Jewish American

A Jewish American (also commonly American Jew) is an American (a citizen of the United States) of Jewish descent or religion who maintains a connection to the Jewish community, either through actively practicing Judaism or through cultural and historical affiliation.

Jewish American culture

See also: Secular Jewish culture

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As the last major wave of Jewish immigration to America was the two million Eastern European Jews who arrived between 1890 and 1924, Jewish secular culture in the United States has become integrated in almost every important way with American culture more broadly. Many aspects of Jewish American culture have, in turn, become part of the wider culture of the United States.

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Food

Several staples of Jewish cuisine have been adopted into mainstream American culture; bagels and lox (cured salmon) are examples. Initially, they were adopted as part of New York City's culture, and then spread to the rest of America. For example, bagels have been a staple of New Yorkers both Jewish and non-Jewish for decades, but really didn't spread "west of the Hudson" until the 1980's.

Related Topics:
Jewish cuisine - Bagel - Lox - Salmon - New York City

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Language

Although almost all American Jews are native English speakers, many haredi Jews are still raised speaking Yiddish. Once spoken as a primary language by most of the several million European Jews who immigrated to the United States, Yiddish has had an influence on American English. Among the donated loan words: chutzpah ("effrontery", "gall"), nosh ("snack"), and shlep ("drag").

Related Topics:
Haredi - Yiddish

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Many American Jews also study Hebrew, the language of most Jewish religious literature, the Tanakh (bible), Siddur (prayerbook), and the modern State of Israel. Some American communities of Iranian Jews, notably the large group in and around Los Angeles, CA and Beverly Hills, primarily speak Farsi in the home and synagogue and support Farsi newspapers.

Related Topics:
Hebrew - Tanakh - Siddur - Israel - Los Angeles - Beverly Hills - Farsi

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Jewish American literature

Although Jewish Americans have contributed greatly to American arts overall (see the following section), there remains a distinctly Jewish American literature. Generally exploring the experience of being a Jew, especially a Jew in America, and the conflicting pulls of secular society and history, the literary traditions of Philip Roth, Saul Bellow, Chaim Potok, and Bernard Malamud all fall in this category. Younger authors, like Paul Auster, Michael Chabon and Jonathan Safran Foer continue this view of Jewish American literature, examining the Holocaust, and the meaning of being an American Jew.

Related Topics:
Philip Roth - Saul Bellow - Chaim Potok - Bernard Malamud - Paul Auster - Michael Chabon - Jonathan Safran Foer

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