For Larry David’s being a Jew is a state of mind As you no doubt realise, yours truly is not a biologist or a genetic expert and is not qualified to address this question.
However, an examination of the above question from a Jewish cultural perspective leads to some fascinating observations.
Jews frequently delight in associating themselves with Jewish brilliance: with the likes of Albert Einstein or Steven Spielberg. Naturally, Jews are much less enthusiastic about any association with people such as uber-criminal Bernie Madoff or serial paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. Jewish tribalhood is an elastic concept. Many Jews cling to biological determinism in the inheritance of Jewish talents but forcefully reject any biological cause in reference to any unsavory traits. Jewish folklore is wildly inconsistent in its biologist attitude toward the so called ‘Jewish traits.’
A few years ago, American comedian Larry David produced a sophisticated and fascinating deconstruction of ‘Jewish biologism.’ In the fifth season of his TV Series, ‘Curb Your Enthusiasm,’ (2005) David tackles the subject of organ donation. Voluntarily presenting himself as the ultimate American eccentric and egotistical Jew, David is confronted with a serious dilemma. His best friend Richard Lewis (another Jewish comedian) suffers acute kidney failure. His survival is dependent on a kidney donation and, as you can predict, Larry David is a perfect match. David, who had until that point used his series to portray the definitive Jewish egotistical person of American popular culture, is reluctant to donate his kidney.
As the plot develops, David hires a private detective to discover who his real parents are and learns that he, David, was adopted. David meets his biological parents and discovers that he was not born a Jew. He was born a Christian of Scottish descent. David is very excited about his new ethnic identity and faith. Instantly, he becomes an empathetic person. His egotistic attitude disappears. He suddenly cares about others. He evolves into a sympathetic, boring, compassionate Goy. A few scenes later, David is attending Sunday services with his new ‘parents’ in their local Church. There he learns for the first time that ‘to give’ is ‘to receive.’
David doesn’t waste a second. He understands. He leaves the Church and takes the first plane to LA where he rushes to the hospital to give his kidney to his best friend. During David’s final preparation for the transplant operation, the nurse is overwhelmed by David’s devotion, kindness and conviction. Throughout this transition to Christianity, the Larry David that we see is the total opposite of the selfish Larry David we knew.
However, David’s heavenly inspired humanist metamorphosis doesn’t last long. As he is being wheeled into the operating room, already under heavy anesthetic, the private detective runs up to David. “Larry I made a mistake” he shouts, “you were not adopted.” In spite of the anesthetic, David immediately reverts to his prior self. David understands that he is a Jew. His Christian compassion evaporates instantly. His transition is inescapable: he is a Jew after all and Jews are not supposed to give their organs to others, not even to their best friends. David, who is now heavily anesthetized tries to resist, he wants to run away. But against his will, he is dragged into the theater. He becomes a victim of his own temporary non-Jewish kindness.
Watch Larry David’s instant transition from kind Christian to Jew:
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