Learning for Life is the Jewish Way of Life
I came to Los Angeles in 1965. It was shortly before
the Watts riots that took place for six long days in August of that year. I had
taken a job working for a service company at that time. When the riots broke out
we sat in the office of the dispatcher who was frantically radioing to the
mobile service units that he knew and suspected of being in the Watts area to
warn them to get out. I can still recall the tension in the office as one of the
drivers spoke with such fear of his life; fortunately he got out unharmed. For the duration of the riots, I, like so many people, followed on the television the senseless destruction and pillage that continued. At that time I remember the chant that the blacks would say, over and over again: ‘Burn, baby, burn’. To me, it was a senseless, insane manner to resolve perceived inequalities.
I grew up in a traditional but liberal Jewish home. I never heard any negative words about blacks or anyone else. My parents worked hard to pay for a modest home, food and clothing for their children; they were certainly not rich. But my parents encouraged us kids to get ahead in life via hard work and education. For me to hear the blacks chant, ‘burn, baby, burn’ seemed exactly the opposite of what they needed to get ahead (or just to maintain a decent life style). To me, it seemed the phrase should have been, as my Jewish friends at that time were wont to say, ‘learn, baby, learn’. It was not just me, but many of my friends that used that phrase, ‘learn, baby, learn’.
From that time onwards, I noticed that myself and most of my Jewish friends continued in furthering their job skills: some took advanced college courses, others took what were called ‘extension’ courses and in general I, together with my Jewish friends, slowly climbed up the ladder of success. Success here does not mean being the top of the field in one’s profession. By success, I mean living and enjoying a good, clean, healthy and happy life, which includes marrying and settling down and raising a family with out major disasters, divorces or catastrophes that bring sorrow.
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