I decided to google Jewish Identity and came across a quiz which addresses just that. I was asked a series of 22 questions and the results are supposed to tell me what kind of Jew I am, and what I can do to improve myself as a Jew (if there is room for improvement). I had to take the quiz because of how comical this all seems to me. A 5 minute 22 question quiz can tell you what kind of Jew you are. The quiz is called, "What am I, Chopped Liver?" and can be found by typing it into the search bar.
The questions ranged from asking about my affliliation to whether or not I would care if my children married non-Jewish. I answered all truthfully and recieved feedback and results.
I am consiered to be a "Tzimmes Jew" which is defined by the website as, "Like this Sabbath-evening fruit and sweet-potato side dish, your Jewish identity is highly traditional, even as it adapts with changing times. A basic recipe is supplemented with various individualistic flourishes. Judaism plays an integral role in your life, though your identity is not defined solely by it."
I read this several times and finally thought to myself, "this makes sense!" This little blurp comparing me to sweet potatoes goes really well with how I identify myself. Before I did the quiz I thought that such a complex answer could never be constructed, but it hit the nail right on the head. My Jewish identity is highly traditional which comes from the way I was raised. Judaism plays a role in my life, but not all decisions I make are in accordance with the religion. Judaism is a part of my identity, but not the whole piece.
I would be interested to see whether these questions and this blurb can serve as an explanation of anyone else's Jewish identities.
http://www.beliefnet.com/section/quiz/index.asp?sectionID=10005&surveyID=76
4 comments:
I just took the quiz and was given the same feedback as you. While I have a very difficult time with the concept that a quiz/test/exam can say a lot about who a person is (and as is used by many corporations to determine how an applicant might perform in the company), I felt that this quiz covered many important aspects of what seems to differentiates Jews from one another based on their practices and traditions. The description does make sense to me and I feel that I can relate to it, I just dislike this categorization process.
I too fell into the same category after taking the quiz. After reading the descriptions for all of the possible outcomes I felt that there were pieces I could relate to throughout all of them. Truthfully, after 22 questions how can you really have someone figured out? If figuring out one's Jewish identity was that easy I'm pretty sure it is safe to say that none of us would be taking this class in the first place! It was still a fun thing to do that did touch a lot of the main beliefs in Judaism and gave different perspectives on them.
I just took this test too, and kept getting an error that I hadn't filled out all the questions.
That said, though, a) it feels odd to be compared to food, b) there's an element of horoscope to it (all of the descriptions, to me, have a "you will meet a mysterious stranger" [i.e., catchall] feel to them), c) it's interesting that there is no "bad Jew" character, suggesting that there's some purpose to the test (who put it there in the first place?), and d) don't you all find it a little interesting that each category comes with its own marketing?
Much like everyone else, I was categorized as a "Tzimmes Jew". I thought this quiz was very interesting. I completely agree with Michael in the sense that I think it covered almost all of the bases. It asked questions on almost every aspect of Judaism. But much like proving one is Jewish, can these questions really tell someone which type of Jew they are? For the most part, though, I think the answer was right on..."Judaism plays an integral role in your life, though your identity is not defined solely by it." Very interesting post, Heather!
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