Jewish in a Gentile World

Google has set up a very nice page with links to information about the tsunami and links to sites where you can donate to help the victims of the tsunami. See: http://www.google.com/tsunami_relief.html I had hoped to post an item for the blog earlier this week, but the news about the tsunami made any other subject seem frivolous. Trying to find a Jewish angle related to the tsunami also seemed rather self-involved, though certainly no more self-involved than the American media, which in its coverage of the tsunami routinely mentioned the number of American dead: about 20. But since this is a blog covering subjects of Jewish interest, I should note that Israel, like most countries in the world, has offered aid to the countries devastated by the tsunami. Sadly according to many news reports, Sri Lanka rejected Israel's aid, claiming that they did not have the facilities to house the personnel Israel planned to provide: 150 people, including doctors and search-and-rescue te

Earlier this year, the Committee to Save Merry Christmas was formed. Their goal: to restore the rightful place of the phrase "Merry Christmas" in store advertising and signage, a place that they think has been usurped by generic phrases like "Happy Holidays" and "Season's Greetings." In pursuit of this goal, they call for a boycott of Federated Department Stores (owner of chains such as Macy's, Bloomingdale's and Burdine's), which use such culturally-neutral greetings. Federated has posted a response to this campaign on their website. Although the Save Merry Christmas committee has gotten a considerable amount of media coverage, it's not clear how big this movement actually is. Remember: the media gives an inordinate amount of attention to anything that is controversial, and on the Internet it is impossible to tell the difference between a groundswell of popular support and a single person with an axe to grind. What we do know

Last March, I heard a DJ talking about March Madness, the annual insanity surrounding a college basketball tournament. She wasn't interested in it, but everyone in her office was obsessed with it. They had an office pool, a constant barrage of emails and parties to watch every game on TV. The DJ didn't want to be a part of it, but her co-workers pressured her to get involved. They tried to get her to participate in the pool, but she insisted that she didn't even know the names of the teams. Her co-workers assured her that it didn't matter who she bet on, it would be fun to play. They wouldn't take no for an answer. She wasn't trying to spoil their fun, but she wanted to be left alone. As I heard her talk about her frustration, I thought, "Now you know how it feels to be Jewish at Christmas." Think of something that you're not interested in but that everybody else seems to be talking about. Maybe it's a sporting event: March Madness, the Superbo