What constitutes a generation? Robert Wohl probes this question in his book, The Generation of 1914. Through observing the mostly middle class of five European nations, the French, German, British, Spanish and Italian, Wohl raises awareness about the complexity and consciousness of what makes a generation.
There is a famous debate between Rabbi Akiva and Rabbi Shimon ben Azzai. Which verse in the Torah is the guiding principle of Judaism? According to Rabbi Akiva it is the golden rule:” Love your friend as yourself” (v’ahavta l’reacha kamocha). Ben Azzai differs, and maintains it is the verse, “These are the generations” (ele toldot ha’adam).
Today, thanks to modern medicine, there are five living American generations. There is the GI Generation, born between 1901-1926; the Silent Generation, born between 1927-1945; the Baby Boomers, born between 1946-1964; the Gen Xers, born between 1965-1981; and the Millennials, born between 1982-1996. Sometimes a generation will have a first wave and a second wave.
On a simple level, what is central to each generation is that a group of people come of age forming their core values while experiencing the same or similar local, national or global common experiences. Coming of age at different times will form differing core values for differing generations which in turn create generational identities or a generational conscience — for example The Great Depression, the advancement of civil rights, feminism, the creation of TV, wars, etc.
When can a generation be counted as one? About every 18 years a generation comes and goes. The core values that form each generation exert influence. Plus, there are the indelible markers of a generation, such as WW I, WW II, Vietnam, the Challenger explosion, 9/11. These experiences inform the reactions and collective perspective of a generation. Sometimes an event is so defining, it becomes the moment that marks and binds that generation forever — like 9/11, or Kristallnacht for European Jews. It doesn’t have to necessarily be a negative event, although something that seals a fate of a generation often is.
Understanding core values that each generation forms in their formative years, is the key to understanding a certain part of what makes a generation tick forever. Take the Challenger explosion. Practically every Gen Xer saw that event. And not only did Gen Xers see it, but they were prepped for it for months (if not years) when an ordinary citizen, a social studies teacher, was selected to join the Challenger team. When the Challenger exploded, a generation went up in smoke too. A certain lack of trust, skepticism, independence and perhaps even indifference are some of the characteristics attributed to Gen Xers.
Of course there is a constellation of reasons for this, including the rising rate of divorce and the commonality of the latchkey kid. But if you had to pinpoint a defining moment of the generation that encapsulates a lot of what characterizes it, the Challenger would probably be that moment. Like a family being built, the American space program was America’s pride and joy. Then, like the breaking apart of so many families, it exploded. Just like that.
Inventions mark and define different generations: electricity, the automobile, penicillin, television, the Internet. How each invention develops affects a generation too. Take TV for example. For first-generation TV viewers, most families had but one TV set, and watching TV was a unifying family experience. Families laughed at common jokes, experiences and memories. By the next generation, when families have more than one TV set, TV became an isolating medium, with different generations watching different programming often geared specifically to them. specifically. So what once was a family evening ritual, becomes a medium for lack of closeness and lack of sharing common experiences.
In a Jewish context, this idea of generations can be broken down to more specific generations, for example the generation of Holocaust survivors, their children (first-generation survivors), and so on and so forth. As with other generations, there are first, second and even third waves. Each generation can be defined in terms of their age during the Holocaust, how old they were before the war or how young they were after the war. All these factors can leave an imprint on their formative years.
Each generation crests and at some point take its turn at the top. Not all generations are created equally. But every generation has its story to tell.
It would seem obvious that Rabbi Akiva’s contention trumps ben Azai’s. After all, the golden rule is the golden rule. What is the conflict even about? Perhaps what Ben Azai is suggesting is advancing the idea of ele toladot, the importance of generational concepts and conscience. “This is the story of the offspring of man(kind).”
Each generation has its story. And because each generation is built on the foundation of the previous generation, the story deepens with a new perspective. What is your story?
Copyright © 2014 by the Intermountain Jewish News
