Leaving Egypt
Rabbi Dude says:
It is said that the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt in the merit of three factors: they did not change their names, they did not change their clothes, and they did not change their language. They continued to give their children names like Reuvén and Léwi; you never would have heard of an Israelite named Imhotep. They continued to wear the same style tunics they wore in Kena'an, refusing to change their dress to match that of the Egyptians. They may have had to speak Egyptian on the streets in order to be understood, but at home it was always Hebrew.
There are certain groups of Jews descended from Europeans who are trying to follow just that philosophy today (my encounters with them were primarily during the time I spent in New York). They refuse to assimilate into the ways of the Western World, and therefore try to emulate these principles: they will not give English names to their children, instead preferring to give Jewish names; they do not speak in English, instead preferring to keep to a Jewish language; they refuse to dress as Americans do, instead preferring to maintain a Jewish style of dress.
So what happens? Instead of giving names like Bob or George or Elizabeth, they insist upon naming their children Feyge (a German name), Charna (Russian), Shprintze (a Germanisation of the Spanish "Esperanza"), Yenta (again, a Germinsation from Spanish, this time of "Juanita"), or Mendel (a Germanisation of the very old Greek name "Menelaus").
Instead of speaking English, they speak a dialect known as "Yiddish." The origins of this form of speech are from Old German--syntax is typical of a Germanic language--but the tongue picked up quite a few words from Slavic languages as Jews from Germany moved east to Russia, Poland, the Ukraine, and other such countries. It is written in the Hebrew alphabet, with spelling conventions using some letters to represent vowels as an aid to pronunciation.* The use of "Yiddish" is so ingrained in the Ashkenazi's persona that even when writing a divorce document (which is traditionally written in Aramaic, a sister language of Hebrew's and spelled with the same alphabet), he will use spelling conventions particular to this Judeo-German when transliterating English names rather than spelling them out as they would be spelled in Aramaic. I have even--on a few occasions--been referred to as a "goy" (non-Jew) by Ashkenazim because I do not speak their dialect of German. Ironically, the name "Yiddish" comes from the German "Judische," meaning "Jewish." Many Ashkenazim even refer to their speech as "Jewish."
Instead of dressing in modern polo shirts or business suits, they insist upon wearing the long jackets and fur hats of their ancestors in Poland and Russia. However, that form of dress itself was only copied from the Russian nobility. And there is always, of course, the fur hat, which they wear even in Miami Beach in the middle of the summer, because it's "Jewish clothing." Maybe their great-grandfathers wore that sort of hat, but that was because they lived in Russia, and it's COLD in Russia in the winter!
So all they're really doing in their attempts to keep away from a non-Jewish culture is keeping to a different non-Jewish culture. If they really want to give their children Jewish names, let them all be Hebrew. If they really want to speak a Jewish language, let it be Hebrew. But let it be in the home only: remember that bit about speaking Egyptian "on the streets in order to be understood"?* If they really want to dress as Jews, let them wear tunics as we did in ancient times.
The way they act is particular to their culture and is by no means a Jewish way of living. I personally think it's ridiculous, but there's no prohibition in the Tora against being ridiculous. But I will never stop being INFURIATED at those who insist that this is the Jewish way of life and who deride others who do not meet their illogical standards.
*The Hebrew alphabet consists entirely of consonants, as the structure of the language permits it to be written without vowels, which can be understood by the fluent reader; most other languages, on the other hand, are not built that way, and ambiguity would be rampant without written vowelisation.
Consider, for example, writing the letters BT and expecting someone else to guess the word by filling in the vowels: it could be bat, bet, bit, bot, or but. Then again, it could also be bate, bait, beat, beet, bite, byte, boat, boot, bout, butt, or bought. But how do we know it isn't batty, booty, or beta? Or, for that matter, abbot, abet, abut, or about? Of course, buyout is always a possibility....
*I will admit that there are many Sefaradim who go to America and continue speaking Arabic, and I will say that is wrong as well, but at the least it is based upon a selfish form of convenience and not an absurd belief that Arabic is a Jewish language.
It is said that the Israelites were redeemed from Egypt in the merit of three factors: they did not change their names, they did not change their clothes, and they did not change their language. They continued to give their children names like Reuvén and Léwi; you never would have heard of an Israelite named Imhotep. They continued to wear the same style tunics they wore in Kena'an, refusing to change their dress to match that of the Egyptians. They may have had to speak Egyptian on the streets in order to be understood, but at home it was always Hebrew.
There are certain groups of Jews descended from Europeans who are trying to follow just that philosophy today (my encounters with them were primarily during the time I spent in New York). They refuse to assimilate into the ways of the Western World, and therefore try to emulate these principles: they will not give English names to their children, instead preferring to give Jewish names; they do not speak in English, instead preferring to keep to a Jewish language; they refuse to dress as Americans do, instead preferring to maintain a Jewish style of dress.
So what happens? Instead of giving names like Bob or George or Elizabeth, they insist upon naming their children Feyge (a German name), Charna (Russian), Shprintze (a Germanisation of the Spanish "Esperanza"), Yenta (again, a Germinsation from Spanish, this time of "Juanita"), or Mendel (a Germanisation of the very old Greek name "Menelaus").
Instead of speaking English, they speak a dialect known as "Yiddish." The origins of this form of speech are from Old German--syntax is typical of a Germanic language--but the tongue picked up quite a few words from Slavic languages as Jews from Germany moved east to Russia, Poland, the Ukraine, and other such countries. It is written in the Hebrew alphabet, with spelling conventions using some letters to represent vowels as an aid to pronunciation.* The use of "Yiddish" is so ingrained in the Ashkenazi's persona that even when writing a divorce document (which is traditionally written in Aramaic, a sister language of Hebrew's and spelled with the same alphabet), he will use spelling conventions particular to this Judeo-German when transliterating English names rather than spelling them out as they would be spelled in Aramaic. I have even--on a few occasions--been referred to as a "goy" (non-Jew) by Ashkenazim because I do not speak their dialect of German. Ironically, the name "Yiddish" comes from the German "Judische," meaning "Jewish." Many Ashkenazim even refer to their speech as "Jewish."
Instead of dressing in modern polo shirts or business suits, they insist upon wearing the long jackets and fur hats of their ancestors in Poland and Russia. However, that form of dress itself was only copied from the Russian nobility. And there is always, of course, the fur hat, which they wear even in Miami Beach in the middle of the summer, because it's "Jewish clothing." Maybe their great-grandfathers wore that sort of hat, but that was because they lived in Russia, and it's COLD in Russia in the winter!
So all they're really doing in their attempts to keep away from a non-Jewish culture is keeping to a different non-Jewish culture. If they really want to give their children Jewish names, let them all be Hebrew. If they really want to speak a Jewish language, let it be Hebrew. But let it be in the home only: remember that bit about speaking Egyptian "on the streets in order to be understood"?* If they really want to dress as Jews, let them wear tunics as we did in ancient times.
The way they act is particular to their culture and is by no means a Jewish way of living. I personally think it's ridiculous, but there's no prohibition in the Tora against being ridiculous. But I will never stop being INFURIATED at those who insist that this is the Jewish way of life and who deride others who do not meet their illogical standards.
*The Hebrew alphabet consists entirely of consonants, as the structure of the language permits it to be written without vowels, which can be understood by the fluent reader; most other languages, on the other hand, are not built that way, and ambiguity would be rampant without written vowelisation.
Consider, for example, writing the letters BT and expecting someone else to guess the word by filling in the vowels: it could be bat, bet, bit, bot, or but. Then again, it could also be bate, bait, beat, beet, bite, byte, boat, boot, bout, butt, or bought. But how do we know it isn't batty, booty, or beta? Or, for that matter, abbot, abet, abut, or about? Of course, buyout is always a possibility....
*I will admit that there are many Sefaradim who go to America and continue speaking Arabic, and I will say that is wrong as well, but at the least it is based upon a selfish form of convenience and not an absurd belief that Arabic is a Jewish language.
posted by Rabbi Dude at 7/28/2006 08:57:00 am
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