[This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 10 - Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism - published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.] by Beth Cousens When I interviewed twenty-seven year old Charlie as part of research on adults in their twenties and thirties and their Jewishness, we sat under a poster of a scene from Ulysses that he found in Ireland while exploring his mother's family's roots. I asked him about his relationship with the non-Jewish parts of his identity, and in response he raised Philip Roth's ideas about Jews and otherness: “You know, American Jews driving themselves to neuroses with their otherness or their conflicts. ... It's something I can't identity with.” Why Philip Roth, I asked? “Him envying that non-Jewishness and seeing that as something … [Read more...]
Jewish Peoplehood and the Biblical Landscape
[This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 10 - Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism - published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.] by Stephen Hazan Arnoff Recently my family and I were in Rome for thirty-six hours on our way to Jerusalem. As we approached the Coliseum - a first time visit for us all - the core text was obvious, Bob Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece:” Oh, the streets of Rome are filled with rubble Ancient footprints are everywhere You can almost think that you’re seein’ double On a cold, dark night on the Spanish Stairs... Oh, the hours I’ve spent inside the Coliseum Dodging lions and wastin’ time Oh, those mighty kings of the jungle, I could hardly stand to see ’em Yes, it sure has been a long, hard climb... While I am rock and … [Read more...]
Jewish Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism: The Challenge of Measuring Success
[This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 10 - Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism - published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.] by Shuki Taylor The following paper considers the challenges that emerge when measuring the success of educational initiatives - challenges that are augmented in the context of Jewish Peoplehood education in Pluralistic settings. Pluralism celebrates the legitimacy of the Jewish community’s diversity. Peoplehood nurtures this community’s diverse commitment to the Jewish collective enterprise. Fostering this sense of commitment and belonging requires that, as educators, we embrace the full spectrum of perspectives the Jewish people subscribes to. In the age of Pluralism, we must be mindful of the fact that learners harbor a variety of … [Read more...]
Toward a Pluralism of Substance
In our collective work to engender feelings of peoplehood, I would advocate for a more focused approach to pluralism: a pluralism of substance. ------------------------ [This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 10 - Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism - published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.] by Elie Kaunfer Does pluralism help or hurt the goal of fostering feelings of peoplehood? It depends on what we mean by “pluralism.” Pluralism is a difficult concept to define. In the March 2006 edition of Sh’ma, Susan Shevitz helpfully distinguishes between “coexistence pluralism” and “generative pluralism.” In the former, “people and groups holding different positions can still work toward shared goals.” In the latter, “Jews need to encounter people and … [Read more...]
A Less Spoken About Angle: The Threat Israel Presents to Jewish Peoplehood
If our relationship is about partnership in the global Jewish enterprise, then Israel’s exclusion of the overwhelming majority of the next generation of the world’s Jewish community cannot be allowed to fester any longer. … [Read more...]
New Directions in Jewish Leadership: Pluralism
Affording teens the unique opportunity to explore their Jewish identities by exposing them to the diversity of Jewish expression and experience which is today’s reality is to invite them to venture on a collective Jewish journey. ------------------------ [This essay is from The Peoplehood Papers, volume 10 - Peoplehood in the Age of Pluralism - published by the Center for Jewish Peoplehood Education.] by Tal Gale What will be the future of the Jewish People? This question remains unresolved in a time when there is more freedom and choice than ever in history to express Jewish identity individually and collectively. Ironically, today’s freedom to be Jewish, a constant aspiration of the Jewish People, now presents itself as one of the greatest challenges facing us. How can the … [Read more...]
