The Wicked Son
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The Wicked Son: Anti-Semitism, Jewish self-hatred, and the Jews is a collection of
Mamet addresses the book "To the Jews…whose favorite Jew is Anne Frank…who bow the head reverently at a baptism and have never attended a bris – to you, who find your religion and race repulsive, your ignorance of your history a satisfaction, here is a book from your brother." Mamet confronts his readers: "The world hates Jews. ... The world hates you."
Summary
In the Passover Seder, four different sons ask a question. The wicked son asks, "What does this ritual mean to you?", in essence separating himself from the group by sarcastically and scornfully declaring that the ritual has no personal meaning for him. In a series of related essays, Mamet uses this concept of the wicked son as a symbol of the atheistic or agnostic self-hating Jew in Western society.
Israel
Mamet gives his own personal, unapologetic explanation of
Unlike more familiar defenses such as those by
Jewish identity
Mamet goes on to analyze what happens when Jews abandon loyalty to their religion and tradition in order, as he sees it, to find acceptance in a liberal society antagonistic to Israel. "It is the sin of the spies, a 'coward generation' with a 'lack of belief in God.' People have a drive to worship something, and will fill the void left by rejecting God by worshipping sports, celebrities, 'wealth, fame, status, sex, physical fitness, good works, human perfectibility."
"Our own enclave, the Jews, exists, in truth, in learning, containing wisdom, solace, tradition, and mutual support."[8] "Secular Jews reject their birthright of 'connection to the Divine.'" "(Our religion) is a gift from God – what greater joy than to support it, to devote ourselves to it, and to enjoy it?"[8]
References
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 13
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 47
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 12
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 6
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 11
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 62
- ^ Mamet (2006), p. 111
- ^ a b Mamet (2006), p. 169
Bibliography
- ISBN 9780805242072.
Reviews
- David Margolick, Maybe I Am Chopped Liver, (Review of The Wicked Son), New York Times, November 5, 2006.
- Abigail Radoszkowicz, Rites and wrongs, Jerusalem Post, November 16, 2006.
- Shaun Smith, The only good Jew is a very angry Jew, Toronto Star, April 1, 2007
- Tom Teicholz, David Mamet has one question—for the wicked son, The Jewish Journal, November 9, 2006