As each generation of American Jews becomes more assimilated to Western society and further removed from the cultural traditions, many of its members embark on a search to discover their Jewish identity, said Lisa Schiffman, author of “Generation J,” at a lecture sponsored by Hillel Cultural Life and the Associated Student Government.
“We’re a generation of Jews who grew up with television, with Barbie, with rhinoplasty as a way of life,” Schiffman told 70 students and alumni Wednesday night in Accenture Forum. “Assimilation wasn’t something we strove for, it was the condition into which we were born.”
Schiffman said she began a two-year search for her identity in her early 30s, which she chronicles in “Generation J,” the 1999 winner of Amazon.com’s Jewish book of the year award.
“I (asked), what am I carrying around that makes me uncomfortable?” she said. “I realized it was my relationship to Judaism … I carried my Judaism around like an old piece of luggage.”
Schiffman, who earned a master’s degree in social anthropology from Oxford University, said she confronted her religion through a series of rituals and experiments.
In her autobiography Schiffman examined the ritual of hanging a mezuzah outside her home. Traditionally a mezuzah, which contains two prayers written on parchment scrolls, is hung on a doorpost to signify Jewish faith. But when her husband presented the small object as an anniversary present, Schiffman said she realized she had not taken her search far enough.
“The mezuzah wasn’t going on the front door,” she read from her book. “I wasn’t ready to declare myself.”
In the simplest sense, Judaism is “about crafting an identity,” she said.
“We are all Jews who share certain traits,” she said. “We are unsure what it is to be Jewish.”
Growing up in a mostly Christian community, Schiffman said she, like many third-generation Jews, had lost the cultural bonds that were strong for her parents and grandparents.
“Being Jewish was an activity,” she said. “Today I’ll be Jewish. Tomorrow I’ll play tennis.”
Schiffman said she shifted from feeling ambivalent toward her Judaism as a youth to seeing religion as a positive aspect of her life. Schiffman said she embraced her faith through her search, which included keeping a diary, attending a ritual cleansing ceremony and getting a henna tattoo of the Star of David.
“Everyone I know who is born Jewish never forgets that they are Jewish,” she said. “We have a collective consciousness as American Jews.”
Schiffman advised those searching for their religion to find a teacher of some sort, whether that person be a good friend, rabbi or philosopher.
“One turning point for me came when I read a Jewish philosopher who said Judaism is a mix of paradox and reconciliation,” she said.
Laurel Felt said Schiffman’s view about the differences among generations is relevant to her own experiences with Judaism.
“What she said about parents and our own generation was apt,” said Felt, an Education senior. “Our parents did grow up in a more close-knit community. Our environments are more open, and our ties to the old world are one generation further removed.”
