Tag Archives: jewish

Chain E-Mail

Nationality: American
Age: 43
Occupation: Florist
Residence: Tucson, AZ
Performance Date: April 19, 2008
Primary Language: English

*Below was in the e-mail*

Subject: The Passover Toilet Seat – Isn’t this the refined Passover gift for which you’ve been waiting?

“I received this chain e-mail, just recently around the Jewish holiday, Passover.  The initial email had been forwarded and sent to hundreds of people.  What is funny is that another Jewish friend of mine sent me the exact same e-mail and she does not even know the first person who sent this to me.  In fact one woman is from Dallas and the other woman is from Arizona.  I thought the image [above] was pretty funny, even though I usually just delete chain e-mails.  I didn’t forward the email to anyone else cause, that’s just something I don’t do.  The toilet seat cover is designed to look like matzo and the phrase “Let my people go” is the phrase Moses used to demand freedom from Pharaoh of Egypt.  Obviously this is a play on words referring to releasing your bowels or letting them go.”

Chain e-mails have become a very modern form of folklore.  It is almost impossible to trace an original source to this e-mail, and it is an artistic means of communication between people.  In this case the folk are Jews and the lore is Passover, specifically Passover jokes.  What is interesting is that Susan received this identical email from two people located in completely different places across the country.  The picture itself is a folk joke, and it has cultural meaning behind it, as Susan mentioned the story of Moses demanding his people to be “let go” from Pharaohs command.  It is also interesting to note how many chain e-mails go around a day.  Susan mentioned how she gets so many chain e-mails that she just deletes them because there is too many to go through.  This is also a seasonal chain email because if this were sent out in July, it would not be as funny, but in the context of Passover season, it is appropriate.

Recipe – Jewish

Nationality: Jewish-American
Age: 49
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Oak Park, CA
Performance Date: April 19, 2008
Primary Language: English

Sephardic Haroset

8 oz pitted dates

2 apples, peeled and finely chopped

wine and honey to moisten

8 oz of dark raisins

¼ cup chopped nuts

Ashkenazi Haroset

4 pared apples 1 cup chopped walnuts or mixed nuts

1 tablespoon of cinnamon

4 tablespoons of grape wine or grape juice

Betsy makes the Jewish dish haroset, every year for the holiday Passover.  She said that the dish itself represents the brick that the Jewish slaves had to create and use for King Pharaoh of Egypt before Moses freed them.  Betsy claims, “Haroset is only served during Passover, not any other time of the year.”  The dish actually dose look like it can be mixed and made into brick but in fact is very sweet.  Betsy learned this recipe from her mother, who learned it from her mother, as the tradition is to pass it down from mother to daughter.  Betsy uses the Ashkenazi recipe above, not the Sephardic recipe because she is an Ashkenazi Jew; however, she says that she is not sure what the difference is between Ashkenazis and Sephardics.  She was taught both recipes in case of having a Sephardic Jew over for Passover; in that case, she would make both recipes.  When making this part of the Passover meal, it reminds Betsy of the springtime with her family, particularly her children who love her haroset.

After discussing with several Jewish Americans the difference between Sephardic Jews and Ashkenazi Jews, there seems to be a consensus that Ashkenazi Jews came from the Eastern part of Europe, such as Russia and Germany, while the Sephardic Jews came from Spain and Portugal.  As far as the meaning behind haroset, it is universal and is not just Betsy’s individual meaning.  At the Passover Seder, there are several dishes that hold representation to the Jewish slavery in Egypt.  I personally have taken part in many Seder’s and have had haroset, and before each dish is eaten there is a prayer and explanation behind the dish told to the entire table.

Folk Ritual – Jewish

Nationality: American
Age: 91
Occupation: Retired
Residence: Boca Raton, FL
Performance Date: April 4, 2008
Primary Language: English
Language: Yiddish

Jewish Funeral Rituals:

“Immediately after the funeral of a close relative, Jewish families observe a mourning period of seven days and are said to be “sitting shivah”. Immediate family members remove their shoes, don slippers, and sit on stools or hard benches, customs derived from ancient mourning rituals. All household wall mirrors are covered with sheets. As a symbol of grief, mourners wear garments with a rip in the label and, during this shivah period, mourners remain in the house and do no work. A minyan comes to the house, morning and evening, to hold services and enable the mourners to recite a prayer for the dead called “the Kaddish”. Friends pay visits out of respect to the deceased and to honor the mourners. The first meal served to the mourners when they return from the funeral is prepared by neighbors and customarily includes hard-boiled eggs, which are said to be symbolic of the need for the mourners’ lives to go on.  The anniversary of the death of a family member is called the “yahrzeit” and is commemorated by having a memorial candle lighted in the home and another in the synagogue from sunset to sunset and by reciting the prayer for the dead (the Kaddish). Orthodox Jews fast all day at Yahrzeit.”

Irving, born and raised in New York City, learned these Jewish customs somewhat through experience of going to funerals.  “Particularly, after the Second World War, when Jewish American soldiers had ceremonies back in the states is when I picked up most of the customs.  I’m not too religious but after going to several funerals and talking to the mourners myself, I have learned these customs.  I’m not too sure where or when the funeral rituals began, but I believe that the meaning behind a seven day mourning, is to honor one’s life through an entire week, representing an entire lifetime.  Especially at an older age, I have become overly depressed by attending funerals and would rather send my prayers and regards to the family members of the deceased.”

The Jewish funeral rituals differ greatly from many cultures.  It doesn’t celebrate the dead or mourn for just one day; instead, it is a weeklong ritual to honor the deceased and their life to its entirety.  Family members sitting on hard stools might symbolize the idea of not being relaxed and comfortable, almost as if to suffer slightly just as the deceased did.  I am very baffled by the covering of the household mirrors.  The Jewish religion is not known for believing in spirits, which would be one way to look at the mirror ritual as a way to have the dead reappear.  My hypothesis is that by covering the mirrors, anyone in the household is prevented from looking at themselves, and more specifically reflecting upon themselves.  It further emphasizes the reflections, thoughts, and prayers to all be dedicated toward the deceased.  I think that idea carries over into the fact that no one in the house is supposed to work the entire week; instead, time should be focused on mourning and honoring the dead.

I particularly find it interesting that there is an annual ritual, honoring the day that the person died.  I feel it is a way for those who are alive to never forget those who passed.  The candle represents light and hope for the future, and is the only bright part of the funeral/death ritual. The overall Jewish funeral ritual is packed with symbolism, mourning, and honoring that lasts more than just a single day unlike most cultural funerals.

Holiday Tradition – Jewish

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Performance Date: March 21, 2008
Primary Language: English

Religious Holiday Tradition

The Passover Seder – Jewish

My dad’s Jewish family observed this tradition during the mid 1900s. The Passover Seder is a very ritualized Jewish dinner during the first two nights of Passover. The first born, oldest male child of the family, my dad’s older brother, would read holy scripts while the family ate at designated times. Certain things were to be eaten during certain parts of the script. For example, bitter herbs were eaten during the bitter parts of the story.

There were strict rules— nobody could be sitting straight at the table, all must be leaning. For the more religious families, this process could take many hours. The more casual families, like my dad’s, would take shortcuts and skip parts of the script.

My dad remembers this ritual as very tedious. He used to get bored and extremely hungry while listening to the script. However, he enjoyed the hunt for a hidden matzah (unleavened bread) after the meal, because the person who discovered it would get a prize.

Other foods eaten during the traditional Seder include: Charoset, a mixture of chopped nuts, wine, cinnamon, and apples, which symbolizes mortar the Jews used for bricks; Karpas, a vegetable dipped in salt water to symbolize tears; Maror, bitter vegetables eaten to symbolize the bitterness of slavery; and matzah, the traditional unleavened bread symbolizing the poor man’s food. The scripts are from the Haggadah, a book which tells of the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

While I can understand that this tradition can be extremely lengthy and dull, especially for children, it seems very integral to the Jewish religion. Because my family does not recognize any strict religious traditions like this, hearing about the Passover Seder was intriguing. I find it to be a creative and respectful way to commemorate the suffering of one’s ancestors.

Tradition/Ritual – Jewish

Nationality: American
Age: 56
Occupation: Doctor
Residence: Brooklyn, NY
Performance Date: March 21, 2008
Primary Language: English

Holiday Traditions/ Coming-of-Age Rituals

Bar Mitzvah – Jewish

My dad, who is Jewish, had his bar mitzvah when he turned 13 in Brooklyn, New York. He said it was held in a big hall, where there was a dais, or a stage, where he sat with this friends. The actual ceremony, however, happened in a synagogue.

He said he had to remember long passages in Hebrew and recite them, singing, from memory. This was the most difficult part, according to him. On the script were written special codes that indicated how the inflection was for that part. These codes got quite complicated, required a lot of practice. To my dad, it was a “big deal” learning them, and was especially difficult because he, and most of the boys his age, didn’t know Hebrew. The particular passage depended on when the bar mitzvah boy was born.

At the right time, he had to present the passage in front of the whole congregation in the synagogue. My dad recalled a vivid memory of this moment. He said, “The rabbi had very bad breath, so I would turn away and smile at the audience.” After this uncomfortable moment, however, the big reception is held, almost like a wedding—with food and dancing.

Typically, a bar mitzvah includes a band and a singer. My dad said there would always be “one of those circle dances and usually the bar mitzvah boy would be in the middle.”  He also got presents, usually cash, from friends and family, which the parents “usually used to help defray the cost” of the celebration.

In Jewish tradition, a boy becomes a man at 13. Girls have bat-mitzvahs at this age, although when my dad was growing up, it was not very typical for girls to do so. My dad brushed this off as the characteristic “male chauvinism” of the time. He also mentioned that he didn’t come from orthodox community.

A common American holiday that is comparable to the bar mitzvah is the Sweet Sixteen. However, it is much less ritualized and not exactly recognized as a coming-of-age celebration as much as it’s considered a competition for superfluous extravagance (probably influenced by MTV’s “My Super Sweet Sixteen”).

With the difficult passages and other trials a boy or girl must overcome at a bar/bat mitzvah, it appears the child must prove him/herself before being accepting into adulthood. This concept is not at all present in the general American culture. For those who don’t observe any specific coming-of-age traditions, there are no obstacles or rituals presented. In fact, it isn’t even clear what age qualifies as adulthood. Is it the age when a girl begins to menstruate? Is it at 16, when a kid is allowed to drive, and therefore be independent? Is it 18, the law-determined age of (modified) adulthood? Or, is it 21, when a person finally gains all rights of an adult?

This confused notion of adulthood is probably why there are no traditional celebrations like bar mitzvahs in the general American culture. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing because it doesn’t force a person to grow up before he or she is ready. After all, in today’s society, 13 is incredibly young for a boy to be deemed a man.