community comes from the choice that each of us makes to identify ourselves as Jewish, in whatever form that takes, to affiliate with Temple Judah, and to be involved and engaged.

One of the more senior members of our community once told me that “it’s been all downhill since they let the Jews join the country club.” Of course, none of us wish for a return to the days when open anti-Semitism was prevalent and accepted! But there was a time when we were bound together as a community by external forces that prevented us from having options. Today, the incredible range of choices of groups that we can join and places where we can put our time and our money does compete with the Temple.

This is why we’ve been working so hard this year to find opportunities to get Temple members together, outside of the typical sessions for worship, study and work. Last year, we held several very successful social events including a Sunday night football party hosted by Bill and Ivy Hurwitz and a cocktail party hosted by Robert Becker and Dianne Handler.

Keep your eyes open for more events this year designed to get the members of our community together. On February 26th we’re planning a community dinner event based on the popular “Chopped” TV series and the much anticipated 90th birthday gala dinner is scheduled for May 5th.

If you have ideas for other events this year, please let the board know. If you have an interest in planning an event – even better, and help us to build a strong temple identity!

Ben
Co-President

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