Tradition and Fiddler On The Roof
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By :
Art Gib
Submitted
2008-12-01 00:31:38 |
Traditions. They actually do change. They have to. But, how much has to change to continue tradition and how much actual tradition gets to stay?
A blending and ease of communication exists in our world. We have slowly made our world smaller. No more wondering about what's over that far set of mountains. Past the distant horizon. Over the ridge of the sea. Now, we can easily find out. We can even call someone there, if we want.
The blending and availability of different cultures and traditions to people on the other side of the world has had its effect on all of us. The last fifty to one hundred years or so technology has rapidly pulled our world together in an unprecedented fashion. Is it good, or is it bad?
It is what it is. People have continued to carry tradition and have slowly tried to preserve their cultures. Some cultures have been irrevocably lost. Some traditions will never have teeth again. Do we just forget about it if it's just going to keep changing?
Well, no. Some traditions have lasted throughout the centuries. Take New Year's, whatever New Year's you happen to celebrate. It is celebrated. That's been around for a long time. The way in which we celebrate may have changed a bit, here and there, but the basic premise and the bones of the event are still there.
Fiddler On The Roof
Tevye is a simple milkman in the early 1900s. Times are changing and the political transitions are forcing Jewish people out of their homes. Even then, news started changing world events. They knew what was happening in the world, not in the way we do now, but much more than ever before.
Cultures started to blend in a bigger way. America promised an equal chance for all peoples to rise above their station. But, it started as a little. Traditions were still able to stay as they were for the most part.
But, add on that the Jewish people in particular hadn't had a country of their own in a very long time, and those traditions start meaning more, much more. The Jewish people contended with making their homes among other cultures on a normal basis. Sticking to traditions became the number one tool for keeping the Jewish identity.
As Tevye and his wife, Golde, grapple with changing times and threats to their traditions of marrying within Jewish faith and people, having weddings and courting traditions honored, and using the traditional matchmaker to arrange Jewish marriages, things have to give way to adapt to the times and circumstances.
Tevye reluctantly allows traditions to be bent, but he would not allow marriage outside of Jewish laws and traditions. He says to his daughter Chava, "As the good book says, 'Each shall seek his own kind.' In other words, a bird may love a fish... but where would they build a home together?"
The Jewish Calling and Duty
Besides the Sabbath and G-d, the role of the Jews is to keep their ancestry lines as pure as possible. They are the chosen people of G-d. In trying to keep with traditions and building a bridge to accommodate the changes in society's traditions, the Jewish people keep holding on to their laws while trying to encompass the changes.
Yet, it is the belief that since they are the chosen people of G-d, they must draw the line somewhere. It is their duty to their creator, and to themselves. It is their right to do what they believe for the sake of their people. And to do it in a way that serves both sides of the beliefs about adapting to the world.
The concerns of Jewish marriage, Tevye and Golde had to face are very similar to the ones the Jewish people still face. What part of tradition and duty do you keep and what parts have to change with the times to keep any semblance of tradition and adherence to duty alive? This is the balance that must be found for all branches of Judaism.
Tevye says, "Traditions, traditions. Without our traditions, our lives would be as shaky as... as... as a fiddler on the roof!" |
Author Resource:-
Eternal Jewish Family (http://www.eternaljewishfamily.org) offers advice, consultation, and help to ensure a properly performed Jewish marriage and conversion. Art Gib is a freelance writer.
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