Suddenly Jewish: Jews Raised as Gentiles Discover Their Jewish Roots

by Barbara Kessel

Book Overview

One woman learned on the eve of her Roman Catholic wedding. One man as he was studying for the priesthood. Madeleine Albright famously learned from the Washington Post when she was named Secretary of State. "What is it like to find out you are not who you thought you were?" asks Barbara Kessel in this compelling volume, based on interviews with over 160 people who were raised as non-Jews only to learn at some point in their lives that they are of...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1584650389
• ISBN13: 9781584650386
• Release Date: April 2000
• Publisher: Brandeis University Press
• Length: 144 Pages
• Weight: 0.88 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Judaism and Identity

Barbara Kessel has written an amazing book about individuals who are raised as Gentiles and discover their Jewish roots. She manages to weave many diverse interviews into her book, and manages to somehow connect all these smoothly. The result is a fascinating look at how individuals were told of their Jewish roots, and the wide range of reactions to this news. The entire book revolves around questions of identity. What is it to be a Jew? Can you be "half-Jewish"? Is Judaism a religion, a race, a culture - or all of the above? What if you know you are Jewish but you lack the documentation to prove it - do you convert? Why do some latch on to the revelation that they're Jewish, while others shrug and say that it doesn't change anything for them? Can you ever really BE Jewish if you were raised with Christian theology - or will you always be playing "catch-up" with Jews who went to Hebrew school and have a lifetime of memories of holidays and bar/bat mitzvahs? This book was such an enticing read, I could hardly put it down. However, the most fascinating chapter for me was the last, for in it the author discusses the possibility of "collective unconscious" - that a group-specific unconscious memory from the Jews present at Sinai is passed through generations as sort of a genetic memory. This phenomenon could be one possible explanation for why one who seems drawn to Judaism later learns he has Jewish roots. Or maybe there's another reason for these "coincidences." Barbara Kessel has written a compelling book on Judaism and identity. I highly recommend this book for anyone - Jewish or not. I see that it would also be helpful for anyone undergoing a conversion to another religion or one who is grappling with questions of identity.

SUDDENLY JEWISH IS COMPLETELY INTRIGUING

SUDDENLY JEWISH catalogues the personal histories of people raised as non-Jews who learned as adults that they were actually Jewish. Ms. Kessel's theory is that one's religion is basic to one's identity, and she wanted to investigate the shock these people experienced when they found out they were fundamentally something different from what they had been taught.Each of the stories is intriguing since each subject was forced into re-evaluating his identity upon learning this information. We all as children imagine we have been adopted and wonder who our "real" parents are; these people discovered that their histories had been adopted, and now were faced with learning who they really were. SUDDENLLY JEWISH is different from so many of the narratives we've seen lately that focus on one individual ( like Kati Marton) learning he/she is "suddenly Jewish." This book is refreshing in that it covers the stories of many people--we get the highlights without all the filler.I def. recommend it not only to people interested in Jewish topics, but to people interested in books on identity.

Riveting!

An absolutely fascinating account of a contemporary Jewish experience whose collective reverberations are recorded here for the very first time! I had always assumed that these instances were few and far apart, and was staggered to read how much more commonplace they were than I originally thought.Ms. Kessel buttresses the true accounts with sharp, penetrating insights of her own combined with gentle compassion and heartfelt wisdom.A must-read for anyone interested in the question of what constitutes identity, and the endless human yearning for it.

Suddenly Jewish

Suddenly Jewish is an intriguing look into the struggles of building identity when you don't have the whole story. The author presents the issues in a way that the reader feels they are right in the mind of the person discovering their Jewishness. This book would be of interest to anyone interested in the study of identity building and human behavior. I found the book fascinating and had a hard time putting it down to go to sleep at night!

A unique approach to Jewish identity

While there are many works that address Jewish identity from any number of perspectives (sociological, theological, etc.), this work studies it from a new perspective: through the analysis of case studies of people who discovered their Jewish roots as adults. The author pays particular attention to the "crypto-Jews" who are descendants of Spanish and Portuguese Jews, Holocaust survivors, and the "hidden children" of the Holocaust. She is non-judgemental in her approach, seeking to understand how each individual came into contact with his/her Judaism, and their reactions to their new status. The book's final chapter is an intelligent analysis of Jewish identity in light of the case studies presented.