Today is Rosh Hashanah,
the start of the Jewish new year. Going to private Jewish school the
first six years of my life I can tell you the meaning of each and every
Jewish holiday, why we matzo on passover and read and write in Hebrew.
The older I got the less religious I became, and more interested in being educated about religions world wide. I can tell you who Jesus's apostles were, what the Vedas and Upanishads are and even explain what the Law of Threefold Return is. I know that many people may not be able to answer all of those, but what happened to me at work the other day completely astounded me. I had no answer for it.
My manager at Sonic, hit his elbow on the side of the desk and said "that is so Jewish." The cook came out of the kitchen and said, "man I cut myself with a knife earlier that so freakin Jewish."
I literally felt my jaw drop. I asked both of them what was wrong with being Jewish and for what reason they were using the word in a derogatory manner.
The manager went on to explain that "its just another word that is fun to say. Like those people speak Jewish and pray Jewish and all that."
I should have been offended but I was more shocked at their level of ignorance.
I told them to please be respectful around me of other people and their religious choices.
Yes I was offended. Not as a Jew but as a person. I calmly explained that Jew is not a derogatory term and that "Jewish" is not a language.
They said nothing and went on about their business not saying anything else on the topic. But I could tell my comment did not matter to them.
I felt sad for them, for their ignorance and lack of wanting to learn different.
The older I got the less religious I became, and more interested in being educated about religions world wide. I can tell you who Jesus's apostles were, what the Vedas and Upanishads are and even explain what the Law of Threefold Return is. I know that many people may not be able to answer all of those, but what happened to me at work the other day completely astounded me. I had no answer for it.
My manager at Sonic, hit his elbow on the side of the desk and said "that is so Jewish." The cook came out of the kitchen and said, "man I cut myself with a knife earlier that so freakin Jewish."
I literally felt my jaw drop. I asked both of them what was wrong with being Jewish and for what reason they were using the word in a derogatory manner.
The manager went on to explain that "its just another word that is fun to say. Like those people speak Jewish and pray Jewish and all that."
I should have been offended but I was more shocked at their level of ignorance.
I told them to please be respectful around me of other people and their religious choices.
Yes I was offended. Not as a Jew but as a person. I calmly explained that Jew is not a derogatory term and that "Jewish" is not a language.
They said nothing and went on about their business not saying anything else on the topic. But I could tell my comment did not matter to them.
I felt sad for them, for their ignorance and lack of wanting to learn different.
Leave a comment