By Joe Pryzant
In our column, “On Being Jewish,” leaders of the Jewish community reflect on what it means to them to be Jewish. Joe Pryzant has been a supporter of Rice’s Program in Jewish Studies since its inception and currently serves as a president of the Jewish Studies Advisory Board.
Identity is a difficult concept, especially Jewish identity. Being Jewish is many things. It can be an affiliation with Judaism, the religion; it can be belonging to the Jewish people scattered across the planet. Being Jewish can mean that one is borne by a Jewish mother or that one has Jewish DNA. Being Jewish can be culturally Jewish, with appreciation of Jewish arts, literature and foods. Clearly, being Jewish is different for every person who considers themselves to be a Jew. Even within Judaism, one can be a religious Jew, a Reform, Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstructionist or Secular Jew, or a “just Jewish” Jew.
For me, being Jewish is a combination of all the above, the religion, peoplehood, having a Jewish mother, and a lover of latkes and a good bagel. However, what embraces me and has held me through my entire life is being a link in a chain of a small group with a remarkable and unparalleled history spanning thousands of years. The resilience of our stubborn little clan to somehow survive some of recorded history’s greatest tragedies and to prosper and bless mankind by its contributions is almost beyond comprehension.
How does one explain the uniqueness and resilience of the Jews? To me, there are certain traits and qualities that mold our identities:
- We question authority. Unlike most religions, there is no central, authoritative guide to religious law or practice. Judaism has neither Pope or Ayatollah. Rather, we each struggle with life’s questions and our personal relationships with God and mankind. The discourse is the authority. Wrestling with concepts, the struggle to identify what God expects from us and what we expect from God are both the questions and the answers. Abraham and Moses bargained with God — and so do we. The Talmud is a chronicle of rabbinic debates about life and religious practices rather than a law code. The losing argument is presented alongside the prevailing one. Indeed, the word Israel means to “struggle with God.”
- We are people of the book. Jews tend to be more educated than other groups. When the Temple was destroyed, we preserved our faith through words rather than buildings and rituals. We cling to our sages and teachers, and we study and debate every letter and word of our sacred Torah. Jewish scholarship and literature are vastly more prolific than for any other group of such small numbers. Since 1901, 22% of Nobel Prize winners have at least one Jewish parent, a remarkable achievement for a people comprising approximately 0.2% of the world population.
- We are an amazingly creative people. Consider just one example, the people of Israel. The superb literature, technology, film, music, cuisine and art outpaces accomplishments of most other countries, even those with far greater numbers. By their labor, tenacity and creativity, the Israeli pioneers turned a desert country into an oasis. A people that celebrates the most basic and tasteless subsistence, the Passover matzo, has harnessed its creativity to make matzo into a delicious food. This is but one example of a vast creative energy which has made its mark on the world.
- We tend to support the weak. Judaism has a bias favoring the meek against the mighty. We cheer for David during his encounter with Goliath. Ancient Jewish law had protections for women and slaves, the most oppressed in ancient societies. Jews were in the forefront of the American Civil Rights Movement and American Jews generally support the Democratic Party, the historic protector of minority rights. As a people who experienced suffering and discrimination throughout our history, we know how it feels to be the underdog and the oppressed.
I am immensely proud of being Jewish and being part of an unbroken historical chain that has survived, prospered and proven itself a blessing to humankind.