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Jewish World Review / Jan. 19, 1999 / 2 Shevat, 5759
The End of Something As We Know It
IF ONE MORE RABBI gets up before the congregation and bemoans our
materialistic culture, I swear I'm gonna heave a challah at him.
Our culture that rewards material gain and not ethical living ... whose
heroes are the minions of hedonistic Hollywood not those whose energies go
to repairing the world ... A culture whose temple is the mall ... A society
that is producing children who expect immediate gratification and have been
seduced by violence in the media, sex and drugs ... Parents who are never
home and whose businesses offer obeisance to the bottom line...
You can take it from here, because you've heard it too. It's the rant du
jour, the riff they put in like a sermonic "uh" or "like" or "know what I'm
sayin?" Or a trademark line that everyone in the audience waits for the
comedian to say. Only, instead of, "You look mahvelous," it's "Shabbat is a
sacred space that gives us a chance to separate ourselves from the idolatry
of materialism in today's world."
But do we have to be reminded of it after waking up early on a weekend
morning to gather with our friends and loved ones and contemplate a
richness and meaning that cannot be bought in a store or displayed on a shelf?
I'm all in favor of a little communal nudging if it helps restore urban
neighborhoods, ends child labor, frees Tibet, guarantees decent wages
worldwide, curbs downsizing, ends teen smoking, puts a halt to global
warming and generally discourages selfishness as an American ideal.
What I fear is that this struggle against the so-called materialism of our
modern world is really a cover for a drive toward conformity in an
increasingly socially conservative Jewish community. Yes, it's more
efficient to raise children who never look outside their little boxes made
of ticky-tacky, but what sort of citizens and activists and teachers and
creators will they grow into?
Is our society so idolatrously materialistic that it's all we can talk
about? Let's together as a community think up some other things to bemoan
in a sacred setting. What other crises are we overlooking? What else, if
left unchecked, will mean the end of something as we know it in the new
millenium?
By David Holzel
I'm sure material things have too big a place in our lives, that we don't
spend enough time with our loved ones, and that we don't devote enough of
our energies to the spiritual aspects of life.
New JWR contributor David Holzel is managing editor of Moment magazine
and the creator of
The Jewish Angle webzine
