Lawrence Bush's Oral History

Lawrence Bush, editor of "Jewish Currents" magazine, was interviewed by Jayne Pearl on March 20, 2012 at the Yiddish Book Center in Amherst, Massachusetts. Lawrence's parents, both children of immigrants, were Communists and secular Jews. They were involved in union activities and the Civil Rights movement. He went to leftist camps and to an IWO shule in Queens. He recalls his family looking down on "believers". As someone who has almost entirely worked for Jewish institutions and publications, it embarrasses him that he still doesn't know how to behave in a synagogue. For jobs such as speechwriter for the president of the Reform movement he tended to focus on a humanistic and ethical rather than a God-centered approach. He talks about his column in the magazine which is called "Religion and Skepticism." On the other hand, he feels strongly that there is much to be learned from the ancient texts and that secular Jews need to re-engage with them. He believes that even religious Jews are probably looking for guidance on how to live a good life rather than being interested in the prayers and the liturgy. Lawrence can neither speak nor read Yiddish, but he hopes that he speaks "Yiddishkayt." The magazine's stance is that the language embodies Diaspora, universalist, rebellious, deeply Jewish values in a way that Hebrew does not. Lawrence talks about life choices such as his troubled brother's conversion to Christianity and his own decision to study jazz guitar rather than Yiddish. He talks about some of his books for children and adults including "Waiting for God: The Spiritual Exploration of a Reluctant Atheist" and "Jewdayo." He would like to find funding to support artists to explore together the meaning of Jewish texts beyond the strict religious interpretation. Lawrence lists some who have influenced him, including Philip Roth, John Lennon, Allen Ginsberg, and Arthur Waskow. He ends the interview talking about the creative ways that artists and other creative young people are exploring Yiddish and Judaism and expresses his hope for the future.