[HANASHIR:14654] Re: secular music

[Amy Fried, Ph.D. <jdkrheum...>]

I can definitely relate to this concern. Any teacher struggles with
trying to make material relevant to their students' lives. But I agree
that in the small amount of time we have, we need to think about what's
uniquely Jewish (not always an easy question to answer - after all, the
history of Judaism is filled with instances of borrowing from the
surrounding culture.)
-Amy 
On Wed, 18 Jun 2003 10:50:58 -0500 (CDT) sholom (at) aishdas(dot)org writes:
> > Shalom,
> > I think that secular music is only secular if we ourselves cannot
> > connect  some spiritual meaning to it.
> 
> I don't think the disagreement/discussion is over whether we can 
> "connect"
> or not -- there are lots of things we can "connect to."
> 
> The issue that concerns at least some of us is whether we are using 
> our
> time to pass on our Jewish heritage, tradition, our inheretance, or 
> not.
> 
> > For the 9/11 anniversary last
> > year, I took my 5th &
> > 6th graders outside.  We sat in a close group on the grass.  They 
> had
> > already had assemblies and discussions in school. Rather than 
> doing a
> > formal service  with traditional liturgy, we read a poem and sang 
> John
> > Lennon's Imagine.   That song became a prayer for a peaceful time 
> to
> > come. (Ironic isn't it because  it talks about a time of no 
> religion!)
> 
> In a Jewish school, you led the singing of a song that prays for a 
> time
> there is no religion?  What message does that tell the children?
> 
> > For kids, some of whom were no further than two steps of 
> separation from
> > the  tragedy we were commemorating, I believe that this brough us 
> closer
> > to God and  each other better than anything "Jewish" could have.
> 
> It would be good to examine why you thought this is true.
> 
> There is nothing in Judaism that can connect to these kids better 
> than
> "Imagine" ?
> 
> That _must_ imply a failure _somewhere_, no?
> 
> -- Sholom
> 
> 
> 
> 
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