LL-L "Traditions" 2012.03.18 (04) [EN]

[Lowlands-L]

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 L O W L A N D S - L - 18 March 2012 - Volume 04
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From: Hellinckx Luc luc.hellinckx at gmail.com

Subject: LL-L "Traditions"


Dear Gael,

You wrote:

    To be optimistic though, I do think the way back to a real past is easy
enough to discover.  I’m grateful for all your emails, especially those
that carry ideas forward in languages besides English.  Gradually I’m
learning to read them.   So yes, learning new languages is fun, Hanne.
Thanks for helping me to do the same.   I hope you all know that I’m more
than happy to engage in the real past and not just propagate these fake
ones.  But locally here in rural Minnesota, I’ve started to think more
about strategies for recovering painful memories—like those that wounded
Civil War veterans brought back to this area over 100 years ago after
fighting fellow Americans from the southern part of the country.  There are
also intentionally obstructed memories of a bloody war with the native
Dakota tribe that resulted in their banishment to the neighboring state.
 It is probably not coincidental that these superficial invented traditions
started to emerge about that time.  How does one move forward after so many
years????  I think you all in Europe and other places with intact,
realistic memories of the past can help us in the US.  The question remains
how, though.  Let’s keep talking.


You hit the nail right on the head. Many people (all over the world) are
indeed scared to bring up the real past. It could be a period in time they
are not proud of and it sure helps to "invent" something superficial and
festive to wash it all away. For me, there should be balance, indulging in
the past is not the way to go but this party-like atmosphere is all too
easy as well. "Créer, c'est se souvenir", Victor Hugo once said. We need
both.

Ed's link to the Jiingtamok site contained at least one good phrase in this
respect:

"We have faith in our children that they will never allow what has happened
in the past to happen again."

Kind greetings,

Luc Hellinckx, Halle, Belgium

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From: R. F. Hahn <sassisch at yahoo.com>
Subject: Traditions

Thanks for the reports about your sojourn in the USA, Roger.

Many national chain stores (like Target) tend to vary their offerings to
accommodate local requirements.

Some food at the Target is also marked "Kosher", other as "100% Kosher".I
don't know what is the difference between the two.

The label "kosher" is often used to mean simply "kosher-style," but these
foodstuffs have not (necessarily) been certified kosher by rabbinic
overseers. For instance, Hebrew National sausages are often referred to as "
kosher <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kashrut>" but are not "100% kosher"
(or *glat kosher* גלאַט כשר as it is called in
Yiddish<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yiddish>and
Yinglish <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yinglish>). And then there is
"kosher for Passover <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Passover>" (which has
had no contact with leavening). These days, most American Jews do not
actually "keep kosher," though many of them will observe the basic rules,
such as avoiding port and shellfish, and not consuming dairy and meat at
the same meal. It is especially Orthodox Jews that follow *all *the rules
and buy only certified kosher foods. (BTW, "kosher" does not only refer to
food; it refers to clothing, lifestyle and interpersonal dealings as well.)

I do not see people over here (Brentwood-Clayton area) in traditional
Ashkenasi dress, just incidentally (but exceptionally) though young girls
with long dresses (the boys do not have the hair strings at the ears as one
sees in Antwerp).

The Antwerp people you are talking about, Roger, are Ultra-Orthodox Jews
(a.k.a. Haredim) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haredim>. There are several
streams or movements among them. The trained eye can distinguish them by
their clothing and hairstyles. Long side
locks<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peyoth>(Hebrew
*pe'ot* פֵּאוֹת, Yiddish *peyes*) are sported by boys and men in some of
these streams or movements. In some movements they hang loose, in others
they are curled and in yet others they are tucked behind the ears. You will
see many of these versions in communities in Israel and in the northeastern
United States (mostly in Borough Park and Williamsburg, New York). Here on
the western side of the country you will see such things quite rarely, and
this includes the *tzitzit* (צִיצִית) <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tzitzit>,
strings or tassels that hang out from boy's and men's clothing. These days,
the majority of practicing American Jews belong to the Reform
Movement<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reform_Judaism>(which began in
Hamburg, Germany), somewhat fewer to the Conservative
Movement <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Judaism> (called
Masorti outside North America, a movement that began in Seeßen, Germany),
and a dwindling number to the Orthodox
Movements<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orthodox_Judaism>,
though Ultra-Orthodox Jews tend to procreate rapidly (so much so that right
now one of four Israeli schoolchildren comes from an Ultra-Orthodox
household -- and many Ultra-Orthodox Jews don't even recognize Israel's
existence as legitimate). Also, there are Humanistic (or
Secular)<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Humanist_Judaism>and
Reconstructionist
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reconstructionist_Judaism>Jewish
movements. All movements except the Orthodox ones are bundled
together under the label "Progressive
Judaism<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Progressive_Judaism>
."

Sorry I have rambled on about this. I did so because most people outside
North America have no knowledge or appreciation of Jewish diversity. (And
this was only the tip of the iceberg.) There are currently barely thirteen
million Jews on this planet -- a tiny minority. But a bit more than half of
them live in North America and have strongly influenced almost all facets
of European-derived North American culture and history. This is why it is
important to learn about them, even within a Lowlands context.

Regards,
Reinhard/Ron
Seattle, USA


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