RE: Der yidisher tam

[Solidarity Foundation <svzandt...>]

On Sun, 8 Mar 1998 09:54:13 EST, Marvin3809 wrote:

It seems that the only difference between us is whether it is OK for tastes to
change. 
No, I think almost everybody involved in this "Itsy-Bitsy Spider" discussion.
myself included, wants tastes to change. The question is, in what direction
should they change? The question is, what is the RESPONSIBILITY of those
of us who are musicians, in influencing the tastes of those we play or 
sing or daven for? The question is, is taste just something indifferent, or
does it play an important role in our cultural and religious lives?

 Are you saying "Stop the world!  I want to get off"? - asks Marvin3809

I-L: "The World" is not the only factor in change. The other factor is
ourselves, as ethical agents, with responsibility for what we do. "The
World" is now eating up cultures like they were bagels. I don't believe
a responsible person in Jewish culture just sits there like a bagel. A
responsible person thinks about the specifics of what's happening, also
about what ought to be or needs to be accomplished, and how to go about
doing it. They'll have different responses, but they'll respond in an
active not a passive way, to "the world".

You write:
The biggest change of all would be if the world stopped changing.

Right. That's why that's never the issue. The issue is what should the
changes be? I am advocating changes in terms of a tradition. That means
people should be thoroughly steeped in the tradition as a first requirement.
Only then will they be able to judge what changes might be for the better,
or at least of equal quality, and what changes might be for the worse.
When you are able to be creative from within a tradition, that's when
it's a living tradition. That's what I'm advocating, Marvin3809.

Then you write:
If you can't find a restaurant that serves the kind of food you like, perhaps
it is because the ones that didn't change their menus didn't have enough
customers. 

Perhaps it's because their landlords just tripled their rent for a new
commercial lease.

You write:
  I'd also like to have old-fashioned bagels, but there don't seem
to be enough of us left to keep some bakers producing them.
No, there are enough of us. Too many of them, or their corporate owners,
don't give a damn. For example, if you use malt, it takes longer for the
dough to rise. So they use sugar. That's why the bagels are becoming
sweet. That's just one of the little tricks downgrading the product.
I don't think we should be so glib about Jewish culture being determined
by the "free market." I didn't know my culture was for sale.

It least I can still get real bialy's at Kossars - and now they are kosher.
How long will that last? 
I don't know. But maybe it'll last if we do something. In Britain, they
formed CAMRA to prevent the disappearance of real ale. It had a trememndous
success. I think we need a world-wide movement to protect reality, period.
Itzik-Leyb