You Might Be A Hebrew American If…

I have been asked how to define who exactly is a “Hebrew American”, and how one would go about becoming one.  Unfortunately, there is no clear cut answer here.  This would be the same if, for instance, we wanted to determine who is a “Reform Jew”.   A dues-paying member of a Reform congregation?  Somebody who self-identifies as a Reform Jew, regardless of affiliation, practice, or belief?  Somebody who adheres to Reform beliefs and practices, even if they would not identify themselves as Reform?

The “Hebrew American” concept is rooted in language fluency; my idea is that the Hebrew fluent (whether Israeli or American-born) constitute a distinct sub-group within the American Jewish population.  Nevertheless, there are many people who aren’t yet fluent who could still be considered part of this sub-group; for instance, Zionist youth and adults who frequent Israeli movies and other cultural activities, yet still struggle with the language.  Even if you don’t speak a word of Ivrit yet, but you like (for some reason) to hang out with others that do, then you are implicitly part of the sub-group I identify.

There are other complications with the definition.  Back when I organized Hebrew language activities at Hillel, I remember that a few Arab Israelis (having temporarily or permanently relocated to the U.S.) once showed up to a Tu Be’Shevat celebration we organized (I was even more impressed that they knew all these Tu Be’Shevat songs as well!).  Would they be considered “Hebrew Americans”?  I would think so.  Just as the non-Jewish partners in intermarried couples can form part of the extended Jewish community (if they choose to participate in it, of course), non-Jewish speakers of Hebrew are certainly part of Hebrew America in their own unique way (again, if they choose to participate).

I think that the experience of being part of a cultural collective ultimately depends upon the range of experiences that this group’s members share.  With apologies in advance to Jeff Foxworthy, I have compiled a very short list (feel free to add to it) of ways to identify if you are a part of Hebrew America:

• If the Bezeq parrot still haunts your dreams, even after coming back home to the U.S., you might be a Hebrew American.
• If you search your old coat pocket and find either an old El Al ticket or a mifal ha-payis stub, you might be a Hebrew American.
• If watching an episode of Bubot (Dolls) - or any other Hebrew telanovella - has somehow changed your life, you might be a Hebrew American.
• If you know where “NATBAG” is (or was), you might be a Hebrew American.
• If you spent the weeks after Thanksgiving scrambling to obtain DVDs of Dora The Explorer in Hebrew for your kid, you might be a Hebrew American.  (They were sold out everywhere – trust me!) 

As I stated earlier, please feel free to add to this list…