JustASC

A reader writes:

I am writing a school report on cultural identities and how there are certain untranslatable words (such as schlimazl) that characterizes a nation or a people to a small degree. More specifically, my topic is on ‘Han’, which [is] a Korean concept which denotes a collective feeling of oppression and isolation in the face of overwhelming odds. This is considered to be a central part of the identity of Korean. I believe that Koreans have acquired this mindset due to their history of occupation from China, Japan, etc. However, in comparison to the history Jews have faced, it may seem tepid.

Thus, my question is there a concept similar to ‘Han’ and if so, how central is to the identity of the Jewish people?

What do you think? Is  there a Jewish word or concept “which denotes a collective feeling of oppression and isolation in the face of overwhelming odds”?

Or does the word “Judaism” pretty much cover it?

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 14th, 2009 at 10:02 am and is filed under JustASC. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.