Transferring to America: Jewish Interpretations of American Dreams

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TRANSFERRING TO AMERICA SUNY SERIES IN PSYCHOLANALYSIS AND CULTURE Henry Sussman, editor SUNY SERIES IN MODERN JEWISH LITERATURE AND CULTURE Sarah Blacher Cohen, editor TRANSFERRING TO AMERICA Jewish Interpretations of American Dreams RAEL MEYEROWITZ STATE UNIVERSITY OF NEW YORK PRESS Published by State University of New York Press© 1995 State University of New York All rights reserved Printed in the United States of America No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission. No part of this book may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means including electronic, electrostatic, magnetic tape, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior permission in writing of the publisher. For information, address the State University of New York Press, State University Plaza, Albany, NY 12246 Production by Bernadine Dawes • Marketing by Nancy Farrell Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Meyerowitz, Rael, 1953Transferring to America: Jewish interpretations ofAmerican dreamslRael Meyerowitz. p. cm. - (SUNY series in psychoanalysis and culture) (SUNY series in modern Jewish literature and culture) Includes index. ISBN 0-7914-2607-6. - ISBN 0-7914-2608-4 (pbk.) 1. American literature-History and criticism-Theory, etc. 2. National characteristics, American, in literature. 3. Criticism-Jewish authors-History-20th century. 4. Criticism-United States-History20th century. 5. Jews-Cultural assimilation-United States. 6. ImmigrantsUnited States-Psychology. 7. Psychoanalysis and literature. 8. Bercovitch, Sacvan. 9. Cavell, Stanley, 1926- . 10. Bloom, Harold. I. Title. II. Series. III. Series: SUNY series in modern Jewish literature and culture. PS27.M49 1995 94-43358 CIP 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Rabbi Tarphon said: "The day is short and the work is great, and the laborers are sluggish, and the wages are high and the householder is urgent." He used to say: "The work is not upon thee to finish, nor art thou free to desist from it. Ifthou hast learned much Torah they give thee much wages; and faithful is the master ofthy work who will pay thee the wages ofthy toil. And know that the giving ofthe reward to the righteous is in the time to come." Ethics of the Fathers But do your work and I shall know you. Do your work, and you shall reinforce yourself Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Self-Reliance" Thus inevitably does the universe wear our color, and every object fall successively into the subject itself The subject exists, the subject enlarges; all things sooner or later fall into place. Ralph Waldo Emerson, "Experience" ...