Jewish Calendar Talk
This year, the Susan K. Komen Foundation scheduled its Houston run against breast cancer on Yom Kippur. Both The Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Haaretz are reporting that the foundation has apologized for the conflict, even as it acknowledged that this year’s scheduling snafu has been on the radar for five years. Apparently, it couldn’t seem to sync the city’s calendar, the Jewish calendar, and its own “needs.” One wonders about the sincerity of an apology for taking five years NOT to correct a scheduling problem. To add irony to insult, Susan K. Komen was, according to the Houston Chronicle, “an observant Jew.”
Several years ago, the San Francisco Public Library chose Yom Kippur as the day to host a celebration of the life and work of Gloria Anzaldúa, a Latina activist/theorist of blessed memory to a multitude of feminists. Anzaldúa’s groundbreaking work on spiritual activism and her profound commitments to coalition politics made the scheduling of this event particularly unfortunate. The feeble attempt to accommodate Jewish feminists was worthy of a Jon Stewart segment: “If you cannot attend –we apologize to those who can’t come due to Yom Kippur–please think about writing a brief statement, to be read at the event, regarding the significance of Gloria in your life &/or work & submitting it to Randy as soon as possible at . . . (don’t worry if you’re at first blocked by SpamBlocker).”
The academic world, which I know intimately and which could be teaching deep respect for and understanding of religious difference, often models worst practices and hypocrisy. When alumni events that tout a curriculum committed to cultural diversity are scheduled on Yom Kippur, when lectures on pedagogical innovation are given on Rosh Hashanah, when religious studies professors need to be informed that some Jews observe Rosh Hashanah for two days, when an art institute opens an exhibition devoted to “faith and community” on Rosh Hashanah, when university communities are encouraged to parse policy to determine which events can and can’t be held on Jewish High Holy Days rather than being encouraged to understand diverse religious traditions and their organization of time, then Jews rightly wonder whether choosing to be a practicing or semi-practicing Jew is still a subtle liability.
The consequences of my choices are much less dire than those foisted on my mother, and I am profoundly grateful for the opportunities that I have as a Jewish feminist in 2014. But there are those “click” moments when I look at a calendar and wonder if we have come as far as we think.
Helene Meyers is Professor of English and McManis University Chair at Southwestern University. She is the author, most recently, of Identity Papers: Contemporary Narratives of American Jewishness and is working on a book about Jewish American cinema.
3 comments on “Jewish Calendar Talk”
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Sorry to say that this does not surprise me. My daughter lives in a town in MA that has a small but not insignificant Jewish population – and an elementary school show was scheduled for erev Yom Kippur this year (2014/5775)! My daughter let the principal know, as soon as she saw the calendar, and received an apology and the promise that this wouldn’t happen again. Remains to be seen…
My granddaughter, in 2nd grade, auditioned and was given a part in the chorus; she & other Jewish kids in the chorus performed in the school day performance but had to skip being there at night. Kol Nidre! REALLY? Would they have a show on Christmas Day or Easter Sunday?
This really hit home with me. I recall all too well working my way through business school at a law firm in Washington, D.C. in the mid-’80s. Yom Kippur was on Saturday that year. When the office manager approached me about coming in that day and doing overtime, I politely declined, telling her it was a holiday. Her response, “Wasn’t last week the holiday?,” in a tone that told me she thought I was making it all up as an excuse to avoid putting in the hours. My response, “Yes, last week was a holiday, and if I didn’t come in then, I certainly can’t come in tomorrow because it’s an even holier day.” I’d never been such a minority before (or since). There was only one other Jew at this firm, and I learned that day not to assume people knew anything about my religion just because you were in a major American city. Conversely, when an orthodox attorney came one day for an all-day meeting, the office manager came running to me, expecting me to be an expert in all things kosher, which I’m not.
I live in a city with a small Jewish population (less than 1% of our overall metropolitan population). Nonetheless, we have both a Conservative and an Orthodox synagogue, and Chabad, of course. There is noticeable Jewish participation in academia (we have 5 universities), medicine, law, and business. We are not invisible in the community. In the fall, the numbers in our community soar, as Jewish students flock to our universities from other provinces in Canada and some US states. Here, too, it is not unusual that events I might like to attend are scheduled with utter disregard for the Jewish calendar. When challenged, people most often say, “Well, then we’d have to pay attention to EVERYONE’S calendar, and nothing would get done!” They think they’re being reasonable. But the fact is, I have to live my life on the Gregorian calendar, a Christian calendar, and I manage to make those accommodations. While it’s very true that we have many days of religious observation, it irks me no end that anybody should need to be told this in the first place, and would refuse to correct it in the second: if you’re scheduling events, consider Yom Kippur! Don’t schedule it then! Is it any more necessary to schedule an event on Rosh Hashannah or Passover than it would be to schedule the same event on Christmas or Easter? If I have to choose between my observation and your event, I’m afraid I’m gonna give your event a miss. And YOU might actually miss MY participation.