Intercultural Reflection Interview
College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Grand Canyon University
COM-263: Elements of Intercultural Communication
2
Intercultural Reflection Interview
When people are learning about diverse cultures in the world, they discover there are
many of them to discover and they can learn where each one originates from and where those
cultures have been. People’s culture originates from their place of birth and the way they were
raised either by their parents or other family members. One of those cultures is the Jewish culture
which holds tradition and core family values remarkably high. One thing is that family values in
the Jewish culture are the foundation of the culture and family time helps teach values like
kindness and keeps traditions alive (A. Goldstein, personal communication, January 23, 2025).
In the Jewish culture, families are close to their faith. They are a part of the Judaism religion and
have faith in their faith.
Important Practices of the Jewish Culture
During the interview, the first question was what would you identify as the most
important or distinct practices of your culture? The most important practice in Jewish culture is
the right of passage also known as bar/bat mitzvah. Bar/bat mitzvah is when a Jewish boy turns
thirteen, they read from the Torah for the first time (A. Goldstein, personal communication,
, January 23, 2025). For girls, the first time they read the Torah is at the age of twelve (A.
Goldstein, personal communication, January 23, 2025). In Judaism, the bar/bat mitzvah
symbolizes adulthood. While there are other practices in the Jewish culture this is the most
important because it affects gender roles, social power, and authority and shows the differences
in social roles in the Jewish culture.
Gender Roles, Social Power, Authority, and Social Roles in Jewish Culture
In the Jewish culture, the gender roles are black and white (A. Goldstein, personal
communication, January 23, 2025). When someone says something is black and white it means