So, nu, who's a Jew ? (part 7)

Submitted by saltysteve on Thu, 05/21/2009 - 16:59

(ii) Yes, Jews have shaped our lives - the puzzle (head-scratching time)

Now have you finished wallowing in national pride? Let's face it, most books you have read on the subject would have just left it with the above lists in order to leave the impression in your mind of "look at us, aren't we great! Don't the facts speak for themselves." But we need to say what is usually not said explicitly. There is something special about these folk!

But what is it? Is it in the genes, a biologically inherited characteristic? Is it the environment, perhaps something about being herded into ghettos and forced into inward contemplation? These are definitely contributory factors probably in the same way (and it has to be said) why Afro/Caribbeans excel at sport and music. But Jewish people have impacted the world in so many different spheres and have influenced the thinking of the world so dramatically, that we need to look deeper at this situation.

The three men who have, arguably, most influenced the 20th century, Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud and Karl Marx were all Jewish, as were the founders of two of the main world religions, Judaism and Christianity. Even Muhammad, the founder of Islam, drew greatly from Jewish sources. I'm sure someday someone will discover that the Buddha was a victim of the first Diaspora who got lost and ended up in India!

Like it or not, we Jews are pretty religious too. There is a joke that is told, in various forms, by Jews the world over. It goes something like this, in a heavy Jewish accent:

'Sadie Cohen, an elderly Jewish lady from New York goes to her travel agent.

"I vont to go to India."

"Mrs Cohen, India! It's filthy, it's too hot, and it's full of brown people!"

"I vont to go to India."

"But it's a long journey. And what will you eat? The food's too hot and spicy. You can't drink the water, you can't eat fresh fruit or vegetables. You'll get ill. Plague, cholera, typhoid. God only knows. Can you imagine? And no Jewish doctors. Why torture yourself?"

"I vont to go to India."

So arrangements are made and off she goes. She gets there and despite the noise, the smells, the crowds, she gets to the ashram, a holy place. There she joins the long queue waiting to see the guru, the holy man. She's told she'll have to queue for three days. Out comes her knitting. Eventually she's at the head of the queue. She's told firmly that she's allowed only three words with the guru.

"Dat's OK."

She's ushered into the inner sanctum where the guru is seated, ready to bestow blessings on eager disciples. Again she's reminded by an aide that she's only got three words. Unlike every other visitor she doesn't prostrate herself at his feet. She stands right in front of him, her arms crossed, staring at him fixedly and says,

"Marvin, come home."'

You may laugh but Jews form a large proportion of both leaders and followers of many spiritual movements, some of them decidedly dodgy. You'll see them in yoga and meditation classes, New Age cults, Hindu and Buddhist groups. One guru had so many Jewish disciples that he called them 'Hinjews'. Jews are not always as material minded as people think, many seem to spend their lives searching to fill a spiritual 'hole in their heart'.

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