The Arts in New York City

If you ask me “what is your ethnicity?” numerous answers come to mind. I could say I’m half Italian, a little Austrian, German, Czechzlovokian, basically I am a descendant from every white nation in Europe. I don’t know anyone who is as white as I am; my last name even means “white” in Italian. Despite the fact that I’m the King of the Caucasians, I most truly and deeply believe that I am American. I was born and raised in Bayside as an American, I never followed a religion, never took part in any traditions that relate back to my family’s ethnicity, I just lived my life as an American. Everywhere I look I see everyone trying to bring their culture to New York City, which is not a bad thing. I love the fact that I can walk a couple of blocks from my house and find cuisine from across the world ranging from China, to Mexico, to India, to Italy, anywhere I can imagine. But sometimes I feel like everyone forgets that America has a culture of its own, and its always overlooked or taken for granted. In order for Queens to be truly diverse I feel someone has to represent America’s culture along with everyone else who incorporates their ethnicities into the community.

In my eyes, the best way to express a culture is by sharing their fine culinary arts. Food represents culture in a form that can be enjoyed by everyone. You may not like how it tastes, but you can still learn a lot about the culture. Living in a predominantly Asian community, I have eaten some very eccentric foods to say the least. Over the course of my life I have consumed chicken feet, jellyfish stingers, frog legs, goat thighs, and many more dishes that some people might find undesirable. Surprisingly, I quite enjoyed most of the foods that I ate, and more importantly I learned a lot about the culture, even a little bit of the language. This got me thinking about American cuisine. When you think about it, we never say “I’m in the mood for American tonight.” There is nothing more American than a tender, succulent burger with lettuce, tomato, onions, pickles, cheese, and ketchup, perfectly layered between two soft sesame seed buns. Mmm, I love American culture. The world could learn so much just by simply eating one of these heavenly patties.

Eating the burger is just one small factor in the quest to learn about American culture. The cheeseburger brings Americans together whether it’s for lunch, dinner, holidays, parties, anything. On very patriotic holidays, you will always find families throwing a barbeque and frying up some burgers on the grill. Barbecues are a huge tradition that Americans hold true to our hearts and will continue be a tradition for the rest of our lives. I will never forget those hot summer days when my dad would fire up some burgers on the grill and play baseball with my brothers and I in the backyard, memories that can only be made in America. Even Baseball, America’s favorite pastime, can make its way back to the cheeseburger. Starting with the food could teach you everything about a culture; in America you have to start with the cheeseburger.

A cheeseburger is a work of art to say the least

Considering I spent much of my time the past 3 days in synagogue for Rosh Hashana, it was pretty clear to me that I was going to write about my Jewish culture for this blog. But Jewish culture means something different to everyone, so the exact details took me a while to figure out.

At first it seems strange that I’m calling a religion my culture. If you want to be picky, I’m German, Polish, and Hungarian, but within all those places, my grandparents were part of the smaller, self contained, community of Jews.  They really did not interact with the culture around them.

Even in America, I grew up in a town with a lot of Jews. I went to Jewish schools, Jewish camps, and the same synagogue every week. Despite being in the cultural melting pot that is America, I saw a pretty isolated view of the world. My Judaism has been the defining culture in my life.

So what do I feel is a piece of art that defines that culture? Actually, it’s a song. But nothing fancy, sung by performers. Appropriately enough, it’s a prayer. But oddly, it’s not the meaning of the prayer that speaks to me or the beauty of the composition. In fact, looking for a clip of it on YouTube was rather disappointing. All the videos are opera singers, or groups trying to add some pop to the song. The real beauty of the song lies in the true setting.

Every time I’ve heard the song “Etz Chaim Hi” in synagogue, I feel an instant connection to everyone in the room. It’s a slow and low song. Everyone in the room comes together to sing it. No matter where you are, there is always one person who will harmonize beautifully. For the two minutes that the song is being sung (when the torah scroll is being returned to the ark) nothing else is going on in the room. There is absolutely no side conversation. Everyone is just wholly invested in singing.

To me, this has always been so beautiful. No matter what your life is outside of synagogue, for those few moments, you are a part of a greater community. I’m not usually one to find spiritual meaning in everyday life, but for some reason the song has always given me chills.

(Here’s the basic idea of the song : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c1T8SMZ2qsk  Sadly, much of the beauty is lost when sung by only one person.)