Adoptee from China celebrates her bat mitzvah

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

But why is this interesting though? Because she's adopted? Because there aren't too many Chinese Jews? A Russian adoptee's bat mitvah would not have been there, would it?

See the other responses you've received, particularly the ones below.

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Yes, it's interesting because for the most part Chinese people aren't Jewish. It's a story that points out the unique multifaceted or fluid nature of identity in the US. One can take for granted the experience of being a member of two groups that usually don't overlap.

Originally Posted by Kevlar281

Well considering the demographic of the NYT’s readership, no I’m not surprised one bit that they did a story on this.

Russian Jews are not uncommon. Chinese-Americans who were adopted when their country first allowed the adoption of a subset of its population that is generally considered unwanted (aka female) are reaching a milestone in a religion that does not see a lot of Chinese-Americans or Chinese people in general, are uncommon and thus considered more "interesting." YMMV

I found it to be an interesting article and am thrilled that formerly unwanted children are now loved, taken care of, and accepted not only into their families but into the community as a whole.

I still don't understand your point. Because I know I don't go through the paper and say... that wasn't interesting, I'm going to post a thread about that. Quite the opposite really.
Your comments suggest you don't like the fact that her (their) ethnicity and culture both by birth and adoption affected the fact that this article was written. And I don't really understand why.

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

I still don't understand your point. Because I know I don't go through the paper and say... that wasn't interesting, I'm going to post a thread about that. Quite the opposite really.
Your comments suggest you don't like the fact that her (their) ethnicity and culture both by birth and adoption affected the fact that this article was written. And I don't really understand why.

I just think they're making a big deal out of nothing.

[Drolefille]

I don't think they're making a big deal out of it. You act like because it's the NYT everything in it must be IMPORTANT NEWS. Or that they're trying to say it is important news Can you tell me you've never read the human interest stories that are just about some random people who live in the area? For example, today in my local paper there's a story about a Reverend who is also... a carpenter. Not news. Without Human Interest stories, newspapers don't keep their readership and lose subscribers to the internet.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

I just think they're making a big deal out of nothing.

Maybe it's "nothing" to you, but bat/bar mitvahs are an important rite of passage to members of the Jewish community, whether born into it, adopted into it (the girl in the article) or converted into it (Sammy Davis Jr., Charlotte from SATC).

[Taualumna]

Originally Posted by CutiePie2000

Maybe it's "nothing" to you, but bat/bar mitvahs are an important rite of passage to members of the Jewish community, whether born into it, adopted into it (the girl in the article) or converted into it (Sammy Davis Jr., Charlotte from SATC).

I just don't think they should have made a big deal out of a Chinese girl's bat mitzvah just because she's Chinese. They wouldn't have made a big deal out of a child from a country where there is a known Jewish population.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

I just don't think they should have made a big deal out of a Chinese girl's bat mitzvah just because she's Chinese. They wouldn't have made a big deal out of a child from a country where there is a known Jewish population.

But they're not making a big deal about it.

[Sister Havana]

I thought it was a really nice story and I found it interesting.

You're right that these days a Russian adoptee/emigre's bar or bat mitzvah may not be in the New York Times. But it certainly was not so long ago. The former Soviet Union was not exactly known for religious freedom and back when I was of bat mitzvah age, it was very common to have a bar or bat mitzvah "twin" - a Jewish boy or girl in the USSR who wasn't allowed to have a bar mitzvah.

[AlexMack]

Originally Posted by Taualumna

I just don't think they should have made a big deal out of a Chinese girl's bat mitzvah just because she's Chinese. They wouldn't have made a big deal out of a child from a country where there is a known Jewish population.

It's not a big deal, it's just interesting. I, for one, have never seen a chinese jew before. That's why there's a story-because many people are like me and haven't seen it. Who cares? She's adopted, chinese and jewish. That makes a good story.

[CutiePie2000]

Originally Posted by centaur532

It's not a big deal, it's just interesting. I, for one, have never seen a chinese jew before. That's why there's a story-because many people are like me and haven't seen it. Who cares? She's adopted, chinese and jewish. That makes a good story.

Yes, yes and yes.