To have a better understanding of what it means to celebrate Jewish culture in Warsaw, Poland, as luck would have it, the I.B. Singer Jewish Culture Festival begins this week.
How is Jewish culture represented? Music, Food, Storytelling... delightful really, but is Jewish culture something more? Is this simply a gimmick with the aftertaste similar to that of a Jewish themed restaurant where one finds themselves saying, "that chulent did NOT taste like my grandmother's" or "are those REALLY matzoh balls?"
Perhaps the festival's representation of Jewishness is admirable and the purpose is that of enrichment and education. Most likely, however, I will find myself the critic, and will not take the events to be simply celebratory but rather layered with meaning.
For event details:
http://www.festiwalsingera.pl/
http://shalom.org.pl/eng/index.php?mid=141
Disclaimer :
Jewish identity is the topic of my dissertation in graduate school, which I am attending in Warsaw, Poland. The blog itself is a way of discovering myself in new territory, that of my writing.
Waiting for more...the beginning is very interesting but how is it possible to create an authentic culture meeting? Are both polish/jewish youth truly interested in that?
ReplyDeleteGood question. In my opinion authenticity should not be the goal of any cross-cultural meeting-- but rather questions, discussions and a range of perspectives.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to youth, I think that a matter of interest is not the problem. A lack of exposure to different cultures and traditions does not exactly translate to disinterest. In fact, Polish and Jewish youth are taking part in cross-cultural youth exchanges on their own will.
But there are barriers, significant cultural barriers that may be prohibitive: language, History, National memory to name a few.