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When being a Jew is not kosher and telling a Christian story is heresy

By Donna Jacobs Sife - posted Friday, 31 March 2006


I am left with a decision to make. Do I want to take away the gestures that make me what I am? Must I practice an African accent in the car at the red lights? Learn a short Indian dance, play a Japanese tune on the bamboo flute? And what am I doing all this for anyway? I came to this work because I wanted to share Judaism with those who wished to listen, to encourage tolerance and understanding among Jews and the general community.

And the truth is there are many opportunities for me to do that. The Catholic Schools Association love Jewish stories, I tell regularly for the Uniting Church, I am included on multi-cultural programs, festivals, conferences. And of course the Jewish community is of great support - and I can move my hands and invite Elijah in any time I want.

When Lisa Likpin, friend and New York storyteller read this article she responded, "Don't your administrators get it? Don't they realise that storytelling is about emotional, not factual truth? That what you were actually doing was sharing universal feelings with children? I absolutely hate the literalism that seems to be invading everyone's brain cells these days ... When a school system does what they did to you ... in my mind, it's the ultimate act of cynicism. It says, ‘we have no faith in children to discern between what is religious coersion, and what is simply a story’.”

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I have to agree.

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First published in Shalom, Pax, Salam in March 2006.



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About the Author

Donna Jacobs Sife is an award winning storyteller, educator and writer. She is skilled in drama, creative writing and does a lot of inter-religious work - interpreting ancient ideas into a relevant shape for a contemporary world.

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