How to Be Jewish in New York
Go to church!
This evening, I celebrated Rosh Hashanah in the sixth row of St. Bartholomew's Church, something I could never do while a kid attending Temple Emanu-El. Sitting with an enormous rose window off to the right (at least, I *think* it was a rose window) lit in stained glass blue made me feel right at home. The joke about Emanu-El was that it was a cathedral. St. Bart's felt a little more Christian, less Judeo, I have to say. Something about the large mosaic crosses.
Because I was raised Jewish and Christian, I'm still trying to decide just what I am. Maybe a typical New York Jew.
In any case, this is the year to decide. It's unlikely I'd give up Midnight Mass. But it's nigh impossible I'd give up Passover seders. Some days I think I'm Jewish just for the food holidays. A good break fast is a fine event. And so is Easter dinner.
Argh!
Meanwhile, question: are New York Jews more tolerant than Jews (250 or fewer?) who live between the coasts? Does all this churchgoing make them more expansive? Or just tepidly Jewish?
I thought of my grandfather, who, in a small Connecticut town, moved his family into what I've heard was the Christian section. Many years later, I was among the first Jews at my church kindergarten. I'm not sure what these divisions mean any more and would be grateful if Budd Schulberg would explain that key passage in his novel What Makes Sammy Run?, and sooner than later. The idea of non-existent Jewishness comes up in Gentleman's Agreement, too.
[If the links were working better, this note would be expansive.]
This evening, I celebrated Rosh Hashanah in the sixth row of St. Bartholomew's Church, something I could never do while a kid attending Temple Emanu-El. Sitting with an enormous rose window off to the right (at least, I *think* it was a rose window) lit in stained glass blue made me feel right at home. The joke about Emanu-El was that it was a cathedral. St. Bart's felt a little more Christian, less Judeo, I have to say. Something about the large mosaic crosses.
Because I was raised Jewish and Christian, I'm still trying to decide just what I am. Maybe a typical New York Jew.
In any case, this is the year to decide. It's unlikely I'd give up Midnight Mass. But it's nigh impossible I'd give up Passover seders. Some days I think I'm Jewish just for the food holidays. A good break fast is a fine event. And so is Easter dinner.
Argh!
Meanwhile, question: are New York Jews more tolerant than Jews (250 or fewer?) who live between the coasts? Does all this churchgoing make them more expansive? Or just tepidly Jewish?
I thought of my grandfather, who, in a small Connecticut town, moved his family into what I've heard was the Christian section. Many years later, I was among the first Jews at my church kindergarten. I'm not sure what these divisions mean any more and would be grateful if Budd Schulberg would explain that key passage in his novel What Makes Sammy Run?, and sooner than later. The idea of non-existent Jewishness comes up in Gentleman's Agreement, too.
[If the links were working better, this note would be expansive.]
posted by Elizabeth Manus at 11:58 PM
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