**Disclaimer: This article contains many embarrassing photos of my Jewish upbringing.**
Maintaining my Jewish identity at school is hard. Yes, there’s Hillel, my roommate is Jewish, and I still keep kosher. However, there are many times at school when it’s hard to remind myself that my religion is important to me. It’s not like at home I celebrated Shabbat every Friday or prayed before bed or even had a strong set of beliefs about God. It was more of a cultural thing. Most of my friends were Jewish, I had a strong connection to my temple and youth group there, and my extracurriculars circulated around Judaism, in a more cultural sense.
(My dad and me at my temple’s preschool Chanukah party)
I knew that there would be many differences between living at school and being at home, but I hardly thought that being Jewish would be weird at school. Again, it’s not as though I’m orthodox. It’s simply that being Jewish was something that was a part of my identity at home that was very obvious and easy to maintain.
(Like every other Jewish girl, I attended Jewish sleepaway camp for 11 years)
I’m not a bigot, and I’ve always enjoyed having friends who are different from me. I had a friend from home that was Catholic, and enjoyed being invited over for Passover Seders to understand more about my religion. And I’ve loved being invited to Christmas parties and tree decorating evenings. I understand that as much as Judaism means to me, other religions mean to other people.
(Holding the Torah at my Bat Mitzvah)
However, coming back to school after Thanksgiving has been interesting. Nearly every building on campus has been dawned with Christmas trees, wreaths, and red ribbons. Everyone is excited to go back home and celebrate “Christmas break.” When I mention that Chanukah is coming up, people look at me weirdly, asking why I don’t get time off.
So when Sunday, the first night, came up and I had a paper due at 9 p.m. and a quiz the next day, not to mention the hurricane of finals coming up on the horizon, I wasn’t exactly in the holiday spirit. I had missed Hillel’s candle lighting event to finish my paper, wasn’t allowed to light candles due to dorm rules, and felt very un-Jewish.
(Another Bat Mitzvah photo)
While Hillel is an extremely inviting and accepting environment to have, I can’t help but feel quietly Jewish. I had grown up my entire life being proudly Jewish and celebrating that part of my identity, and this is the first time that I’ve truly felt like a minority as a Jew. It’s not like I grumble every time I see a Christmas tree, or feel personally victimized. I don’t want to dramatize my feelings—it’s just interesting that I find myself accommodating my Jewish identity at college.
(A picture of my board of my temple’s youth group in our chapel)
Consequently, there have definitely been moments where I’ve been homesick, like fasting on Yom Kippur alone in my dorm room, or lighting the candles the first night without my family there. But there have also been incredible moments, like explaining to people what keeping kosher means, or teaching my friends about the history of Chanukah. I knew that in coming to college I would find people different from me, and it’s been exciting getting to learn about other people’s customs and traditions.
(My friends and me at our Jewish confirmation ft. my rabbi)
I love who I am, and I love what beliefs and customs I value for myself. I also value other people’s beliefs and customs, and what they themselves value. And I know that being at college has definitely tested this part of my identity, in that I’m not home where my whole family is Jewish and it just makes sense to take time to get out the menorah and light the candle, or go to services on high holy days, like Yom Kippur. But I think that makes it all the more special when I do take the time to honor this part of myself, and I’m thankful to be able to do it in the welcoming environment that Kenyon provides.
(My roommate and two Jewish friends going to Shabbat at Hillel)
Image Credit: Ari Tooch, Curtis Dahl Photography