But does she really have to remind us?

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Outsiders are often best equipped to truly appreciate what insiders take for granted. Within the American Jewish tradition, this is perhaps best exemplified by the story of "Marvin married a shiksa" (which for some strange reason I can't seem to find any reference to on the web). In this folk story, Marvin's new wife is viewed with disdain, simply because she's an outsider. Through her desire to please, however, she becomes more and more knowledgeable and appreciative toward Jewish traditions, ultimately becoming quite observant. This change causes additional consternation in Marvin's family - this time not because she's not Jewish, but because she's become too Jewish for the rest of the family.

The natives, who are perhaps so fully immersed within the totality of their reality, can't see the forest for the trees. They need the outsider who can show it to them.

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Go to: Carrying cognitive baggage from the old country