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Jewish Culture

Karyssaann Costagliola

Jolene R Drust

Professor Durant

HCS 320

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Abstract

This paper is going to give the reader a better understanding of the Jewish culture. This

culture is a very diverse culture and had its share of trials and tribulations. It was the stepping

stone to other religions and helped influence the European culture. The way this culture

practices and celebrates different traditions has changed over the centuries, but its roots remain

the same. The binding of different religions and the prominence of interfaith marriages has had a

hand it the changing of this culture, but it still flourishes and is the main stepping stone of who

we all know and learned about Jesus Christ himself.

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We chose the Jewish population due to personal interest. Karyssaann has various Jewish

family members and Jolene’s husband had almost married a Jewish girl so her curiosity was

piqued. Jolene is also a strong Christian, and the history of Christianity begins with Judaism. As

someone once stated, Jesus was not the first Christian, but rather a very important Jewish man in

his time.

The Jewish population is a rather unique culture, they spread out across Europe in

particular they are located and originated from Israel which is known as the land of milk and

honey. This culture also spreads out in the Jewish Diaspora and largely located in the U.S.

Jewish people believe that they trace their history back to being children of Abraham. They

established the belief that there is only one god, the creator of the universe (Hanukoglu Ph.D,

1998). According to Exodus 20 in the Bible, Moses led the Jewish people out of Egypt, into

Israel, and then gave them the message of the Torah, and the Ten Commandments. The Jewish

people actually contributed to the creation of the European culture.

In 587 BCE, Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem, and exiled the Jews to what would be

modern day Iraq. Since then, the Jewish people have been nomadic, present in just about all

nations. Being Jewish does not refer to a race, but rather a culture, a religion, and a people.

(Purnell, 2013) The very first Jewish people arrived in North America in 1624 they fled the

Office of Inquisition in Brazil (Purnell, 2013). A well known negative event that happened to

the Jewish people was the Holocaust which was followed by World War II. After World War II,

the Jewish people were granted entrance into the state of Palestine to make their own home after

that the Jewish entrance was curtailed into Israel. The Palestine Mandate was split into Jordan

and Israel (Hanukoglu Ph.D, 1998).

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They are a people filled with interesting and time bound customs. Hebrew is the official

language of Israel they believed it to be the language of the angels and God

(www.myjewishlearning.com). This language is also the language that the Torah is written in

and that the Jewish people say their prayers in. Most Jewish people speak English today,

however with a few speaking Yiddish which is a Judeo-German dialect. Some of the words from

the Yiddish dialect have made it into English language, such as bagel and kosher (Purnell, 2013).

Clothes that were typically worn in the Jewish culture in the Middle Ages were men wore

a robe reaching below the knees the colors were typically green, yellow, blue and in some

instances tan. During holidays they wore what was called a sargenes which was a broad robe

with the right side being stitched so it prevents carrying (www.myjewishlearning.com). Women

tended to were more lucurious clothing depending on where they came from some ordinations

strayed away from using any color. Men also wear Yamakas or Kippah according to

Jewish law. The law states that men should use Yamakas to cover their heads

while they offer prayer this is showing respect to God.

An interesting subject that comes in Jewish religion is who is actually Jewish. Earlier in

the old testament of the Bible they had an issue of interfaith marriage. Basically, what they have

come up with is that if your mother is Jewish, then you are Jewish. Depending on how liberal of

a sect that you belong to, the privilege can be extended if your father is Jewish. There are also

temples that will run conversion classes that can be taken, if you feel in your heart that you

should be Jewish. The Jewish culture is also an advocate that thinking about converting to be

with a person needs to be strongly thought about and sacrifices may have to be made, but in the

end love can find the center ground to do a little give and take and combine traditions if the

couple decides to keep both of their beliefs. Jewish people celebrate the Sabbath on Saturday. It

begins on Friday evening at sundown, and continues until Saturday night at sundown. During

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this time, the Jewish people do not work, attend temple, worship, and spend time with friends

and family.

Jewish marriage takes place in two steps often performed together. First there is the Kiddushin

when the woman accepts either money, sexual intercourse, and a contract spelling out the terms

of the marriage and in the event of a divorce what either party will get. The contract is called a

Ketubah, and is often displayed and framed in the couple’s home. The money obligation is

satisfied through a wedding ring. (Rich) Nisuin is when the husband and wife actually begin to

live together as husband and wife. Divorce is permitted under Jewish law, but requires

permission of the husband in order to be recognized under Jewish law. The husband must obtain

a Get in order for the divorce to be valid. Illegitimate children are not stigmatized unless the

parents could not marry which be in the case of incest or if the woman is married, and had not

been previously, properly divorced. A male will not touch a woman during a menstrual period,

and if he is not her husband, will not look in her eyes, as this can be considered sexual.

Jewish people have a certain physical characteristics about them compared to others.

Jewish people tend to be about one half the average height in most cases. They also have a

shorter arm span compared to their height. As far back as the 13th century they had the “big

nose” characteristic (www.myjewishlearning.com). These are a lot of the characteristics that

were used to identify a Jewish person. With the up rise in inter faith marriage it varies on how

many Jewish people have these characteristics to this day.

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The Jewish culture tends to be prone to disease and health issues. One of the major diseases that

can go along with Judaism is Tay-Sach’s disease, a genetic condition that is common in people

of Ashkenazi (eastern and central European) Jewish heritage. Tay-Sachs is a rare inherited

disorder that progressively destroys neurons and is usually present in infancy ("Genetics home

reference" 31). Some other common diseases that are prevalent in this culture is Canavan

Disease, Niemann-Pick Disease Type A, Gaucher Disease Type 1, Familial, Aysautonmia, and

Cystic Fibrosis. They embrace basic medical treatment and consider it an obligation to go get

well check-ups some will not live in an area that does not have a nearby doctor. They felt there

was disease because of Jacob and no aging until Abraham (www.myjewishlearning.com). A lot

of these diseases they are infected with involve the nervous system in some way.

The Jewish people also have some interesting concepts regarding birth. A male

circumcision is always performed however this procedure is usually not performed in the

hospital, but on the eight day on life. They perform a ceremony called a Bris. This procedure is

performed by Mohel which is a person who has training in this procedure. If a circumcision has

been performed in the hospital, they will take a pinprick of blood out of the male penis. This

ceremony is thought to signify the covenant God had with Jewish people in the times of

Abraham. Elijah is also thought to be present at all Jewish circumcisions. In a way this is similar

to a Christian infant baptism, this ceremony is often followed by a party where there is wine and

food.

When speaking of food, a term you will often hear is kosher food. Kosher specifically

means clean food and must be prepared in accordance with Jewish law. Jewish food is

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influenced by agriculture, culinary traditions, and economics. There are no pork products

allowed or rabbits. Only certain poultry products may be eaten and shellfish, shrimp, and clams

are also not considered kosher. Meats and dairy must be separated an meat and poultry must be

slaughtered under strict rules called the shechita. There are specially trained butchers called

shocket who perform the slaughter. Milk battered fried foods are forbidden as they mix milk and

meat products. They even frown upon utensils touching dairy and meat. It seems like a lot of

these ideas and traditions are really for food safety and their belief in clean and pure food.

During Passover, Jewish people only eat unleavened bread and items. Leavenings are the items

required to allow bread products to rise, such as yeast, baking powder, etc. During Passover,

which lasts for 8 days outside of Israel, Jewish people refrain from these items in memory of

what their ancestors did not have in the desert. Matzah is the bread product that they eat during

this time period. Some other examples of Jewish foods are bagels, lox, blintzes, falafel,

couscous, and hummus.

During Hanukkah, the festival of lights, foods are often cooked in oil to commiserate

what the Lord has blessed them with. Bread and wine are always blessed before the Sabbath

meal. Some other examples of Jewish holidays are Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, Yom

Kippur, or the Day of Atonement, Shavuot, or the Festival of Weeks. Yom Kippur is often

considered the most important of all Jewish holiday, with many often unobservant Jewish people

celebrating this most important day. Another is Passover that lasts a week long and

commemorates the escape of the Jewish people from Egypt.

At the age of 12 or 13 a Bar Mitzvah or Bat Mitzvah, and confirmation takes place at age

16. Under traditional Jewish, a child becomes an adult and responsible for observation of the

commandments. Bat Mitzvah is for girls and is usually just a coming of age party. Boys are held

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to a higher standard at age 13 they are required to start reciting a blessing from the Torah in

temple. This procedure usually takes place on the Shabbat directly after the child’s 13th birthday.

Today, however, a male child is often required to learn the whole haftarah portion.

In Jewish culture, the family is often the center of the home. Children are considered

blessings, and therefore, are highly valued. Children will often receive religious education as

often as 2 days a week, in addition to their regular elementary education. The Jewish culture

starts to teach their children in preschool which will go through all of their school age in hoping

to prepare them for the university level. The early years they give the child the foundation of

their beliefs and the Jewish history and then in later years they focus on preparing the student to

be able to learn their heritage at a university level. They have “day schools” that teach them so

much of their religion then the other part the basic reading, writing, and math skills. Depending

on what denomination they come from they might teach more from the Torah and Judaism and

others might focus more on the history aspect, Hebrew language, food, Yiddish, and principles of

Zionism (www.jewish.org). Education is incredibly valuable to both male and female Jewish

counterparts. It is not uncommon to have both parents as professionals. The traditional roles are

usually still intact in the household, with mom preparing the meals, and dad lighting the

Menorah and blessing the wine. Education also varies depending on where the person came from

and how their sector of the Jewish culture practices.

After a lot of the immigration and especially the people migrating to the city they had

plenty of opportunity to expand any business projects or just opportunity for a career. A lot of

high ranking professionals especially doctors come from the Jewish decent. Around the time of

World War II economy for the Jewish culture suffered and they had no advancement or

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opportunity, but over time and the growth here in the U.S. they thrived and made great careers

for themselves.

The Jewish people have endured unthinkable hardships. The Holocaust was a

horrible time in German and Jewish history, when Jewish people were basically gathered up like

cattle, and taken to concentration camps, in an effort to make a clean society. It was a horrid time

that the Jewish people overcame, and came up with a saying, “Lest us not forget, for it may

happen again”.

This brings us to the topic of death in the Jewish culture. Jewish people have some

customs that are unique they value life above all else, but do wish a long and drawn out death.

People consider the body on loan from God, and illness is a blessing that brings them to their

divine rest. Older people will seek healthcare at least as often as young people (Bonura,Fender,

Roesler, &Pacuqia 2011,pgs 214-215). On their advice of their rabbi, they may have a living

will with regards to artificial nutrition and fluids. They will create a written legacy for their

families and if the person dies on the Sabbath, the body cannot be taken care of until 24 hours

later. The state can assist with advice on regulations if the patient is in a facility. The family will

often assist with washing the body, as this is their time to say a loving good-bye. Often times, a

family member will stay with the body at all times until the burial. If a person dies with their

eyes open it is custom for someone to immediately close them and light a candle by the head and

cover the body with a sheet. They also believe in opening a window so the soul can depart from

the body to the spiritual side. They do not agree with autopsies, but permit for organ donation if

decided upon beforehand because it involves saving another life. During the grieving and

mourning periods they also believe to cover up all the mirrors because the mourners are not

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concerned with vanity (www.myjewishlearning.com). Viewings are usually not held as it can be

considered disrespectful to look at someone who can’t look back.

Burials are usually held soon after death unless waiting for family members to travel.

Unless required by law, embalming is usually avoided. It is usually a very simple wooden casket

with no metal adornment. Flowers are avoided as they are considered an unnecessary expense.

Funerals take about 20 minutes with some psalm reading, scripture readings, and a eulogy. Prior

to the funeral, the mourners perform the ritual of K’riah, the rendering of the garment. If it is a

parent who has died, the ribbon is worn on the left side all other mourners wear the ribbon on the

left side.

In conclusion, Jewish culture is steeped in tradition, beauty, and deep meaning for the

individuals. We all want to belong in a way these individuals seem to belong to their world. As

such, these are customs that should definitely be honored. Whether as healthcare workers, or just

as individuals, we should be doing our best to make sure these customs are respected for the

affected individuals.

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References

Bonura, D., Fender, M., Roesler, M., & Pacquia, D. F. (2011). Culturally Congruent End-Of-Life Care for Jewish Patients. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 214-215

Hanukoglu Ph.D, I. (1998, May 2011). Brief history of israel and the jewish people. Retrieved

from http://www.science.co.il/Israel-history.php

Purnell, L. (2013). Transcultural health care, a culturally competent approach. (Fourth ed., p.

139). Philadelphia, PA: F.A. Davis Company.

Genetics home reference. (31, March 2014). Retrieved from http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/tay-sachs-disease

Rich, T. (n.d.). Marriage. Retrieved from http://www.jewfaq.org/marriage.htm

My Jewish Learning (2012, April 15). My jewish learning. Retrieved from

www.myjewishlearning.com.

Jewish identity and culture. (2014, March). Retrieved from www.jewish.org

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