Jews, Damned Jews, and Sociologists

What is this thing called Jewishness? What does it look like? What are its boundaries? Even the most neutral-sounding answer reflects some position on one side or the other of the crazy-quilt of conflicts that have defined and continue to define Jewish life over the last 200 years. The meaning of “Jewish identity,” the Holy Grail of organized Jewish life, is massively unclear, the very search for it a sign of abiding uncertainty and anxiety. How can we make sense of the numbing welter of cross-cutting and conflicting meanings of “Jewishness” in our world? What’s a Jew to do?

http://www.jewishideasdaily.com/content/module/2012/3/1/main-feature/1/jews-damned-jews-and-sociologists/e