Today’s readings are focused on the transformation of Jewish culture in Eastern Europe. Our primary sources, “For Whom Do I Toil?” and “Awake My People!” were written by Jewish poet Judah Leib Gordon. The poems address a number of issues that the Jewish community faced in the Russian world, including the pressure to modify their culture to conform with those around them, as well as the pressure to reevaluate their choices once they had conformed too much. Our secondary source, The Jews: A History, written by John Efron also highlights this struggle by explaining how different Jewish communities in Eastern Europe recreated their culture to be in alignment with their surrounding country. John Efron explains how Jewish communities in eighteenth
…show more content…
The poem’s main purpose was to address the Jewish communities insecurities in their new homeland of Russia and soothe them. Gordon believes that the Jewish people are in a land that offers them a new beginning and that it is vital to embrace the Russian language and culture in order to survive. The audience he seems to be writing to is one that is resistant to change, an audience that is fearful of a new world that could cause them to modify their traditions. Gordon writes that he wants the reader to look past his anxiety and conform to a new society. He seems to be implying that conformity is important, even if it means leaving behind the culture and language the audience once knew. Efron states, “Jews were either claiming to be maintaining tradition or consciously breaking with the past.” (323) Efron’s statements explain that what Gordon was preaching was not solely his idea, rather the idea of many Jews at this …show more content…
When he arrived in a new country that seemed prosperous, he felt that conforming to a new society would ultimately be beneficial for the Jewish community. In “Awake My People!” Gordon stated, “Become an enlightened people, and speak their language [Russian]”. Gordon instilled in the reader that one could embrace the culture surrounding them while still maintaining their faith. In addition, Gordon also made it appear to the reader that if one is to embrace the culture around them, they will be enlightened further. On the opposite spectrum, “For Whom Do I Toil?” shows how the embracement of surrounding culture began the devastation of Judaism in Gordon’s eyes. Gordon is able to recognize that the assimilation of the Jewish people resulted in a cultural transformation that he did not intend to occur. Gordon’s poem, in many ways, is a reflection on a call for conformity. Efron’s work acknowledges that the feelings expressed by Gordon are relevant when he discusses how even with the assimilation of the Jewish community, the Jewish people were not ultimately satisfied in their new home. Efron states, “In the realms of political and secular culture, innovation was the order of the day” (323). Efron is expressing that innovation, or secularization, was vital for Jewish survival, explaining a reason as to why Gordon would optimistically look at assimilation as beneficial in the beginning, but also acknowledging that the
The poem’s main purpose was to address the Jewish communities insecurities in their new homeland of Russia and soothe them. Gordon believes that the Jewish people are in a land that offers them a new beginning and that it is vital to embrace the Russian language and culture in order to survive. The audience he seems to be writing to is one that is resistant to change, an audience that is fearful of a new world that could cause them to modify their traditions. Gordon writes that he wants the reader to look past his anxiety and conform to a new society. He seems to be implying that conformity is important, even if it means leaving behind the culture and language the audience once knew. Efron states, “Jews were either claiming to be maintaining tradition or consciously breaking with the past.” (323) Efron’s statements explain that what Gordon was preaching was not solely his idea, rather the idea of many Jews at this …show more content…
When he arrived in a new country that seemed prosperous, he felt that conforming to a new society would ultimately be beneficial for the Jewish community. In “Awake My People!” Gordon stated, “Become an enlightened people, and speak their language [Russian]”. Gordon instilled in the reader that one could embrace the culture surrounding them while still maintaining their faith. In addition, Gordon also made it appear to the reader that if one is to embrace the culture around them, they will be enlightened further. On the opposite spectrum, “For Whom Do I Toil?” shows how the embracement of surrounding culture began the devastation of Judaism in Gordon’s eyes. Gordon is able to recognize that the assimilation of the Jewish people resulted in a cultural transformation that he did not intend to occur. Gordon’s poem, in many ways, is a reflection on a call for conformity. Efron’s work acknowledges that the feelings expressed by Gordon are relevant when he discusses how even with the assimilation of the Jewish community, the Jewish people were not ultimately satisfied in their new home. Efron states, “In the realms of political and secular culture, innovation was the order of the day” (323). Efron is expressing that innovation, or secularization, was vital for Jewish survival, explaining a reason as to why Gordon would optimistically look at assimilation as beneficial in the beginning, but also acknowledging that the