American Jewish History: A JPS Guide

6. 1948–present: Into the Mainstream

6 1948–present Into the Mainstream 6 In the aftermath of World War II, as the new State of Israel began its struggle to survive, Jews in America were discarding the remaining vestiges of shtetl imagery to recreate themselves religiously, culturally, and socio-economically. The rich Yiddish culture of the first generation was reduced to nostalgic memory as their children and grandchildren assimilated American cultural and social values into their Jewish lives. In the next generation, their children took a more dramatic route to assimilation. A breakdown in overt anti-Semitism, hastened by events of the Holocaust and the overall positive interaction of Jewish and non-Jewish soldiers, made it easier for Jews to abandon the cities of their parents and grandparents. In a significant shift away from the inner cities after World War II, the descendants of ghetto dwellers embraced the fresh air of suburbia and set out to establish their own vision of Jewish life, with memories of a Yiddish-inflected world fresh in their minds. Into Suburbia From downtown Baltimore and Pittsburgh to Pikesville and Squirrel Hill and from Roxbury and Brooklyn to Newton and Long Island, the move to “the country” quickly became a migration . Later, Jews also spread geographically beyond the urban/suburban centers of the East Coast to establish footholds in Sunbelt communities in California, Florida, and Arizona. Returning soldiers, starting up their own families, took advantage of generous government-assisted mortgages to reestablish themselves in the housing subdivisions sprouting on the peripheries of major urban centers. They were drawn to the suburbs by the promise of safe streets, better schools, and the image of an idealized lifestyle for the American family. For young Jewish families , migrating to suburbia also meant being uprooted from the familiar womb of the inner cities where they were AMERICAN JEWISH HISTORY 148 Saving Yiddish In 1980, 23-year-old graduate student Aaron Lansky embarked on a seemingly impossible mission: to save Yiddish books from oblivion. As the number of grandparents who spoke and read Yiddish grew smaller, their children and grandchildren couldn’t read or understand the Yiddish books left behind and saw no purpose in keeping them. Lansky created an organization with like-minded individuals to collect (or as he put it, to “rescue”) the books. Since its inception, the National Yiddish Book Center (now located in Amherst, Massachusetts) has collected over 1.5 million Yiddish books. Today, with a small but growing number of Yiddish language courses in colleges , these books are available to scholars and libraries and, with financial backing from Steven Spielberg, are being digitized to assure the continuation of Yiddish literature. Patricia Williams/National Yiddish Book Center surrounded by Jewish culture. Even though most young Jews were not overly religious, living in a concentrated urban environment provided Jewish identity by osmosis. Wherever one turned there were Yiddish conversations , synagogues, kosher restaurants, and Jewish neighbors. No one needed to belong to a synagogue or check a calendar to know it was Shabbat or Yom Kippur or Passover. The move from urban to suburban living heightened the role of the synagogue in the lives of American Jews. In the brand-new suburbs, with no traditions in place, young families faced the challenge of reinventing their Jewish selves. They wanted to live side by side with their non-Jewish neighbors but still maintain connections to Jewish life. In the suburbs where they were no longer a majority, one’s Polish, Russian, or Lithuanian background mattered little. Jewish self-identity began to evolve from newly organized synagogues that superseded the old immigrant identities. In short, joining a temple defined one’s Judaism. Reform and Conservative temples flourished: many people flocked to them not only to fulfill religious needs, but also to provide for their social needs. Restructuring Jewish Connections Suburban Jews quickly established other local institutions, such as B’nai B’rith lodges, Hadassah chapters, and scout troops. None was more important than the religious school, which parents hoped would instill Jewish values and tradition in children who were becoming even more assimilated than their parents. The month of December and its siren song of Christmas was too great a lure to ignore. Enter an invigorated version of the minor Jewish holiday of Hanukkah, which in Europe had been marked in low-key fashion and now was elevated to popular status, eclipsing all other Jewish holidays in commercial and psychological appeal. Suburban life also provided...