TV and Judaism

[dantech]

What do you think of the effect of television on Jewish children. I have friends whose children started asking them about having a Christmas tree at home, and having Santa over...

What with TV having so many Christmas shows, and themes that market Christianity in a very "cool" way, it makes it harder for regular parents to showcase the true beauty of Judaism. What do you guys think of this. Is it an issue? Is it not a problem at all? Is it the parent's fault if you do consider it an issue?

Please let me know, I am interested at hearing your thoughts.

 

[jazzymom]

What do you think of the effect of television on Jewish children. I have friends whose children started asking them about having a Christmas tree at home, and having Santa over...

What with TV having so many Christmas shows, and themes that market Christianity in a very "cool" way, it makes it harder for regular parents to showcase the true beauty of Judaism. What do you guys think of this. Is it an issue? Is it not a problem at all? Is it the parent's fault if you do consider it an issue?

Please let me know, I am interested at hearing your thoughts.

My kids live in a multicultural, multi religious society. They live in a Jewish home. Christmas is everywhere before Thanksgiving arrives and they don't need to watch tv to see that reality. Christmas decorations, Christmas music everywhere so we don't need to blame tv.

As to my house I tell my kids that Christmas is the holiday of their grandparents but we are Jewish and it is not our holiday.

We celebrate Jewish holidays and I teach my kids to be proud of their Jewishness and their holidays. I also teach them to be respectful of the religious traditions of others.

We are active in our synagogue and my kids are active in their youth groups and tamid program through our shul.

My choices are to hide the reality of the world or to allow my kids to be a part of the world.

I believe they will grow up and continue to dance with the Jewish people.

 

[Levite]

My son is too young to be interested in TV yet, but I have a bunch of cousins who are like nieces and nephews to me. They all watched TV, but they also got good Jewish life at home, and many were sent to Jewish schools also. None of them celebrate Christmas or want to celebrate Christmas, or ever had more than a passing childhood interest in Christmas and Christianity. Two of my oldest cousin-nieces just made aliyah.

I think as long as there is a warm and vibrant Jewish life at home, as long as the kids get decent Jewish education, and as long as parents and kids talk about media, and parents try to teach their kids to be media literate, there is no problem with Jewish kids and TV or other media.

Whether in the media or via some other influence, the real fear here is assimilation. And the only real weapon against assimilation is to create a strong Jewish identity, built on positive experiences and thoughtful practice and loving observance. But what will definitely not work is trying to hide from the problem by futilely trying to shut out the ever-more-omnipresent media, or other influences of society.

 

[Rakhel]

What do you think of the effect of television on Jewish children. I have friends whose children started asking them about having a Christmas tree at home, and having Santa over...

What with TV having so many Christmas shows, and themes that market Christianity in a very "cool" way, it makes it harder for regular parents to showcase the true beauty of Judaism. What do you guys think of this. Is it an issue? Is it not a problem at all? Is it the parent's fault if you do consider it an issue?

Please let me know, I am interested at hearing your thoughts.

This reminds me of The Hebrew Hammer (2003) - IMDb
Where an evil Santa tries to smother the lights of Hanukah. There is a particular scene in this movie where the Hammer is driving through a Jewish neighborhood(Chood) and almost runs over a kid carrying a "hanukah bush" And every time a bell rung the kid would repeat the line from It's a Wonderful Life. "Teacher says..."
We have had the same issue in our home as Jazzymom. Our kids know they are Jewish and that Christmas is the holiday of their grandparents. My own 7 year old had to tell that to her her Grandfather. "We don't celebrate Christmas. We celebrate Hanuhak"
However the problems we have are not from TV. It comes from the schools. That while I understood that Christmas is a big holiday in most homes, I felt the need to remind them that they do have a Jewish student in their class. It took my not sending my pre-schooler to school so she could participate in their "holiday program", that they finally understood..
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317640/

 

[Caladan]

What do you think of the effect of television on Jewish children. I have friends whose children started asking them about having a Christmas tree at home, and having Santa over...

To be honest I find it pretty cute and funny. Mostly harmless, it's not like they just brought home graven images of Moloch. I think that lack of television for children might make a dissonance for children, who need a healthy dose of the culture they live in as it is expressed on television and other means.

What with TV having so many Christmas shows, and themes that market Christianity in a very "cool" way, it makes it harder for regular parents to showcase the true beauty of Judaism. What do you guys think of this. Is it an issue? Is it not a problem at all? Is it the parent's fault if you do consider it an issue?

As an Israeli, I have to admit that Christmas is not big here at all. However the Hollywood Christmas movies and shows we were exposed to here while growing up, are not what I would call 'cool'. Just naive family orientated movies for the most part. Nothing sensational.

Please let me know, I am interested at hearing your thoughts.

We both lit the Hanukkah candles and had a small Christmas tree. It had no religious significance, it was simply part of the secular culture my wife knows. I see no harm in taking advantage of another holiday in order to exchange gifts, get a little festive and spoil each other.
I can understand why it would be a problem in Jewish upbringing, but I think it is crucially important not to over shield children and allow them to understand society around them. I find it highly unlikely that they only hear about Christmas, Santa, or the Virgin Mary solely from television shows. They are part of North American culture, and all these elements are part of the culture.

 

[dantech]

I definitely agree that it is not a great idea to shield the kids from everything that is non-jewish. But before a certain age, it could be difficult to explain to a child why the merry man in red won't come down our chimney. My fellow parent friends are having trouble with this particular aspect of the Jewish education. Their kids simply think that Santa is a lot cooler than Mordechai, and the parents are having a rough time seeing their children wish for Santa. I guess when I said TV, I actually meant all media, including local city decorations of lights on trees, etc....

B"H my children do not have this problem because my wife and I were able to, at a young age, imprint a strong Jewish Identity in their minds. They are very much aware of the other religions out there, and they do still feel a very strong feeling of satisfaction when they talk about Judaism, and how they are proud to be a part of it.

 

[Zardoz]

Your kids watch TV? Mine consider TV to be stone-age tech. They're always online. They're a bit older of course, but still I think my opinion of TV being a 'boob tube' and 'wasteland' rubbed off on them early on. Online, it's not Xianity that is the prevalent culture, but Pessimism. The online communities they frequent are better described as agnostic and almost hostile to such 'superstition' as Xmas.

At home, we've never had any 'bush', or any other such decoration. We decorated in our own tradition, but perhaps a bit more gaudy than we would have without the other holiday's influence.

 

[TheKnight]

Your kids watch TV? Mine consider TV to be stone-age tech. They're always online. They're a bit older of course, but still I think my opinion of TV being a 'boob tube' and 'wasteland' rubbed off on them early on. Online, it's not Xianity that is the prevalent culture, but Pessimism. The online communities they frequent are better described as agnostic and almost hostile to such 'superstition' as Xmas.

At home, we've never had any 'bush', or any other such decoration. We decorated in our own tradition, but perhaps a bit more gaudy than we would have without the other holiday's influence.

Ahh the wonderful internet. I myself was raised on the internet.

Oddly enough, it was the internet that played a huge role in my going from Christianity to Judaism.

 

[Suluby]

What do you think of the effect of television on Jewish children. I have friends whose children started asking them about having a Christmas tree at home, and having Santa over...

What with TV having so many Christmas shows, and themes that market Christianity in a very "cool" way, it makes it harder for regular parents to showcase the true beauty of Judaism. What do you guys think of this. Is it an issue? Is it not a problem at all? Is it the parent's fault if you do consider it an issue?

Please let me know, I am interested at hearing your thoughts.

We never had much of a problem. My baby's 31 now, so it's been awhile .....

We gave them a strong grounding education in Judaism, and we lived it. We told them that Xmas was only one day ..... and Chanukkah was EIGHT nights, and they loved that!

My older one used to tell the people who said "Merry Xmas" to him that he didn't do Xmas, he did Chanukkah - usually in no uncertain terms. That's when we taught him to just say 'Thanks' because they meant well.

They enjoyed being in on the secret that there was no Santa & Xian parents bought all those presents ..... they never told any friends that .... that I know of!

I think it's impossible to shield our kids from Xmas. We just have to explain that it's not our holiday.




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