Holocaust Film

Many people consider the Holocaust to have started in different years. For example, some believe it began in 1933 when the Nazis came to power, others believe it began in 1938 when Kristallnacht took place, while others believe it started in 1939 when the Nazis invaded Poland. Nonetheless, the Holocaust is a memorable tragedy in history that will never be forgotten for both Jews and non-Jews. There are many definitions of what the Holocaust is but most people would describe it as the extermination of six million Jews and five million others, making a total of eleven million souls. The Holocaust has been depicted in various Holocaust films to portray what went on during these hard times. For example, the acclaimed Stephen Speilberg film Schindler’s List was released on Christmas Day in 1993. This film got so much attention because it was filmed by an acclaimed director and it was filmed in black in white. Former President Bill Clinton even recommended that it is a movie that everyone should see. I have not seen this movie but I definitely plan on watching it in the near future. My favorite Holocaust movie is Life is Beautiful, which was released in 1997. It is a movie with subtitles because it is filmed in Italian and I get emotional every time I watch it. Like people recommend Schindler’s List as a must see, I definitely recommend seeing Life is Beautiful as well. Despite the fact that the Holocaust is a gruesome event, my parents encouraged my siblings and I to engage in Holocaust education from an early age. I remember going to the theatres at seven years old to see this movie and it is one of the most impacting movies I have seen yet.

Gaucher's Disease

Gaucher’s disease is a common Jewish genetically inherited disease. It is an enzyme deficiency disorder and it can occur at any age. “Gaucher’s disease results from the deposition of glucocerebroside in the liver, bone marrow, and spleen. The enzyme glucocerebrosidase normally breaks down glucocerebroside, but patients with Gaucher’s Disease do not manufacture enough of the enzyme, and deposition of glucocerebroside results. Type I Gaucher’s Disease is the most common genetic disease among Jews. An estimated one in 450 to one 1500 in people of Ashkenazi descent are carriers. (Estimated: One in Ten Ashkenazi Jew is a carrier of Gaucher’s.)” (mazernot.com). Gaucher’s disease is just one of the common genetic diseases amongst Jews. I am choosing to blog on Gaucher’s disease because it is a disease that runs specifically on my mother’s side of the family. Her mother/my grandmother passed away from the disease when I was about two years old. My mother is a carrier and because she is a carrier, her children have the risk of being carriers as well. Therefore, myself and my three older siblings were also tested to see if we were carriers of the disease. Luckily, my four siblings and I are not carriers and thus, there is no chance that our children could inherit the disease. One can inherit the disease only if both parents are carriers. For example, if my father was also a carrier of the disease, there would be a great chance that me or one of my siblings would get the disease.

Holocaust Museums

Yesterday, on April 19, 2009, thousands attended the opening of the new Holocaust Museum in Chicago Illinois. President Barack Obama says that when school children visit this Holocaust Museum and education center, they will expand their learning and that they will see that “there is no greater obligation than to confront acts of inhumanity” (Associated Press). Illinois Governor Pat Quinn and former President Bill Clinton spoke at the Sunday opening. The new Holocaust Museum cost about $45 million to build and is 65,000 square feet. “The new museum is considered the largest of its kind in the Midwest. It houses more than 2,000 Holocaust survivor testimonies” (Associated Press). I am pleased to see that there is yet another Holocaust Museum in the United States. One may wonder how there is yet another museum to hold Holocaust remembrance artifacts. I would have thought that all of the other Holocaust museums in the world would have already possessed these artifacts. This just proves how massive the destruction of the Holocaust was and that there are piles upon piles of documentation and artifacts that have been preserved and can be put on display. This Midwest museum will allow Midwesterners to be exposed to something that they may not have been aware of beforehand. I have visited various Holocaust museums including the museum in Washington DC and Yad Vashem in Israel. Although both museums were moving to see while I was there, I was most impacted by the museum in Washington DC because I remember seeing videos of children, piles of shoes and glasses, and a room called “Daniel’s room.” Nevertheless, all individuals, Jewish or non Jewish should visit a Holocaust museum at some point in their lives.

Exogamy

Exogamy has long been an issue of controversy in Judaism. Exogamy is the act of choosing and reproducing with a life partner outside one’s defined group. In other words, exogamy is often referred to as intermarriage. Intermarriage is given a negative connotation because people see intermarriage as a threat to the Jewish religion. Some think intermarriage is the cause of Judaism’s shrinkage. One may wonder what religion the offspring of intermarriage relationships will be. Many believe that the children’s religion is determined by their mother’s religion. For example, if the mother is Catholic and the father is Jewish, the children will automatically be raised Catholic. I disagree with this belief/rule because children with Jewish fathers and Catholic mothers can just as well be raised Jewish. I know a family who has a Catholic mother and a Jewish father and each child was bar/bat mitzvahed. On the other side of the spectrum, my friend has a Jewish father and a Catholic mother but does not identify with the Jewish religion. He was baptized and attends church on a regular basis. Although he grew up in a Jewish town and attended many bar/bat mitzvahs in middle school, he identifies as a Catholic. In the near future, my brother will marry a “shiksa” or non Jewish woman. Nevertheless, despite the fact that his future wife is not Jewish, he knows that his children will be raised Jewish. They will take part in Jewish traditions including holidays and becoming a bar/bat mitzvah. It is the duty of the Jewish people to keep the religion going. Therefore, people who partake in intermarriages, whether the mother or father is Jewish, should raise their children Jewish.

The White House Seder

For the first time ever, President Barack Obama is hosting a Passover Seder at the White house. This Seder is going to be held, tomorrow, on the second night of Passover where his friends and staff will attend. The Seder is going to be held on the second night of the holy holiday so that it does not disrupt first night family Seders. “’Jews are a vital component in the mosaic that is American culture and society,’ he said. ‘Our welcome through the front door, and the dining room door, of the White House speaks to the inclusiveness of today's America and of President Obama. This night is indeed different from all other nights’” (jta.org). It is interesting to see Obama’s efforts in hosting this event. Previously, former President George W. Bush has hosted Hanukkah parties. It is more appropriate for these Presidents to host Hanukkah parties and Passover Seders because they are the more commercialized Jewish holidays. They would probably not be found hosting the Jewish holidays of Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah because they are of the high holidays category. One may wonder if the White house kitchen is keeping kosher and keeping to the rules of the holiday for this night. If they do plan on following these rules, they must follow the rules of the kitniyot. The kitniyot says that food cannot contain corn syrup, corn products, rice, soy, gluten, and cannot leaven. I believe that the White house will try to the best of their ability to meet the standards of the kitniyot.

Passover

When I think of Passover I think of the Jewish holiday that occurs in the spring where you cannot eat bread for seven days. This absence of bread represents “when Pharaoh freed the Israelites, and they left in such a hurry that they could not wait for bread to rise. In commemoration, for the duration of Passover, no leavened bread is eaten” (wikipedia.com). Thus, Jews eat matza and it acts as the primary symbol of the holiday. Many original foods can be made from matza including two of my favorite – matza bray and matza pizza. I am a Reform Jew and although I am not compelled to “keep Passover,” I always try my best to follow the rules of the holiday, which bans the presence of yeast and other specific ingredients in foods. “The Passover Seder Meal is a Jewish ritual feast held on the first and the second night of Passover” (wikipedia.com). Seders will be taking place on the Indiana University campus at both the Hillel and Chabad centers in addition to Kappa Kappa Gamma and the freshman dorm Foster. Students are enabled to participate for a small fee of twelve to sixteen dollars. The food will be kosher and students are encouraged to stop by to participate in this holy holiday. My grandmother encourages me to attend the school Seder at Hillel since I will not be able to attend the Seder that my family is hosting at my home. In contrast to Conservative and Orthodox Jews, the Seders that my family holds do not occupy a long period of time. The Seder typically lasts for fifteen to twenty minutes. My favorite Passover memory occurs at the end of the Passover meal - looking for the Afikomen. Passover is a wonderful holiday for family members to get together to honor their Jewish pride and history.

Color

When one thinks of physical characterisitics of a typical Jew one often thinks of a Jewish individual as being white, dark, and with a big nose. It is interesting to see that there is a wide range of Jews who do not meet this physical critera. When sitting in the airport waiting for my flight to depart, I was sitting across from a young hispanic mother and her daugher. After looking at the this hispanic family sitting just a few feet away from me, I noticed a Magen David necklace around the mother’s neck. I was particularly surprised to see that this hispanic mother and daughter were Jewish considering that I have not been exposed to many hispanic Jews in my area. My friend who resides in Miami is a Colombian Jew and she has friendly with many Colombian and Mexican Jews as well. Just because I am not exposed to hispanic Jews does not mean that they do not exist. As a child, I went on a mission to Israel with my family. There, we went to a concert conducted by a family of Ethiopian Jews. It is interesting to see that Jews can be any color, ethnicity, or race and just because they do no make up the marjoirty, does not mean that they should be ignored. While watching the segment from “Black Israel” it was interesting to see this Ethiopian congregation. It think they add so much life to the Jewish religion through their interest in their history and through their bright, colorful clothing. Many things come in all different shapes, colors, and sizes and people should not ignore differences within their communities.

Increase In Orthodox Jews

Synagogue 3000 illustrates that there is a growng interest among othodox Jews particularly those thrity five and younger. While spiritual views are increasing, ethnic views are decreasing. In other words, American Judaism is becoming less ethnic and spiritually oriented. In a recent suvey conducted by Synagogue 3000, five percent reported being Orthodox sixty-five and older. Six percent reported being Orthodox ages thirty-six to sixety-four. Last but not least, fifteen percent reported being Orthodox ages thirty-five and below. I think this survey is very interesting in that the youngest generation amongst the participants reported having the highest percentage of practicing Orthodox. More and more American Jews are expressing interest in studying and experiencing spirituality through their religion. It is very surprising to see that there is an increase in Orthodox Jews and Jewish pride. I would have guessed that as the years go by there would be a less percentage of people who really cared about their religion. I thought that there would be a decline in praciticing Jews because of the increase in Christian Jewish marriages. My grandparents and parents have always stressed the importance of marrying within Judaism. Now that we are in 2009, I think intermarriage religion couples are more accepted. Although there may be some controversy over that matter, people are more tolerant of it. My grandparents for example may reject this idea because they are very traditional. Regardless I am pleased to see that numbers in Orthodox Jews are increasing dramatically.