Jews/Judaism

Jews/Judaism

I have decided to stick with what is important in my life.  Religion is very important to me and that’s what I want to do my cultural reporter project on.  For my different cultural group, I decided to stick with religion but in a different culture.  I really wanted to branch out on what I know and research a group that I knew a little about. My different cultural group I choose is Jews/Judaism.

As I grew up in the Methodist church with my family, my pastor took me and my fellow confirmation member to a Jewish synagogue.  It really opened my eyes a lot and no looking back at it I would like to know more.

Judaism for most of us is a religion.  But Judaism guides its adherents in both practice and beliefs.  The members of Judaism are called Jews. 

Some Jews think of their Jewish-ness as a matter of culture or ethnicity.  When most people think of Jewish culture/Judaism they think of their food, Yiddish language, holidays and cultural values like emphasis on education.  Jews have lived in different parts of the world which has developed into different traditions. 

Jews share different cultural traits and behaviors which make them feel more comfortable around other Jews.  

Arts and culture can help renew Jewish life because their dynamic, spiritual, and emotional nature can inspire individuals, create a sense of community, and provoke radically new ideas. This renewal can take the form of connecting with those outside the purview of Jewish institutional life, reenergizing those Jews within the community, and perhaps even bridging the gaps between different Jewish communities.

DanSchifrin.(http://www.myjewishlearning.com/culture/2/About_Jewish_Culture/Arts_in_Jewish_Culture/Case_for_Jewish_Culture.shtml) The Case of Jewish Culture.
            I can’t wait till I get to conduct interviews and observations of this culture.