de@moscom.UUCP (Dave Esan) (10/30/84)
I have been on net for only a short time and have begun to develop both a respect and an antipathy for Mr. Martillo. The respect is for his knowledge, his ability to cut to the heart of an issue, and the direct answers that are given. The antipathy is from the filter through which all of his responses are passed; that the sfardic community is entirely correct, and that the ashkenazic community spent the last two milleniums assimilating into the prevailing culture. I am the first to admit that there is a prejudice by the ashkenaz against the sfard. However, mimicking will only cause one to look like that which you are railing against -- in other words, your prejudice is outashkenazing the ashkenaz! The last two millenia were filled with great scholars (all of whom contributed to Judaism as it is today). Not everyone was an assimilationist, but one is shaped by one's culture. I do not know enough about sfardic judaism to press this point, but I am sure that there are many customs that relate to the culture that surrounded you. I suggest that you read THE MYTHS OF GENISIS (the author's name escapes me), which documents the myths of the area that crept into biblical Judaism. Should we begin by removing Noah since the flood exists in Gilgamesh and dozens of other cultures? To the subject above, perhaps Mr. Martillo did not grow up in the US where as a child one believes that all men are created equal. The first experience with being called christkiller, or in my case, having your head searched for horns (in 1969 no less), can be heartbreaking. One begins to ask why one is different, and only the strong and the well-educated can survive as Jews. The rest fade from the fight and later, as they grow, may decide to return. To scorn such a person is an 'averah' even is sfardic culture. A person seeking contact with his/her people should be helped to learn, not told that this is because her parents dared to live in Orange County or chose not to send her to day school or most brilliantly, that she is ashkenaz! In closing, let me note that the years spent in Europe were not days of wine and roses. They were times of blood libel (York, England), pogroms (a nice Russian word -- let us not forget Khmilnitski in 1648 who wiped out 1/3 of world (!) Jewry, all in Poland and the Ukraine), ghettos, pales of settlement, distinctive badges, the 1/3-1/3-1/3 plan, .... We ashkenaz bled too.
yiri@ucf-cs.UUCP (Yirmiyahu BenDavid) (11/01/84)
May I second Dave's comments here. While I am a Jew of Dutch origin, I claim neither Ashkenazi nor S'fardi (they may or may not claim me, that's a different matter). I simply want to be known as a Jew. Would that we were more conscious of the term 'Am ekhad'. I have great respect for both S'fardim and Ashkenzim, and for Mr. Martillo who has shown the mental acumen Dave has noted. I would, however, prefer that greater effort be made toward healing such wounds rather than pouring in salt.