Posts
Busting the Bagels and Dreidels Myth: “Judaism is Cool”
By Ashley Tedesco / April 13, 2009
As a new Jew, eager to learn and identify, I am so lucky to have so many people who are willing to help, each in their own way. One wonderful family friend sends me frequent emails when she comes across anything of Jewish interest, and I just stumbled across this YouTube video she sent me back in February.
For anybody who’s ever been ashamed of being Jewish because it wasn’t cool enough, this eight minute video is out to prove that "Judaism is Cool." It features businessmen, artists, songwriters, converted rabbis, and stay-at-home moms, all finding meaning in the Torah years after escaping "Jew jail" – the irrelevant and boring Hebrew schools of youth.
Check it out!Â
If you liked this, check out its source:Â Simple to Remember, Judaism Online. The site offers a lot of insights on Judaism from various perspectives, everything from "Why Do People Hate The Jews?" to "Difference Between Judaism and Buddhism." Keep learning; enjoy!
POST A COMMENT
I agree with what Andrew’s "blue-eyed peers" are saying. People hate Jews due to their jealousy of Jews because they’re smart. Unlike many world cultures, Jews place a high value on education and learning.
Just about every nation on earth has persecuted them over the last 4000 years. There must be a reason.
As I understand it – and this is only a theory bounced around by a few
of my blue eyed peers – the Jews are traditionally (don’t think present
tense) seen as a people without a land, hence though have not worked
and farmed the land like most other cultures. Their business has
traditionally been intellectually and incorporeally based (accountants,
lawyers etc), there haven’t been a great deal of Jewish farmers but
this is probably largely due to the fact that they kept getting rounded
up and turned into lampshades or their property collectivised and they
sent to gulags. A lot of the peoples whom survive by hard graft resent
the fact that the Jews make their money off their products and physical
work. This combined with the secular cultural practices make them prime
candidates for persecution.
Just a theory.
Stop discrimination, support equality rights – engagement rings community of NY
In one word:Â Holidays
Judaism is chock full of ‘em.
Buddhism-Â zip
That is simply not true.
I am a part of Aish, & I can offer you some letters of reference from Aish Rabbis, if you need to authenticate that fact!  ;)  It is true, I don’t run Aish. That might require that I divorce my Christian husband, + give up my favorite recreation of hunting small animals (kidding).
Oops- I just noticed my typo in above post-
I meant to say Jewlarious is (surprisingly!) not funny.
Jewlicious, on the other hand, is.
David, I am living proof Aish isn’t ultra-Othodox.
You’re part of Aish? I don’t think so.Â
The people who run Aish are ultra-Orthodox. Just as the people who run Chabad are Chabadniks.
In one word:Â Holidays
Judaism is chock full of ‘em.
Buddhism-Â zip
David, I am living proof Aish isn’t ultra-Othodox.
I was raised in a Roman Catholic family. (At age six, I knew Christianity wasn’t for me. "I need to drink the blood and eat the body ….?!?!") 15 years ago, at age 24, I accepted the marriage proposal of an agnostic, who was also raised Christian. I’ve been actively, and quite comfortably, involved with Aish for almost a decade now, all the while being married to a practicing Christian man.
I do, however, agree with you that Jewlicious has always been lame, & not funny.
I just read that article by Sara Yoheved Rigler. In fact, while I was reading it, I suspected it had been written by her. Rigler is an Aish apologist; everything she writes about other religions comes down to: ultra-Orthodox Judaism (specifically, Aish’s interpretation of it) = good, other religions = irrelevant or bad. Apparently, she meditated for number of years in an ashram, but never really acquired a sophisticated understanding of Indian religion ("Hinduism"). Additionally, she has little to no understanding of Buddhism. Â
Just one example: Unfortunately, one can be an adept in meditation, and still commit adultery, lose one’s temper, and be bloated with pride. I have known great masters of meditation who succumbed to all three. It’s a safe bet that if they were succumbing to those behaviors, they weren’t "great masters". She’d never make the same blanket statement about practitioners of Jewish spiritual exercises. There are simply too many other, similar errors to go into here.
Rigler is a convert to Jewish fundamentalism, and has the convert’s zeal. As is invariably the case, she’s driven to prove that her way is superior. One of the hallmarks of fundamentalism is the need to convince others. If a fundamentalist can convince you that she’s right, she can stave off for a while longer the ever-present doubt that threatens to overtake her.
I have a long history of involvement with other religions, including Buddhism, and I can assure you that all religions, including Judaism, share similar advantages and pitfalls. Aish is a missionary organization. As is invariably the case with these organizations, they have a habit of making generalized, demonstrably untrue statements about other traditions. I’d advise you to examine critically everything they tell you.
BrookeLynn wrote,
Aish is thoroughly modern Orthodox.
So there is no confusion, there is nothing "Modern" Orthodox about Aish. It is an ultra-Orthodox recruitment organization.
An interesting and quite funny rebuttal to Aish’s attempt at humor was penned on Jewlicious.
Ok, I’ve sobered-up & my Jewcy account hasn’t been deleted yet, so I guess I’ll add some info to this. That "Judaism is Cool" video was created by Aish HaTorah & features several of its most popular instructors. Aish is thoroughly modern Orthodox. Here at Jewcy I’ve seen some negative comments about them due to their "right-wing" political nature.
Personally, I can’t say enough good things about them. Ashley, if you liked that video, check out their 24/7 website http://www.Aish.com . Lori Palatnik, who refers to Hebrew school as "Jew jail" in that promo, has an awesome weekly spirituality video-blog at Aish.com. I’m very lucky that every Shabbat she speaks near me at Aish HaTorah in North Bethesda, MD. She’s an outstanding an outstanding (& funny!) speaker & author. Her books Gossip & Remember My Soul are available at Amazon. Every year I spend the High Holiday services with Aish to see her and her husband Rabbi Yaakov Palatnik. They offer a great alternative to traditional formal Hebrew prayer services.
In addition, Aish’s Torah classes are fantastic, and are usually free of charge. Aish delves into Torah as a great literary work. Examining a completely unrolled Torah scroll, it’s amazing to discover nuances that may have easily been overlooked. (In Exodus, just for example, you can see that the squarish, block-like Hebrew words get spaced further & further apart as our people break through the "bricks" and escape from Egypt. (I wonder if e.e. cummings derived any of his inspiration from this.) I could go on forever about Aish. They regularly feature first-class speakers, & it may be worthwhile to check out their NY events close to you at http://www.aishny.com .  Â
Everything is cool when you are first introduced to it. But as a child it all seems so boring!
Wanna post your own comments? Gotta log in first!