Thank you for the thoughtful post. The Torah has been read weekly -in the unique language of Hebrew -for well over 3000 years. In its current mode, close to 2000 years.
In its essence, the Torah sacralizes time, place and person as a guide to a proper ethical life. It is neither a history or science text.
The importance of this cannot be overstated: it’s bigger than the parent child relationship. Even mommy and daddy have to follow G-d’s laws.
G-d matters more to me than my children, but G-d forbid that ever being tested.
These three particular sacred - meaning unique- categories, allow the transmission of custom and history to transcend geography and language.
My 10th generation ancestor, father to son, was a rabbi in Prague. He speaks to me every time I open his books to translate them. My great and great grandparents have transmitted Torah insights down to us, and I already have done so for my kids.
Combine that with the Jewish historical upheavals of late 17th century Eastern Europe, where the seeds of Hasidism are sown, to flourish in the 18th century. The storytelling from this offshoot of Orthodoxy has much in common with Christian motifs. The emphasis on being kind to other despite desperate circumstances abound ind Gasisic literature.
Our storytelling generally has a moral/ethical bias to it. Given the human condition and our seemingly endless proclivity to hypocrisy, the ability to create humorous anecdotes abound
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful comment! I agree that the torah is more than just a story and that it becomes the cornerstone of how the community perceives ethics and values. I think all storytelling of all cultures centers that cultures values and themes. Stories fundamentally are a way to transmit values and ethics by showing instead of telling. So it makes sense that a Jewish story might require Jewish values or ethics to be at the center.
Welcome to this little corner of the Internet. Over in my little hovel at Projectkin.org/forum I've been advocating for people, ordinary people, to just tell their stories. I've focused on family history because that's often where the important stories lay hiding. You touched me with these quotes and the cultural context. I'm pushing the envelope on what stories are, inviting people to "create projects" as a way to tell their stories. It doesn't just break the mold. I'm inviting them to create new molds.
Let me get the ᓚᘏᗢ and a ☕️ so I'm ready for your next post.
Interesting! I like the idea of creating projects to capture family stories. It does seem to me that any attempt to explore a family history will have a layer of larger cultural context to it that is hard to untangle. The example that comes to mind for me, is that in my Jewish community (but not all of them) we are named after dead relatives. If I were to start telling the story of myself in the context of my family and the larger family history- one of the first thing to explain would be my name- who I was named after and what I do and do not know about them. I also know who each of my siblings and parents and cousins is named after (well not all of them but you get the point). I remember my family’s story through those connections and find them meaningful in a way that is likely culturally specific- even if the general idea of naming may cross cultural barriers.
First, naming traditions are important — and distinct — in many cultures. Understanding the history behind them is a foundational bit of family storytelling, especially if it's meant for family members.
Second, often the audience for family storytelling is something individuals often haven't thought very much about. They see "family history books" left behind by ancestors and assume that's the only way to tell stories. Well, in our modern, digital world, it doesn't have to be. As I'll be discussing in a talk later this week, (see "private podcasting" in our Events calendar) we now have options for storytelling forms that be rich with media yet still quite private.
Third, if you're going to capture stories meant exclusively for family, some topics, like naming traditions, become exceedingly important to explain. But, once explained, you don't need to bring it up each time, you can point to the "backgrounder" (for new in-laws, for example) and keep going.
A dear friend introduced me to some Jewish family traditions, our daughters and their friends have shared more. I think every culture can learn from the intentionality of storytelling traditions in Jewish culture. As my Chinese mother-in-law said to me once while contemplating new generations of mixed heritage I would introduce to her family... "the Jews do it right, we have to learn from them." 🥹 She's right. I'm trying to.
You'd be very welcome to join us. It's great to have you on Substack. I'm a subscriber now.
When I think of Jewish story telling I think about how the story may ask more questions than it answers.. which would probably frustrate a lot of readers - but alas we are taught to question everything in Judaism. Just the first thought that popped into my head.
I really enjoyed reading your writing, it’s inspiring me to continue working on an art/photo based project I’ve been delaying. Looking forward to reading more!
That’s an interesting thought! I see where you are coming from- and that is something to ponder. We do have a culture of questions- and I wonder how that translates into general storytelling. I am glad to hear you were inspired to work on creating something of your own. If nothing else- to have inspired someone else on their own journey would be enough.
If there are any questions, ideas, etc. that you think I should cover or explore, let me know! I do have a start of a list of ideas to work through - but always open to suggestions. I am prioritizing introduction articles (like this one, or maybe one explaining my choice of blog title, etc.) - to set the scene for how I am framing things before I go off exploring random niches. Lol.
Thank you for the thoughtful post. The Torah has been read weekly -in the unique language of Hebrew -for well over 3000 years. In its current mode, close to 2000 years.
In its essence, the Torah sacralizes time, place and person as a guide to a proper ethical life. It is neither a history or science text.
The importance of this cannot be overstated: it’s bigger than the parent child relationship. Even mommy and daddy have to follow G-d’s laws.
G-d matters more to me than my children, but G-d forbid that ever being tested.
These three particular sacred - meaning unique- categories, allow the transmission of custom and history to transcend geography and language.
My 10th generation ancestor, father to son, was a rabbi in Prague. He speaks to me every time I open his books to translate them. My great and great grandparents have transmitted Torah insights down to us, and I already have done so for my kids.
Combine that with the Jewish historical upheavals of late 17th century Eastern Europe, where the seeds of Hasidism are sown, to flourish in the 18th century. The storytelling from this offshoot of Orthodoxy has much in common with Christian motifs. The emphasis on being kind to other despite desperate circumstances abound ind Gasisic literature.
Our storytelling generally has a moral/ethical bias to it. Given the human condition and our seemingly endless proclivity to hypocrisy, the ability to create humorous anecdotes abound
Wishing you much success in this noble endeavor!.
Thank you for your thorough and thoughtful comment! I agree that the torah is more than just a story and that it becomes the cornerstone of how the community perceives ethics and values. I think all storytelling of all cultures centers that cultures values and themes. Stories fundamentally are a way to transmit values and ethics by showing instead of telling. So it makes sense that a Jewish story might require Jewish values or ethics to be at the center.
Welcome to this little corner of the Internet. Over in my little hovel at Projectkin.org/forum I've been advocating for people, ordinary people, to just tell their stories. I've focused on family history because that's often where the important stories lay hiding. You touched me with these quotes and the cultural context. I'm pushing the envelope on what stories are, inviting people to "create projects" as a way to tell their stories. It doesn't just break the mold. I'm inviting them to create new molds.
Let me get the ᓚᘏᗢ and a ☕️ so I'm ready for your next post.
Interesting! I like the idea of creating projects to capture family stories. It does seem to me that any attempt to explore a family history will have a layer of larger cultural context to it that is hard to untangle. The example that comes to mind for me, is that in my Jewish community (but not all of them) we are named after dead relatives. If I were to start telling the story of myself in the context of my family and the larger family history- one of the first thing to explain would be my name- who I was named after and what I do and do not know about them. I also know who each of my siblings and parents and cousins is named after (well not all of them but you get the point). I remember my family’s story through those connections and find them meaningful in a way that is likely culturally specific- even if the general idea of naming may cross cultural barriers.
Ah yes, that's exactly right on several levels.
First, naming traditions are important — and distinct — in many cultures. Understanding the history behind them is a foundational bit of family storytelling, especially if it's meant for family members.
Second, often the audience for family storytelling is something individuals often haven't thought very much about. They see "family history books" left behind by ancestors and assume that's the only way to tell stories. Well, in our modern, digital world, it doesn't have to be. As I'll be discussing in a talk later this week, (see "private podcasting" in our Events calendar) we now have options for storytelling forms that be rich with media yet still quite private.
Third, if you're going to capture stories meant exclusively for family, some topics, like naming traditions, become exceedingly important to explain. But, once explained, you don't need to bring it up each time, you can point to the "backgrounder" (for new in-laws, for example) and keep going.
A dear friend introduced me to some Jewish family traditions, our daughters and their friends have shared more. I think every culture can learn from the intentionality of storytelling traditions in Jewish culture. As my Chinese mother-in-law said to me once while contemplating new generations of mixed heritage I would introduce to her family... "the Jews do it right, we have to learn from them." 🥹 She's right. I'm trying to.
You'd be very welcome to join us. It's great to have you on Substack. I'm a subscriber now.
Can't wait to read more! Happy to join in the conversation with you ❤️
Thanks!! ❤️
When I think of Jewish story telling I think about how the story may ask more questions than it answers.. which would probably frustrate a lot of readers - but alas we are taught to question everything in Judaism. Just the first thought that popped into my head.
I really enjoyed reading your writing, it’s inspiring me to continue working on an art/photo based project I’ve been delaying. Looking forward to reading more!
That’s an interesting thought! I see where you are coming from- and that is something to ponder. We do have a culture of questions- and I wonder how that translates into general storytelling. I am glad to hear you were inspired to work on creating something of your own. If nothing else- to have inspired someone else on their own journey would be enough.
Yes! I want to be part of this conversation with you!
If there are any questions, ideas, etc. that you think I should cover or explore, let me know! I do have a start of a list of ideas to work through - but always open to suggestions. I am prioritizing introduction articles (like this one, or maybe one explaining my choice of blog title, etc.) - to set the scene for how I am framing things before I go off exploring random niches. Lol.