MY STORY Tue Aug 13 16:16:26 US/Eastern 2002 I grew up as a second generation New York Jewish American from Eastern European origins. Most of my friends were of an identical background. Our community was an updated version of the shtetls our grandparents left behind in Europe; our villages were the apartment houses of Brooklyn and the Bronx and the bungalows of Rockaway. We lived on top of each other, which lead to both internal conflicts and external protection. While our practice of the religious aspects of Judaism varied from family to family, the secular culture of the Jewish people did not. Our parents instilled in us a love of learning; an appreciation for Jewish history; a way of thinking about the world and its problems. These attributes have helped me to become the person that I am today. I sometimes think that this cultural identity is not important to me, but I find that, in fact, it is. I am married to a shikse (a non-Jewish female); my children went to Catholic schools; I do not live in the New York area. On the other hand, I never pass up a chance to eat a full-sour pickle; I always watch Seinfeld re-runs on TV; and I felt the 9/11 attack on the World Trade Center on a very personal level, though no one I knew died in that tragedy. Our family does celebrate Passover and Chanukah in what I would consider minimal ways. The former holiday, I think, is really important in keeping the traditions of Judaism alive. The message in the Seder is the importance of how we today are connected to the events and people of 3300 years ago, and how the circumstances of those events are relevant today. But as important as that tradition is, the traditions of the last 1800 years or so are as important. The scholarly approach to life, coupled with the opportunities of America, will likely lead to economic success in our society....which, perhaps unfortunately, is how success is measured in America. As an engineer and college professor, I believe I have benefited greatly from the analytical approach to life taught by medieval Talmudic scholars. The definitive Jewish sense of humor, which helped our people survive the bad times, is as important in good times, in that we learn not to take ourselves so seriously. I am proud of my heritage, and believe that it has helped me in my successes in life. I realize that I am lucky that my ancestors wrote down their stories and have definable records. I also find that I am interested in the histories of others, particularly those cultures that perhaps, because they are not well documented by the members of those cultures themselves, are "underrated" by our Eurocentric society...the Polynesians, the Native Americans, the African roots of African-Americans. I find I always enjoy reading James Michener books, particularly the earlier chapters concentrating on the earliest societies to his locations. I sometimes get depressed when I know that these societies will then be overwhelmed and sometimes fully destroyed by those that will follow; however, near the end of the book, one character will emerge as an amalgam of all that was best in the various cultures of that region. Aside from the historical context, in keeping ancient ways alive one must ask this question: what about my cultural heritage is timeless in its ability to help me to survive and succeed in any society that I or my descendants may live, now and in the forseeable future? I firmly believe that all of us on this planet can identify a non-trivial response to this question. In so doing, it is then up to us to live these traditions. -- gellin@buffnet.net (Slade Gellin)