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"LOVESONG: BECOMING A JEW" (JULIUS LESTER).   Term Paper ID:23273 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analyzes book chronicling black man's conversion to Judaism & applies ideas from other works on black-Jewish relations.... More...

10 Pages / 2250 Words 9 sources, 32 Citations, MLA Format $40.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Analyzes book chronicling black man's conversion to Judaism & applies ideas from other works on black-Jewish relations. Paper Introduction: Understanding the Other: Lester's Lovesong In Lovesong: Becoming a Jew Julius Lester begins by declaring this truth of his own self-identity first formally accepted while he was in retreat at a Trappist monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts: "I have become who I am. I am who I always was. I am no longer deceived by the black face which stares at me from the window. I am a Jew" (Lester 1). At Lovesong's end Lester concludes that "the essence of Chosenness" is a mixing of the "joyous and mournful", that is, a gladness for the gift which has been given and a bit of sorrow at how much responsibility such a gift entails (Lester 243). In discovering who he is Lester has moved along his chosen path which has intentionally mixed the traditions of two of America's most dominant minorities, the blacks and the Jews. Part of the Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. Du Bois' idea of"double consciousness" which saw "the Negro as a sort of seventh son bornwith a veil and gifted with second sight in the American world" (West 138). Westindicates that although there has been no golden age between these twominority groups, there was a better era when they held "the commonhistories of oppression and degradation . . Lester refuses to be constrained by the color of his skin. who has set thy glory in the heavens!" to Voynez, a little girlwhose family belongs to his father's congregation, he is annoyed that itdoes not exhilarate her, that it, in fact, holds almost no meaning for her. Gently, heconcludes, that he believes them both. Farrakhan'sdecision to inspire his people with a sense of superiority does not allowfor progress but only further separ-ation and deeper divisions. and Christopher Bagley, eds. The Future of the Race. Knopf, 1996.Harrington, Walt. He does concede that some community organizations, however,have been able to offer an improvement in race relations (Boyd, 1995, p.26). Some black scholars have concluded that theblack fascination for Farrakhan does not center on his anti-Semitic viewsbut on accepting his fallacy which substitutes moral values with politico-religious ones. Becoming a Jew. A stronger alliance between blacks and Jews willperpetually be stalled if its point of mutual experience remains a sharedexperience of oppression" (Cudjoe, 1994, p. For Lester theonly way to completely eradicate the prejudices and doubts which beset himas an American male in the twentieth century was to return to the God ofMoses and the Israelites who bravely but painfully fled their Egyptiancaptors by fleeing across the Red Sea. Harrington is humbled by the great divide which heexperiences between the races. Inchoosing to recast his black identity into that of a Jewish child of God,Lester straddles two separate experiential worlds often marked by racialexclusivity and society's prejudicial rejection. In Lovesong Lestercan be seen attempting to embrace the Jewish experience with a ferocityalien to the average black man. Born to a black Southern Methodist minister who died when he wasstill a boy, Lester has struggled to uncover the true gestalt of hisexperience, the necessary pieces of the human puzzle which will allow himto emerge as his most spiritual and unified self. Lester has pushedthis concept even further when he chooses to rename himself as Jew. A White Man's Journey into BlackAmerica. Reading "O Lord our Lord! Lester casts ashadow proportional to the prophets. Race Matters. Lester appears to be attempting to pushMalcolm X's solution a step further by not trying to look at one's selfexternally but to gather one's strength from inner principles ofspirituality. A large part ofLovesong's power stems from Lester's uncommon ability to celebrate theminority status of both his black racial inheritance and his chosen Jewishfaith. In Race Matters Cornel West, a leading black theorist and religiousscholar, dedicates an entire chapter to "Black-Jewish Relations" (West 1 3-16). The honesty and the frustration whichHarrington encountered in his criss-crossing of America is perhaps bestcharacterized by the epigraph he uses from the famed black novelist, JamesAlan McPherson, "And there's one thing I learnt about white people; if theydon't understand what you saying, they just ain't gonna hear it" (McPhersonin Harrington i). Such a discussion hopefully would enable bothgroups "to formulate strategies and tactics to sidestep the traps oftribalism and chauvinism" (West 1 9). Yet he concludes that he feels better justhaving asked the questions, just having highlighted the fact that asignificant rift still marks the division between blacks and whites inAmerica. Within Judaism, Lester seems tobe less burdened, to feel less guilty, to have rid himself of "God as theCPA of Morality." Yet Lovesong unfolds in the end as a tale of aremarkable man rather than the universal tale of an Everyman. West asserts that most blacksfail to recognize and acknowledge the "profound hatred of Jews which sitsat the center of medieval and modern Europe" (West 1 4). For a black man to awaken spirituallyand see himself as a Jew, he is overcoming the societal impasse ofconvention. Boyd is led to make this observationafter watching the simmering interracial tension which keeps exploding inNew York's Crown Heights, especially after the accidental killing of ayoung black girl by a Jewish driver. He cannot explain what hashappened to him. Boyd denounces the misuse ofaffirmative action programs and the unsavory comments by black leaders asinflammatory and contributing to the growing rift between these twocommunities. Lester indicates that he was mystified by the Jewish scrollsand rituals but that he was overcome with a "surge of sudden and wondrouslove whose name I did not know" (Lester 28). New York: ArcadePublishing Co., 1988.Verma, Gajendra K. It is as if in converting Lester must bear the anguish ofmore than one race. In recording his spiritual quest, his journey"of becoming a Jew", Lester seems to indicate that for him to embraceJudaism is to return to a pre-Christian state. Lester suggeststhat he has murdered his childhood faith and abandoned the God of hisfather who seemed to function like "some CPA of Morality" recording hisevery curse word, failing or sin (Lester 29). Kriegel's comments helps to contextualize Lester's motivation forconversion as articulated in Lovesong. Lovesong repeatedlycrystallizes this irony of modern society for sometimes in trying tounderstand the other, there is a tendency to cast him or her within aconcrete stagnation. In "Will blacks and Jews ever come of age?" Herb Boyd asserts thatblacks and Jews "share a volatile relationship that leads to riots andlawlessness" (Boyd, 1995, p. In articulating his concept of "psychic conversion",Malcolm X asserted that "black people must no longer view themselvesthrough white lenses" (West 137). "Will Blacks and Jews Ever Come Together?" The Crisis 1 2(Feb/March 1995) 2: 26.Cudjoe, Selwyn R. AtLovesong's end Lester concludes that "the essence of Chosenness" is amixing of the "joyous and mournful", that is, a gladness for the gift whichhas been given and a bit of sorrow at how much responsibility such a giftentails (Lester 243). Yet, the young Indian has definedhim by the "color" of his skin (Lester 1 9). West indicates that American blacks and Jews remain centrallydivided by two social questions: first, what constitutes the mosteffective means for black progress; and second, the meaning and practice ofZionism as embodied in the state of Israel (West 1 7). The differences betweenthe two are too great to be so superficially resolved. Italso appears significant that his attraction for Roma Jones, his desirethat she seduce him, underscores his spiritual inching toward Judaism.Here Lester, perhaps subconsciously, relies upon the centuries old mysticaltrope of God appearing before his Chosen one in the guise of a beautifulwomen. This passage underscores thatfor Lester peace among the races must begin with a recognition that eachindividual can be many things and may be different than a glance mightfirst suggest. Heterologically speaking, he is assimilatingthe other. Lesterindicates that he is ashamed as a black man but he is afraid as a Jew(Lester 235-6). I am who I always was. Lesterwrites with an optimism and radical need of one of Israel's ancientpsalmists. Heis interested in establishing an identity for himself which has not beenpredetermined by artificial boundaries. For him the Jewish faithwhich painstakingly still awaits the Messiah, who strives to understand themystical presence of God in the most common and everyday occurrence, is afaith where he feels the most comfortable. Crossings. In discovering who he is Lester has moved along hischosen path which has intentionally mixed the traditions of two ofAmerica's most dominant minorities, the blacks and the Jews. McPherson's commentary that if whites cannot understand blacks intheir own phrasing of the problem then they are likely to deny that theproblem actually exists sheds an interesting light on Lester's project. InLovesong Lester emerges as a passionate and articulate man, blessed with adeep but searching faith. Yet he keeps thisknowledge to himself, believing it to be too sacred to tell his father.This conversion narrative is significant since it seems to underscore theidiosyncratic and highly personal nature of how Lester's spiritual journeywill unfold. He is taking into himself that which would on the surfaceappear to be most foreign. How excellent is thy name in allthe earth! New York: HarperCollins, 1992.Kriegel, Leonard. What isneeded is the promotion of strong images of benevolence that can transcendacross the races. Other Americans, blacks and Jews,can celebrate his fortitude, courage, and creativity. In turn, Westasserts that Jews fleeing Europe and arriving in America did notsufficiently question the widespread antiblack stereotypes they encounteredor their own ability to garner whiteskin privileges unavailable to blacks(West 1 6). His is a voice which cries out in the desert, apparently askingothers to find room in their own hearts for conversion. Second, they must understand that "black anti-Semitism is a resultof higher expectations some black folk have of Jews" (West 112). Part of theexplosive nature of Lovesong is that in its pages Lester indicates thatbefore he could reformulate his identity he first had to erase it. Early in the book, herecounts his frustration of trying to share the joy he feels when readingthe Psalms. In anger he slams down the bible, calls Voynez "dumb" and sulks off intothe night and its receptive darkness. While attending Fisk University Lester is invited in a seeminglyrandom gesture to attend the synagogue with Roma Jones, one of his fellowclassmates. This mystical experience onan otherwise normal afternoon in Nashville, Tennessee stays with him andcan be vividly recalled years later. Third,"black anti-Semitism is a form of underdog resentment and envy, directed atanother underdog who has "made it" in American society" (West 112). "Debating the History of Blacks and Jews." TheChronicle of Higher Education 4 (Jan 19, 1994) 2 : A11.----------------------- 9 Boyd's commentary appears marked by resignation and frustration overhatred between the races. While visiting the Taos pueblo, Lester had beencontemplating that both the Hopi and the Taos Indians believe that theirland stands as the primal spiritual center of the universe. B3). Roma Jones drifts away into a state of near-oblivion, but her introduction to the Jewish rituals of the synagogueremain indelibly etched in his memory and soul. 26). West indicates that Malcolm X's concept of "psychicconversion" can actually be read as a critique of W. . He cannot fully erase who he has been, a Christianblack, so he must hear these words as if a part of his own tradition werespeaking them. For him it was insufficient tounderstand the Jewish experience from an observational role, he wished toimmerse himself within its depth. West observes that "black anti-Semitism and Jewish antiblack racism"are real and "as profoundly American as cherry pie" (West 1 4). Yet the title of his spiritual quest, "Lovesong", indicatesthe strategy by which Lester will cope. Further, West specifies that blacksmust struggle to overcome three basic tenets of their anti-semitism.First, they must understand it to be "a species of anti-whitism" (West111). West contends that the current impasse in American black-Jewishrelations can only be overcome through discussions which surpass theisolation of group interests. He has lostthe God of his childhood and he is unsure where to turn. Lester indicates that the God of hisFather is foreign and insufficient for his own experiences. B. The controversial figure of Louis Farrakhan looms in the backgroundof black-Jewish relations. In Crossings: A white man's journey into black America (1992) WaltHarrington records his experiences of travelling across the backroads andurban centers of America, intentionally appearing as a white man and ajournalist trying to understand the black experience from their perspectiverather than his own. Next he recounts a conversionexperience where he feels called by God. Works CitedBoyd, Herb. Lester recognizes that the world ismulti-factional, yet his desire for God has led him to seek initiation intothe Jewish religion. What is needed, according to West, is aninterracial discussion which includes what "being black or Jewish means inethical terms" (West 1 9). "Racial Feelings among Blacks and Jews in New York."Partisan Review 6 (Fall 1993) 4: 573.Lester, Julius. In 1994 heated debate broke out in an academic meeting of theAmerican Historical Association over the historic relationship betweenblacks and Jews in America. Race Relations and CulturalDifferences. Nearthe end of Lovesong Lester tells how one day he attended a New York lectureby Stokely Carmichael who vents against Jews, Israel and Zionism. and Cornel West. E. He will choose the spirit over theflesh, God over demons, and love over hatred. Yet it also underscores the position ofcompromise which Lester refused to adopt. NewYork: Alfred A. Kriegel indicates thateach minority group names the other as its oppressor while simultaneouslyforegrounding their own group's societal status as "victims of racialhatred" (Kriegel 573). Lester is able to come to a point of self-validation once he has extinguished any need to see someone else asradically different from himself. Thereassuring aspect of his writing and his spiritual enlightenment is that ifone man can span two such radically divergent cultures than perhaps otherscan find it within themselves to adjust to smaller multiculturalaccommodations between divergent groups. Yet he understands "in the hollows and crevices and cavesof my soul: God has chosen me for Himself" (Lester 19). New York: St. as a springboard for genuineempathy and principled alliance" (West 1 4). I am no longer deceived by the blackface which stares at me from the window. I am a Jew" (Lester 1). As he walks aimlessly into thenight's "deeper blackness" which arises from "the bowels of the earth", hefeels his head being blown up as if "a helium balloon" (Lester 17-8).Lester indicates that he fell unconscious and awoke to the figure of hisfather bending over his open-shirted body. New York: Random House, 1993.Winkler, Karen J. Understanding the Other: Lester's Lovesong In Lovesong: Becoming a Jew Julius Lester begins by declaring thistruth of his own self-identity first formally accepted while he was inretreat at a Trappist monastery in Spencer, Massachusetts: "I have becomewho I am. Lovesong. These details of abandonmentand searching are important since they set the scene for Lester'swillingness to reach past his childhood and enter into a new phase ofidentity, culturally and spiritually at odds from where he has been. Since Harrington's wife is black, his children are ofmixed racial blood. Kriegel argues that the adoption of thisoverly protective and distrustful stance generates an ongoing series of"misunder-standings and imaginary feelings of victimization" (Kriegel 573). Lester records elegantly how the merging of his black race with hischosen faith parallels the mystical fusion of spirituality and sexuality.God is to be all-encompassing. Debate was fierce and occasionally cruel.Very little consensus was achieved in that meeting except for a shared viewthat intensive additional research was still urgently needed in thisdivisive but important field (Winkler A11). The slur that he heard that afternoon so enraged himthat he decided to do a first-hand study of racism in America as observedfrom the minority's position. In merging his pregiven blackidentity with his newfound Jewish identity, it is as if Lester is leapingacross all racial barriers. Writing in the Partisan Review Leonard Kriegel asserts that the fearand suspicion that exists between blacks and Jews is due to the "falseimage" which they have of each other (Kriegel 573). Significantly, Harrington indicates that he wasspurred into this socio-political adventure by a comment which was derisivetoward his children. "The Secret Relationship between Blacks and Jews." The Chronicle of Higher Education 4 (May 11,1994) 36: B3.Gates, Henry Louis Jr. Kriegel indicates that each group, in truth, isvictimized by their own participation in games of "political correctness"whichsee them giving "racial color" to small incidents, fiercely protectingtheir own group's interests and vigilantly watching against "exploitationby the other" (Kriegel 573). Lovesong reads with the luminosity of the Old Testament. Malcolm X indicated that it was a mistake for a black to attempt to gainthe validation of whites or to live between two worlds. Martin's Press, 1984.West, Cornel. He recounts the tale of visiting an Indianreservation in New Mexico where a young Taos Indian approached him and gavehim "the Black solidarity handshake" (Lester 1 9). If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.