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The desire to be like others is very understandable; it is a normal, natural human drive. We need to be understood, accepted and admired. We want to please. We want companionship. Those are the positive aspects of being the same. Being different can also bring with it rejection and danger. In his novel, THE PAINTED BIRD, Jerzy Kosinski tells the story of a small boy being subjected to great cruelty by those who consider him to be an outsider. The title concept tells of capturing a plain-looking bird, painting it with bright colors and then releasing it. The flock, not recognizing it as one of its own, attacks and kills it. Many times during our history, the danger we faced by being easily identified as Jews was not a small one. A 19th century guide to halakhah states:
Yet another reason for wanting to blend in has to do with living in our democratic society in the 1990s. We believe that all people are created equal. We are uncomfortable with anything that makes us feel we are inherently better than anyone else. We struggle against the concept of "chosen people." We read:
and we don't know how to handle it. Zaritsky, David, ed., THE HAFETZ HAYYIM ON THE SIDDUR: EXPLANATIONS, INTERPRETATIONS AND PARABLES ON THE DAILY PRAYER BOOK BY RABBI ISRAEL MEIR HACOHEN OF BLESSED MEMORY, Jerusalem Academy Publications, 1974.
1/2/98 © Rosemarie E. Falanga, Cy H. Silver |