"Cultural pluralism", "multi culturalism" and "pluralism" - these are but a few of the terms used in scholarly discussions… These ideas challenge the assumption that "culture" and "identity" are set and immovable concepts. The emergence of varied life styles, cultural norms and institutional structures force us away from any attempt to restrict discussion to any one Jewish code or one definition of the Jewish people.

As [scholars]… have demonstrated, it is impossible to relate to Jewish culture, or to the culture of any society, as a closed phenomenon. Here following we shall explore the term "culture" as it relates to us, those who deal with transmitting this construct we call Jewish culture in Israel. The basic question we face is how to study and investigate identities and expressions of complex cultures in the trans-national global village. Certainly we stand witness to greater fragmentation and multitudinous splits and ethnic conflicts in the world, even as it becomes the global village. One must also take note of endless admixing among ethnic and national groups in this global village. Cultural borrowing and integration are not exclusively Jewish or Israeli issues, but a subject of discussion among all scholars and statesmen who deal with confrontation and dialogue among ethic and religious groups…

The number of Israelis - religious, traditional and secular - who spend time abroad and seek to redefine their self-identity is a growing phenomenon. This new development, ever more widespread, has led to what I call "mixed identities", i.e., forms which have become detached from existing circumstances and integrated with new forms and circumstances…

The idea of a social entity having independent existence across space and time assumes a conception of culture and ethnicity that can be mixed and integrated. In our case, our culture is composed of texts and physical items rather easily re-integrated.

The Israeli Jew is part of a variety of cultures and concepts simultaneously, and he/she must make decisions based on a range of variables… The cultures of Israel and the world are not static and unchanging as they used to be. This is a variegated and mobile culture, formed from a mixture of different cultures and sub-cultures…

I here suggest that we accept Israeli/Jewish identity as a spreading and developing identity. It is not a complete identity, and is built of varied sections. Prof. Elliot Dorff expressed this idea (paraphrase) as follows: "Every community grows like an organism. It changes with time responding to external and internal conditions. Therefore, one cannot define a culture with any degree of continuity or accuracy by some ideology or by a group of behavioral patterns." Still, we understand that we are a community, and that we have a history and shared aspiration, as well as a shared determination to continue as a defined community.

It is our intention to present the State of Israel as the place where "we accept with tolerance each person's individual choice for cultural identity." (Michael Walzer, On Toleration). We must put forward a graduated curriculum, relating to cognitive and affective development, which presents Jewish culture continuing interaction among peoples, groups, cultures and environments in which we live. We must emphasize that heterogeneity and fluidity have always defined Jewish existence in all aspects of culture and identity. One must present adaptability, re-formation and creation of new forms as the essence of our lives. Continuity is not a linear concept. Presenting this idea through cultural texts - be they formal and written, or in the form of songs, dances and artistic creations - befits the wide range of choice which engulfs our children daily.

We therefore must put our educational structure to a triangular test - one side being identification with our people, one side our cultural texts (to include religion), and the third side the community, whether that be the State of Israel or a smaller Jewish community abroad. One must accept that different people have different emphases, some narrower, some broader.
This approach sees the variety of behavior as a given. Education is an integrating activity, allowing people to join at their own chosen junctures.

This dynamic, multi-sided approach to Jewish life is reflected in classic rabbinic texts, such as "there are seventy faces of Torah." Similarly we read in the Mishna (Eduyot I:4-5),"Why do we record the non-accepted opinions of the schools of Hillel and Shammai? To teach future generations that one need not demand that only his way is correct, for our forebears did not do so. Why then do we record the minority opinion of one as opposed to the majority opinion of all the rest, given that the majority decides? So that a future court might have reference to them, and rule thereby. (A court cannot overrule a parallel court of peers unless it be greater in number and expertise…)"

These are just a selection among texts, but it is clear from them that our Talmudic rabbis understood disagreement to be part and parcel of the normative process of Jewish life.

It is a mistake to emphasize the eternal and unchanging. We must highlight dynamism and mixing, citing the ethical changes that vary our behaviors and allow us to relate to culture as a codex, which is both present and semi-set as part of our lives.

The style of learning and the texts chosen will differ from group to group. As we present dynamism and cultural pluralism in the Israeli context, we must differentiate between what our children experience through the culture as we present it to them, and their many experiences elsewhere. We must present them with an organic and living community, one providing boundaries, within which they can evaluate the differences among disciplines. This will allow us - even force us - to look beyond borders, be they behind us or before us. If the tolerance we teach is such that our children can decide for themselves concerning their culture, we can present to them an almost limitless variety of Jewish ways of life, knowing all the time that we compete with other cultures and their codices.

Accepting this approach, the State must be committed to tolerance, as defined above, encouraging all groups to present their ideas, cultures and codices freely for any and all who are interested. It is clear that the open market of ideas is an axiomatic demand of such an educational ideology. The presentation of the cultural products will determine how fluid they are. Presenting culture and ethnicity as an admixture of realties will give our children a sense of stability and a way to hold on to the present reality.

This approach rejects the idea of a special Jewish ethos. Ethical wars are a violent reminder of what can happen when change threatens to uproot and destroy the traditional myths and leaders who are ensconced in their positions... We must teach our children to understand the fluidity of central terms in traditional society. In that way they will be able to establish communities, based in the past, but facing the future. According to this dynamic approach, which relates to culture as a fluid mixing, the curriculum cannot be set in stone. It must respond to the interests and needs of the learners. A set, unbending curriculum is an unsuccessful format, which has proven acceptable only to traditional closed communities that see the world as "them" and "us".

We must approach the cultural world of Israelis and Jews through the eyes of anthropologists, philologists and sociologists, rather than to presume that we are different and special. Certainly there will be significant opposition to this approach, but reality has already dictated the necessary choice.

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