Re: klezmer experience

[Rachael Kafrissen <rokhl...>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "david lowther" <dlowther (at) telus(dot)net>
To: "World music from a Jewish slant" <jewish-music (at) shamash(dot)org>
Sent: Friday, September 05, 2003 9:18 AM
Subject: Re: klezmer experience


> David writes:

> the important thing to remember is that the prozelytizer (of any belief)
> sincerely believes in the truth they are pushing at you.  for them, any
> other belief is a lie.  despite the obnoxious behaviour that leads to it
> does lend a thin moral justification for what is done.

No, there is no moral justification for this deception. No, a thousand times
no! They don't believe that you can be jewish and christian at the same
time. It is a sales ploy to bring in the uneducated. These messianic groups
are supported by denominations like the Southern Baptists. They want their
converts to be Southern Baptists, ultimately, not "jews".



>
> as regards to the duplicitous tactic of using christianized aspects of
> judaic culture to ensnare the intellectually challenged, how is that new?
> the christians did the same to the romans at the very beginning, taking
> their festivals and gods (like saturnalia and pan) and using them for
> propaganda purposes.

Intellectually challenged? This is not a matter of intellect, it is a matter
of preying on undereducated populations, people who know they are Jewish but
don't know much more than that. I know, for example, that they target
certain immigrant groups who identify as Jewish but have not had any Jewish
education. Further, they are not using "christianized aspects of judaic
culture". They are using hebrew, jewish ritual garments, jewish music,
WHATEVER IT TAKES. It's not surprising that many are taken in- they play a
slick game.
>
> and how can any jew who actually falls for the presentation of joshua ben
> joseph as the messiah be anything but a deluded schmuck?
>
> that in no way makes them any less jewish, despite all their own
> protestations and denial.  so let them play klezmer, the same way the
> funamentalists who thirty years ago called rock and roll "satan's music"
now
> use it in their own services to attract the young.  at least some may
> remember where they came from, and find their way home.


You seem to believe that being Jewish is somehow genetic or racial. Yes, I
understand that this was sufficient during the Third Reich. Are we defining
ourselves according to the Nuremburg laws these days? If so, perhaps the
"bad guys" have won.

As to the Jews who may be taken in by the missionaries, well, if they
continue to affiliate with the missionaries and profess a belief in Jesus,
yes that does make them less Jewish. It makes them Christians, in fact.
Ultimately, I believe, your jewishness is defined by the life you lead, not
your provenance.

As to the missionaries, should we be playing klezmer for them because it
might help them remember where they came from? I think not. If they did
indeed start out Jewish, they certainly know where they came from. For
example, at my Jewish law school a couple of years ago there was a tricky
christian group  (my name, not theirs) on campus going by the name of The
Original Law Club. The woman who was the president was named Rachel
Hirschfeld. Her father is a well known parking garage magnate and, so I'm
told, Holocaust survivor. I don't think Rachel needed any poignant reminders
of what she was leaving behind. I have a suspicion (though I admit that it
is unconfirmed) that she was *not* originally "taken in" by a J for J type
group but probably converted and then became active in a group like this
precisely because she was useful to them. Here she was with every indicia of
Jewishness, how could she not be straight up? Having Rachel front a group
like this at Cardozo is exactly like using klezmer music to convince people
that they, the missionaries, really are Jewish. It's a calculated effort at
deception and cultural "identity theft".

OK, I just searched for info on Rachel. Here's a link for those interested
in hearing the story (from her point of view). My hunch was correct, she was
converted to Christianity, not "messianic judaism". The story of the club
was different than she portrays. Let's just say that she hid her
evangelizing mission to suit her needs.
http://www.upcyberdown.org/KNN/archive/2002/04/20020405_003.htm

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