SOCI 210 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Jewish Culture, Sephardi Jews, Yiddish
3 May 2018
School
Department
Course
Professor
SOCI 227 – Jews in North America
Introduction: Who are they? Why study them? – January 8th
Readings: introduction, chapter 1, chapter 2, Sklare, Fishman
Judaism – a case study of issues that are affected via religion and ethnicity
• Lived as a minority around the world for over 2000 years
• Created what is now Israel and they were scattered, expelled and murdered since then
• Group is economic because it has a lot of experience living as a minority – lots of this
was bitter but not all of it
• Diversity provides the context and an explanation for the paradoxical success of
Canadian Jewish life
o In an atmosphere of security, Jews are able to participate fully in the life of their
society and at the same time maintain a vibrant Jewish culture
o For Jews, their trade-off to achieve this multicultural identity is not so severe
o Jews in the diaspora have created a workable synthesis of opposites
o Secular Jewish culture has emerged along other progress – all representing the
hallmarks of modernity
o Yet traditional Jewish identity remains a powerful ideal
• Diversity is key to Jewish success
• Pessimistic and optimistic views in the US – regards to assimilation and loss of Jewish
identities
Canada Jews are the ideal Canadians
• Understanding Canadian Jews is of importance to 3 intersecting areas of contemporary
scholarship – idea of Modern Jewish Studies, field of Canadian Studies, general field of
sociology of minority groups, transnationalism, diaspora, religion, etc.
Multiculturalism – but these are difficult to do at the same time
1. Integrate, and
2. Retain a culture
Who are they - An ethnic and national group – these are not independent, they are ways in
which Jews identify and see themselves
• Story begins in the Middle East, bible tells us they were Israeli and left Egypt to settle in
the Holy Land
• Word Jew – comes from Hebrew word, from tribe of Judah, kingdom of Judea
• Only since the Holocaust has north America outplaced the EU as having the largest
amount of Jewish population outside of Israel, which is the largest Jewish community in
the world
• Jews have never been a united people, internal conflict is common and a theme in the
bible
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• New element of Jewish identity – increasing proportion of those who see themselves as
pat Jeish, hethe a esult of iteaiage, o eause the hose to eae
multiple identities
1. Ethnological group
• They are a people, am Yisrael (the nation of Israel), defined by common descent, sense
of history, and other cultural attributes
• Expulsion of 70 AD sent them from current areas of Israel and Palestine into Roman
Empire and EU, as well as Africa and the Middle East
• Ancient or Oriental Jews: from Iraq, Yemen, and Iran
o Shaped by Islam and Arabic cultures
• Sephardic Jews: from Spain and Inquisition, Turkey, Greece, and North Africa and the
Middle East, Portugal
o Shaped by Islam and Arabic cultures
o Many oriental can be loosely considered Sephardi
o Ladino – Spanish-Jewish language
• Ashkenazi Jews: Central and Eastern Europe, Yiddish decent
o Comprise 90% of North American Jews
o Only 50% of Jews in Israel are Ashkenazi, much more balanced
o Shaped by EU
o Today comprise ¾ of world Jewish population
o Shaped first by environment of European Christianity, and later by various
currents of liberalism, secularism, political Zionism, socialism, and communism
o Yiddish language, emerging as a ford of Judeo-German
o Developed several types and representations of Judaism
o Division existed between themselves, btw. those of Germany and those of
Eastern Europe
▪ Germans became wealthier and more established
▪ Eastern EU were seen as uncouth, less civilized
• Social relevance exists in Israel between these different ethnological groups
• Racialization can also play a role due to skin colour differences
• Sephardic and oriental, shaped by Arab cultures and Islam as well as colonial powers in
France and England
• Culture of Eastern EU Jewry, while not as prominent today should not be ignored or
forgotten
o They provoke a nostalgic appeal
• These ethnic differences have cultural dimensions in language, music, ritual, cuisine, etc.
that should not be overlooked
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find more resources at oneclass.com
2. Genetics
• Jews are a population group, not a race
• However, they are a biological dissent group, because Judaism is passed down via the
Mother
• Great racial diversity exists and is obvious to anyone who has visited Israel, since among
Jews there is a wide array of skin colours, shades, and physical characteristics
• Black Jews – traced to Jewish slave-holders
• Though not a race, they do represent a distinctive group within population genetics
o Combined with last names, speech patterns, body language, etc. along with
genetics – often easy to identify where they are from
o Fingerprint patterns are now an indicator which show both local variations
among Jews throughout the world and core similarities to other Eastern
Mediterranean groups, indicating possible common genetic origin
• Diseases:
o Tay Sachs – affects Ashkenazi Jewish children, risk of infant death
o List of at least 40 others Jewish diseases
▪ Lactose intolerance, etc.
▪ Cancer rates are higher
▪ Mental illness
• On average, they do well despite these diseases on life expectancy and morbidity –
possibly because of culture and social structure, religious hand-washing, etc.
• Jewish intelligence or cleverness has been seen as an innate Jewish racial or biological
characteristic
Why do we see these differences?
1. Culture structures
a. Assumed linkage between Jews and intellect or creativity predates the modern
period
b. Jews won significant amount of Nobel Prizes, etc.
c. Above average IQ scores and tests, but worse on hands on reasoning
d. These patterns do not stop at the border, also evident in Canada
2. Social structures
a. In-marriage in-breeding poses genetic risk regarding intelligence, number of
esoteric non-genetic argument made for strong intellectual performance of
Jewish children
b. But their intellectual future may not be as bright – Jews are no longer so
concentrated among highest ranks for education, profession, scientific achievers,
they are being supplanted by Asians
Origins of Jews
• DNA can shed light on the origins of Jews
• Original Jews were indeed Semitic looking, and dark skinned
• In general, Jews come to look like the host populations of diaspora
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Readings: introduction, chapter 1, chapter 2, sklare, fishman. Multiculturalism but these are difficult to do at the same time: integrate, and, retain a culture. Jews are a population group, not a race: however, they are a biological dissent group, because judaism is passed down via the. Mother: great racial diversity exists and is obvious to anyone who has visited israel, since among. Jewish intelligence or cleverness has been seen as an innate jewish racial or biological characteristic. Jewish children: but their intellectual future may not be as bright jews are no longer so concentrated among highest ranks for education, profession, scientific achievers, they are being supplanted by asians. Origins of jews: dna can shed light on the origins of jews, original jews were indeed semitic looking, and dark skinned. In general, jews come to look like the host populations of diaspora. Marriage patterns: catholicism church would take the brightest men, make them priests and lose their biological mind via genetics.
