This week in class we read section IV from Provincials, by Eli Evans. In the first chapter, Mister Jew, Evans talks about his upbringing during the 1950’s being a Jewish boy in a predominantly non-Jewish community. He notes that as a Jew he had to work hard – but not be the hardest, get good grades – but not the best grades and dress nicely – but not too flashy. As a child he wanted to meet the expectations of his parents, but not draw attention to himself and fall into the typical stereotypes of being a Jew. This concept of containing one’s identity resonated with me and led me to sympathize with Evans because he was forced to prevent himself from exceling in his education and he voluntarily suppressed his individuality in order to not meet the stereotype.
Of the three chapters included in this section, the one that stuck out to me was chapter 12: Intermarriage Southern Style. Early in the chapter, Evans noted, “A wealthy gentile girl who is marrying a Jewish boy and who belonged to an upper-crust sorority at the University of Georgia provided this insight into the late sixties: It was the society girls’ form of protest to go out with Jewish boys; I mean, we couldn’t date Negroes, right?” (161). As a current college student I agree that the notion of protesting and/or rebelling from the norm is appealing. However, this quote explains that dating a Jewish individual is a form of rebelling. Therefore, it shows that it was neither acceptable nor the norm in society to intermarry between religions. This notion of intermarriage is expanded upon when Evans notes, “since there was a premium on converting a Hebrew, [a woman] could rationalize [marrying a Jew] as a missionary opportunity” (162). This quote brings religious obligation and religious thinking into the concept of intermarriage. Earlier chapters noted the importance in Christianity to convert others to the religion, and here we note a specific way that this conversion can be accomplished: through marriage. This idea led me to wonder how many Jews converted to other religions during this time period for the purpose of marriage.
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This week we read The Jew Store: A Family Memoir by Stella Suberman. This memoir discusses the personal experiences of a Jewish family moving from Russia to New York and then finally settling in the Southern United States, specifically in Tennessee. There were multiple aspects of this book that I found interesting, especially the relations between the Jewish family and the African Americans in the South. Southerners looked down on both Jews and African Americans, as they were not the typical white protestants that lived in Tennessee. Nevertheless, Jews and African Americans interacted in numerous aspects of their lives. Jewish stores would sell to African Americans and whites, whereas typical southern stores did not allow African Americans to enter. In the book, Mr. Bronson had an African American employee named Seth. Mr. Bronson is portrayed to have immense respect for Seth, and even attempts to find him a respectable job. I found this to be fascinating because Jews were already marginalized and discriminated against in the South, and they only further marginalize themselves by treating African Americans humanely and with respect.
Overall, I greatly enjoyed reading this book. It explores numerous aspects of daily life in the South during the 1920’s, especially that related to religion. It shows how a family can overcome prejudice and discrimination to be successful and live accomplishing lives. Suberman clearly depicts her early childhood and engages the reader by providing vivid details of her town and the interactions and events her and her family participated in. I definitely recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about a family overcoming alienation and racism in a world that promised to provide the “American dream.” This week we read chapter 5 of Jewish Roots in Southern Soil, which is written by Robert N. Rosen and titled “Jewish Confederates.” This chapter begins by reiterating that Jews were in fact slaveholders in the southern United States. Previous readings made me question whether this was because Jews were intimidated by breaking the ‘norms’ of the south, or if they felt the institution of slavery was just. Rosen tackles this question by including a message from the Talmud, which states, “the law of the land is the law.” Thus, according to this quote, Jews most likely felt it was justifiable to have slaves because the law stated it was their legal right. However, I still find this to be difficult to fully grasp because the direct ancestors of these Jews had been slaves for hundreds of years. If these southern Jews were really practicing their religion and reading sacred texts, they would be constantly reminded of the stories of their ancestors in Egypt as slaves and would hopefully understand the hypocrisy of being slaveholders themselves.
Furthermore, with this idea in mind, I began to wonder if Jews treated their slaves differently than the other white southerners. It was already established that Jews were slaveholders in the southern United States, but was their treatment of slaves less harsh than those of other southerners? Given their history and the lives of their ancestors, it would be understandable if they treated their slaves more ethically and more humanely than others did. In regards to the fighting during the civil war, Rosen notes that, "Jewish Confederates...had a special burden during the war. They had to prove that Jews could fight." He then further explains that this was because Jews were seen as disloyal by white southerners in the United States. This piqued my interest and made me wonder why they were viewed as disloyal. They are portrayed as abiding by the norms of the Southern U.S., so in what aspects of life were they disloyal? I look forward to learning about this in future readings. Growing up in Long Island, New York, I have always been surrounded by fellow Jews in all aspects of my life. Throughout my childhood, I attended a conservative Hebrew school where I learned about my Jewish heritage and the events that my Jewish ancestors experienced. As a student at Emory, I have expanded my Jewish knowledge through my involvement with various Jewish organizations on campus. Additionally, I attended two Jewish education programs in Israel and Poland during my Junior year. Although I have been expanding my knowledge of Jewish culture and the Jewish experience throughout my life, I still have much to learn, especially regarding the specific experiences of Jews in the Southern United States.
This week I read chapters 6 and 8 in Jewish Roots in Southern Soil. It discussed the dense and complicated relations between African Americans and Jews in the south. I found it to be extremely interesting that Jews held slaves during this time period, regardless of their previous persecution and the fact that their ancestors had been slaves in Egypt. Is it possible that Jews held slaves for the sole reason of fitting in with the southern ‘Whites’, or did they truly believe that African Americans were of lesser status and it was thus accepted for them to be treated as slaves? Although it is difficult to accurately answer this question, I feel that the Jews held slaves in order to ‘fit in’ and not single themselves out even further from the average southern white citizen. I also find it interesting that some Jews stood up against the institution of slavery and basic discrimination against African Americans. For example, some rabbis from Southern temples fought against slavery, even if the members of their congregation did not agree with their stance. Additionally, Jews from the north traveled to the south and fought for equal rights during the Civil Rights Movement. I found this to, again, be extremely interesting because these Jews were directly putting themselves in danger in order to protect a group of minorities that they do not identify with. After reading this, I wondered what stance I would have taken had I been alive during this time period. |