Jewish Culture around the World

What Does It Mean to Be Jewish?

Are Jews a religious group? An ancestral or ethnic group? A multicultural group? A worldwide people? All of these descriptors are accurate. Jews trace their origins to the land of Israel, but the destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem in 70 CE and subsequent migrations resulting from conquest, war, persecution, and poverty have led Jews to settle all over the world. Anywhere that Jewish people live outside of Israel is considered the diaspora—the place of their dispersal.

Diaspora Jews have always been both a part of and apart from their surrounding societies, both integrating with their non-Jewish neighbors and maintaining a degree of separation. This is reflected in their cultural practices, from clothing to synagogue architecture, literature to dance. In some cases, these cultural practices have been similar to those of their non-Jewish neighbors, and in other cases, they have been quite different. This module will explore these ideas through the topics of food, music, language, and names.

Similarity and Difference

Several factors can play a role in the development of cultural similarities. The cultural models, products, materials, and ingredients Jews have access to are major factors, as is Jews’ desire to be part of their surrounding society. For example, synagogues in China, Isfahan, and Curaçao look more similar to local temples, mosques, and churches than they do to each other. Even foods used for ritual purposes vary depending on the ingredients available locally. Ḥaroset, a symbolic Passover paste made from fruits and nuts, includes bananas and chestnuts in Italy, dates and walnuts in Morocco, and cherries and coconut in Suriname.

Despite these similarities, both external and internal forces have also—and simultaneously—led Jews to distinguish themselves culturally from their non-Jewish neighbors. Some of these factors are external, such as local and national laws and decrees that mandate or ban particular forms of cultural expression, education, occupation, and areas of residence. Others are internal, including Jews’ desire to maintain separation from their non-Jewish neighbors and varying levels of influence of Jewish texts, holiday observance, pre-migration cultures, and connection to Israel. 

Different Forms of Culture

The study of cultural trends often focuses on high art and literature, but we can also learn a great deal from the cultural practices people participate in every day, from the song we sing in the shower to the food we eat for dinner, from the way we introduce ourselves to our phone conversations. These everyday practices can tell us a lot about a society, a community, comparisons among communities, and change over time. This module presents an eclectic collection of contemporary cultural products that are connected to family and community and serve as a form of expression of individuals’ multifaceted identities.

Jewish Multiculturalism

Historically, Jewish studies and content on Jews in broader courses have focused primarily on Ashkenazi Jews (mostly with ancestry in Central and Eastern Europe), perhaps including brief mentions of Sephardi or Mizrahi Jews (Jews with ancestry in Spain, the Middle East, and North Africa). The culinary, musical, linguistic, and onomastic sources in this module were created by Jews with ancestry in Eastern Europe, Yugoslavia, Turkey, Yemen, Bukharia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, and West Africa. Most of the creators currently reside in the United States, while others live in Israel, Australia, and England. This comparative approach broadens the focus, highlighting the similarities and differences among historical Jewish communities around the world and emphasizing the variety of contemporary Jewish communities, with particular attention to the United States. 

When we analyze the balance between cultural integration and distinctiveness comparatively across time and space, we can better understand the relationship between diaspora Jews and their non-Jewish neighbors and the connections that tie Jewish communities in different times and places to one another. Such investigations also help us understand the phenomenon of minority religious, ethnic, and other groups living as part of a broader society.