RE: Nittl

[Alex Jacobowitz <Alex_Jacobowitz...>]

B"H Lucerne, Switzerland

Uh, folks, is this turning down the same road as the cantor issue?
Folklorist or folklorist, Cantor or cantor - let's cut the "professionalism
at all costs" approach, please.

NONE of us are only what we do, no matter how many degrees we have. We are
mothers and brothers,
Jews and Gentiles, politicians and farmers, musicians and thinkers.

Reyzl, if you are a folklorist, you know that you owe the subject matter to
the people who created it.
And if someone wants to say that all Jews are folklorists, why not let
him-her have his-her opinion?
And frankly, YOU know that a Jew need not speak YIddish to tell a Jewish
joke, nor have a master's
from Columbia (wasn't there a Woody Allen joke about that ?) to tell a
Jewish story.

Would you, with your "professionalism", put all our mothers and fathers out
of a job,
saying they may no longer teach their children Jewish folklore, that it
must be left only in the hands of a professional?

AND BESIDES, YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE YOUR DOCTORATE!

Yes, friend Reyzl, we're all folklorists. Some will be better than others.
Accept the fact
that you've got a lot of competition.

Most importantly, just as with the Cantors, please recall that respect is
earned, not proclaimed.
G'head - tell us all a story, if you like - but be wary of making yourself
the heroine.

Happy Hanuka, all

From the Swiss Catskills,
Alex Jacobowitz