Front page to my resource guide on Crypto-Jews

Occasionally I try to funnel my graduate school education into my broader interests. Here is an endeavor of which I am particularly proud.

For my LBSC class we had to create individual “resource guides,” a web 2.0-influenced multimedia guide to information on a particular subject. I chose “crypto-Jews,” a “hidden” community of forced converts who secretly practiced Judaism. Though persecuted by Inquisitions in Spain, Portugal and the New World, their descendants still live on today, some still private about their Jewish practice, but others rejoining public consciousness as their own cultural subgroup.

As a child of interfaith marriage (specifically where Catholicism is involved,) I’ve always found Crypto-Jews to be worthy of awe and respect. Growing up Jewish means growing up with the knowledge that centuries of bloody persecution (and, some might argue, modern intermarriage rates) means that most of our community has been stripped away throughout the years. According to a 2008 study by the American Society for Human Genetics, 19.8% of people from the Iberian Peninsula are descended from Jews, whereas less than 1% are Jews today. So to hear of people who held onto their beliefs not only through intense medieval persecution but to this day was enough to make me feklempt.

I hope that my resource guide provides a comprehensive look into the past, present and future of this group. And to those descendants who are looking for a place to belong today, I feel you’re already a part of my mischpacha. Together, those of us with Catholic heritage, and any sort of multi-ethnic/religious heritage, can still carve out a community in the Jewish world. Welcome home.

One of the things I love about these descriptions of fake religions is what they’ve taken from actual religion in the real world. These beliefs and traditions come from a very human need that parallels our needs on Earth.

The Old Gods of the north might speak to pagan cultures on Earth, who find spirituality through communion with nature. Though, as a Jew, I am struck by the author’s comment that these gods don’t have names and “god-ordained” priests, similar to how mine doesn’t.

The Faith of the Seven is steeped in ritual, probably defined most by George R. R. Martin’s Catholic upbringing, though Catholicism is certainly not the only religion here that ordains holy leaders, personifies their deities, and fashions cultural events and institutions around them.

The Drowned God of the Iron Islands is a tough task master, appropriate for people who lead hard, brutal lives. Their “baptismal rite” even requires drowning and resurrection, common themes among some religions here. But also common to us is the belief in an afterlife where things will go a bit smoother for adherents.

And finally, the faith of the Lord of Light. A prophetic religion, it hinges on the story of a “prince who was promised,” (Azor Ahai), who will defeat the dark, icy, supernatural beasts of the far north with fire. The fight between good and evil (and the fervor of those who subscribe to that belief) are certainly pulled from Earthly relationships to religion. But I’d go further to argue that religions need stories, particularly those about saviors and personal identity, to survive.

Pesach might well be one of the strongest stories about the Jewish people. It bound us together—raising us from slaves and desert dwellers to a community with a purpose. It gave us a god, it gave us laws to live by, and it gave us a prophet, Moses, who would lead us to our homeland. Pesach is about when death “passed over” us, and for the first time we had a viable future, which has carried us for millennia, so not too shabby.

I wouldn’t go so far to say that Pesach is a story about “good vs evil,” but rather the forging of a new community. We never aspired to be perfect. Our prophet, Moses, was so flawed that he was not even allowed to enter the Holy Land after 40 years of leading the people. This sense of bittersweet hope and futility makes my religion seem more real to me, something that more accurately describes the ups and downs of life. The point of the story is the journey. I can’t tell you which Westerosi religion agrees with that ideal, but I think that’s the purpose of the fantasy opus Martin is writing around them, as is the purpose of all great literature.

“Game of Thrones” season two is currently airing on HBO, Sunday nights at 9 pm EST. And for my fellow Jews, enjoy the Counting of the Omer, as we commemorate the “journey” between our Exodus from Egypt to the receiving of the Torah on Mount Sinai. Talk about a holiday that is really celebrating a narrative story.

Anne Frank writing

A few months back I was copy-editing a review of Auslander’s new novel, Hope: A Tragedy,which pokes fun at a perceived victim-status obsession among American Jews. The prime example of this is our fixation on the Shoah, so of course he brings up Anne Frank, (or as he dubs her, the Jews’ St. Anne of the Attic.) In his novel it’s discovered that she didn’t actually die at Bergen-Belsen, but the powers that be urge her to keep in hiding because the narrative is more poignant that way.

This is hardly a new angle for Jewish American writers to take with Anne. Back in 1978, Philip Roth basically did the same thing with The Ghost Writer, casting the Shoah victim as romantic fodder for his alter-ego, Nathan Zuckerman, so that the cynical young man could prove to his old-school family that he was still a good Jew. It was only a slightly less snarky commentary that we put Anne Frank on a pedestal where she doesn’t belong.

Well, gentlemen, I’m here to put a bee in your bonnet. I’m a Jewish American woman and I proudly list Anne Frank as one of my role models for life. No, I don’t quote passages of her book in Holocaust museums to rail against the injustice of Jewish oppression. I don’t read passages while huddled under my blankets waiting for the next Gestapo. Maybe I wouldn’t even say that she’s the voice of the Shoah, though arguably that’s the time period through which she lived, that’s what killed her, and that’s the external world she was reacting to.

I’d say that her messages supersedes one historical tragedy and addresses the human condition as a whole. I’d say that her beautifully crafted prose—written when she was just a teenager—rivals your adult output. I’d say that her optimism and faith in humankind, borne out of her life being stripped away from her in the years before she was killed, is more moving that your cynicism borne out of living in relative comfort, comparatively.

And it’s more than just about her refusal to let go of her faith in the world. This is a girl who was stunningly honest about her personal life. She analyzed her relationship with her family members and neighbors with an insight that some adults will never possess. She fell in love, as a way to keep living even when the Nazis wanted to strip everything from her. She was even open about her sexuality. I remember first reading The Diary of Anne Frank in the seventh grade. When we got to the part where she was exploring her body, most of my classmates professed disgust, or at least discomfort. For me, I found validation. It was okay to be growing up, it was okay that my body was changing. I wasn’t alone. This certainly had nothing to do with the Shoah, or even Judaism. Perhaps I can’t expect you gentlemen to understand.

Not that I don’t agree that there is merit in critically probing the relationship between American Jews and the Shoah, or holding Anne Frank up as the only voice of that event/Judaism as a whole. But don’t dismiss her outright just because you have some beef with the community. That’s as shallow as the behaviors you purport to criticize.

Yours truly at 13, shortly before my bat mitzvah

Lately (and my “lately” I suppose I mean “always,”) I have seen all religion in all the world defined as one thing—an “opiate” (by my man Karl Marx, one of the most prominent anti-religious folks of Jewish descent, I’m thinking,) that it’s a “safety net” for people too scared or lazy to think for themselves, or that it’s just a breeding ground for fundamentalists to rape, torture or pass conservative, anti-everyone legislation in the United States. These opinions are espoused by prominent scholars and well-educated people who follow them to the Bolsheviks and their ultimate antisemitic/theistic campaigns in the USSR (much of which occurred in the years following the Holocaust,)to people like these folks: http://listverse.com/2010/06/05/10-people-who-give-atheism-a-bad-name/. I included that list to support the idea that it is HUMAN BEINGS (not RELIGIONS) who support violence. You’ll find them of every shape and size, and frankly I’m tired of letting them do the talking for the rest of us.

So whenever someone attacks “all religious people” for being a certain way, I feel very defensive as a…somewhat religious person. It’s all really relative—people practice so many different religions in so many different ways that I have difficulty imagining how some atheists have decided we are all the same and do the same things for the same reasons.

Here’s a pointed opinion to get the ball rolling—to say that “all religions” or “every religious person” is one way—deluded, depressed, lazy, fundamentalist, intolerant, whatever—is like saying that “everyone in the African American community” is involved in “the ghetto lifestyle and gangster violence.” Broad-brush stereotypes and sanctioned intolerance are wrong. Just wrong. If there’s anything I’m a fundamentalist about, it’s that.

I really can only speak for Judaism, and try to give it as much justice as I can. Are there bigoted fundamentalists in Judaism? Absolutely. Are there people who live in a bubble and never question Jewish teachings and a meticulous display of ritualistic laws? Definitely…though personally I was taught that to be Jewish is to question everything. “Israel” (which is a biblical name for Jews,) was derived from “struggle with God.” Jewish texts, as I understand it, have always comprised “a living document.” Scholars have constantly been arguing with and expanding upon previous versions to make Judaism not only applicable to one time and place but to all. Around the time that Christianity was starting up, two Jewish groups in the Middle East were writing down the Talmud, one of the most centrist books of the tradition, which is in fact a large and detailed commentary on Jewish life (spanning generations) that started as an oral tradition. This tradition lives on today, with a diversifying group of Jewish people addressing the texts: http://sandralawson.wordpress.com/2012/02/17/why-does-the-torah-not-abolish-slavery/ ; http://ludmirermoyd.tumblr.com/post/17702057186 ; etc etc etc, just scratching the surface here. Judaism, to a far bigger group than the fundies or the non-thinkers, is an evolutionary processes, and a sometimes discomforting one at that, where we have to challenge our beliefs and the beliefs of our ancestors. It’s certainly no “security blanket.”

Judaism works for me. Although my parents are interfaith and I probably have twice as many Catholic relatives on my father’s side, I was raised in my mother’s faith and try as much as I did in my teen years to escape from it, I always kept feeling drawn back. I think, in part, because I’m a writer and an English major that the idea of understanding life through metaphors and intense narrative really speaks to me. That’s my personal journey (if any Jews respond to this they’ll probably feel much differently, to say nothing of other religious practitioners.)

So there we go. I wrote this post to stand up for myself and because I have pride in my heritage and my beliefs. And it’s time to let go of my frustrations with folks who espouse broad-brushed, intolerant opinions, because they don’t define me. It’s time to stop giving them that power.

Shabbat Shalom.

The question of who belongs in a place like the Colchester Jewish Aid Congregation Cemetery is growing more complex as interfaith families are more accepted in Jewish American life.

Following this lead from Jews in All Hues: In Connecticut, A Woman Sues to Expel a Black Woman’s Body from a Jewish Cemetery,according to the Associated Press. Juliet Steer was buried two years ago at the Colchester Jewish Aid Congregation Cemetery in a section that was reserved for interfaith and non-Jews, according to Congregation Ahavath Achim. But one member of the board of directors, Maria Balaban, is suing to have Steer’s remains removed, despite allegedly being present the day that the ruling was unanimously voted in. A gleaning of the quotes, which most interest me, as a “mixie” Jew:

Purtill said the interfaith cemetery was the result of the changing structure of families and the increase in interfaith and other types of relationships, including unmarried couples and civil unions. Congregation rules say burial plots in the interfaith section can be bought “by an individual for any individual without regard to religious identity.”

… Traditional Jewish laws and practices prohibit the burial of non-Jews in Jewish cemeteries, said David Berger, dean of the Bernard Revel Graduate School of Jewish Studies of Yeshiva University in New York City. “Jews should be buried with other Jews.

There is such an expectation,” Berger said. But the number of interfaith cemeteries is increasing, he said, because there are more marriages between people of different faiths.

As the child of a Jewish mother and Catholic father, the question of death rituals holds more uncertainty for me than it might for others. My parents currently have no plans, but they have discussed non-denominational and non-religious interfaith cemeteries. For me, should I remain unmarried (or should I marry a non-Jew, but that’s personally unlikely,) the question becomes—do I want to be buried with my parents? Do I want to be buried, without family, in a Jewish cemetery? Do I want to do something else?

For Steer, who was a non-Jew with no Jewish family, her decision rested on the peacefulness she felt in the cemetery. She died at 47 of cancer, may her memory be for a blessing.

The logistics of this case seem pretty cut and dry to me, unlike the complex issues of interfaith families in Jewish communities. The congregation voted to allow non-Jewish plots this section; Steer had every right to be buried there. If Balaban has an issue with this, then she should move to change the rules for future buyers. The prospect of exhuming Steer’s body is distasteful, even without the added race sensitivities. Personally, I hope that the media attention has made Balaban realize the insensitivity of her lawsuit, and encouraged her to look for a more respectful way to present her opinions to her community. As it stands, a court date is scheduled for Feb. 29.

To keep up with this story, check out the Jews in all Hues Facebook page, where they are looking to get in contact with the local Jewish community.

Now, I find myself thinking of fake religions all the time, meaning sci-fi and fantasy, not anyone who happens to follow a different path than Judaism. Since last spring’s premiere of Game of Thrones on HBO, I’ve become more and more hooked. Although season two is still months away, buzz remains high as the show has been nominated for several prestigious awards and loyal fans follow the crew around the world during production. One of the latest teases comes from HBO marketing and Winter-is-Coming.net—a short, academic video on the two major religions of Westeros. The narrators are GoT actors Michelle Fairley and Isaac Hempstead-Wright, who play two of my absolute favorite characters in this sprawling series, Lady Catelyn Stark and her son, Bran. An added, geeky note is that these two characters can be stand-ins for the two religions. As I blogged in April, the Starks are “interfaith,” with Catelyn hailing from the Riverlands where The Seven are worshipped. In contrast, and not to get into too many book spoilers here, there are arguments that can be made linking Bran strongly with the Old Gods. I’ve embedded the video below:

Tonight marks the first night of Chanukah 5772. I may be biased in trying to find a parallel between Jews and the North of Westeros, home of the Starks, but there is a similarity between these two stories; one where “The Andals” attack from across the seas, the other where the Ancient Greeks attack Jerusalem. For one of the rare times in Jewish history, we’re actually able to defeat our attackers and stay true to our beliefs, thus creating Chanukah, or “dedication.”

But the days of the Ancient Greeks are long over. In this day and age Chanukah is seen as a very minor holiday, only bolstered up because of its proximity to Christmas. Instead of being about victory, it’s more about coexistence with other religions, especially when it comes to interfaith families like mine. Night five of Chanukah will be occurring when little reindeer fly overhead this year.

It’s something I can live with. Like with the Old Gods in Westeros, Jews are the minority in most parts of the world; peaceful diversity is a worthy goal. And for those of us in mixed families, we have our own paths to take with creating new rituals while remaining dedicated to Judaism. But life is multi-faceted that way. Perhaps that’s why fiction is, too.

Rumpelstiltskin (Robert Carlyle) and the Evil Contract

So the other week, I watched an episode of ABC’s “Once Upon A Time,” featuring a desperate servant who wanted a better life for herself, and the sniveling, conniving imp who granted her that wish with the caveat that they had to make a “deal,” which ultimately constituted selling her firstborn child. As the traumatized maiden tried to renege, the jubilant fiend entrapped her with the nefarious contract, brrr! You owe me a debt! A pound of flesh! As I watched, I started wondering to myself if I was visiting my Ashkenazi relatives in the Russian Empire 100 or so years ago, and some Cossacks were rallying support to pillage the Jewish village because they couldn’t make good on a merchant’s deal.

The episode I speak of, “The Price of Gold,” combines two fairytales; that of Cinderella (where instead of being transformed by her Fairy Godmother, Ella strikes a deal with Rumpy,) and Rumpelstiltskin’s own fairtale, where he helps another innocent maiden out for the price of her firstborn child. Killing Christian babies is one of medieval Christendom’s favorite accusations to hurl against the Jews. Apparently there’s nothing quite so yummy for our matzo than their blood. :-/

So let’s review! Specifically taking into account the tale of Rumpelstiltskin.

• Fairytale that originated in medieval Germany? Check.
• Compiled in a book by 18th/19th century German storytellers, the Brothers Grimm? Check.
• Sniveled, hook-nosed villain with difficult-to-pronounce name (meaning “little rattle stilt,” basically a type of goblin)? Check.
• Includes passages where it’s implied that Rumpy will cook the baby? Check.
• Quite possibly twisted into Nazi, nationalist propaganda, along with the rest of the Grimm tales, during WWII? Check.

Even “Once Upon a Time,” written in 21st century United States by two Jewish writers, no less, isn’t exactly sensitive with the subject. What is the name of Rumpelstilktsin’s alter ego in Story Brooke? Mr. Gold. (Is that Goldberg or Goldstein, fellas? ;D) Though to be fair, the “Gold” surname may be a flashback to Rumpy’s own story where he promises to spin straw into gold for the miller’s daughter.

Still, the powerful, mysterious Mr. Gold still likes making deals for babies and is even a broker (one of those jobs that was considered immoral and off-limits for medieval Christians, so the Jews were forced into it, because hey, we’re already evil anyway. ;D)

Despite all this, “Once Upon a Time” has caught my attention in spades. Featuring a highly female cast of both heroes and villains, it probes the ideas of family, happiness and fate in a unique and tangible way. And Rumpelstiltskin/Mr. Gold, played by the incredible, Scottish actor Robert Carlyle, is perhaps more intriguing than he is offensive.

2012 promises to be The Year of Snow White in film, which such numbers is Snow White and the Huntsman (starring Kristen Stewart who is hopefully distancing herself from the simpering chew toy named Bella Swan,) and Mirror Mirror (starring Julia Roberts being deliciously evil.) But so far, I’m perfectly happy with 2011 and “Once Upon a Time,” starring the beautiful, talented (and Jewish!) Ginnifer Goodwin as Snow White. Check out this tv trailer!

“Once Upon a Time” airs on ABC, Sunday nights at 8 pm EST.


]]> http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/11/26/rumpelstiltskin-and-antisemitism-in-fairytales/feed/ 2 chavalah rumplestiltskin http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/the-occupy-movement-bridging-judaism-with-the-american-economic-system-for-better-or-worse/ http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/the-occupy-movement-bridging-judaism-with-the-american-economic-system-for-better-or-worse/#comments Sun, 30 Oct 2011 06:02:35 +0000 chavalah http://chavalah.wordpress.com/?p=185 ]]>

Screenshot from the "Occupy Judaism" Facebook page

I took some time earlier this month to read through some “Occupy Wall Street [and beyond]” materials circulating the Internet.

I suppose because I’m fresh off of long-term unemployment with little to no benefits, the whole idea intrigues me. I just can’t believe that the economic crisis can be boiled down to “you’re all a bunch of lazy asses” when unemployment/underemployment is this huge, and the differentiation between the income made by the top 1% and everyone else is so staggering. I thought we were a democratic capitalist society, not a medieval feudalist state. Perhaps the only difference is what were once churches and monarchies are now banks and corporations.

Yet most people seem to think “the message” of Occupy Wall Street is unclear. On The Daily Show, Jon suggested that some protestors might want to question America’s Israel policies, which I think is a shame. Not that they shouldn’t be questioned—I agree with that myself—but they should be done so in a structured and mediated environment that speaks to the complex issues at hand, and besides, what does Israel have to do with keeping Americans out of work? (Maybe I can convince myself that Americans actually understand that Israelis are a lot like us, lol.) But really, the movement seems to be largely about domestic jobs and taxes, with a few crazies thrown in on the side.

Other than on-site protests, Tumblr seems to be the major agent of this movement. Starting with We are the 99 Percent, where the masses can post about their economic troubles. In response, some Conservatives thought up the 53 percent, which is supposed to chronicle those “patriotic” folks who pay more in Federal income taxes than they receive in deductions or credits, except that most of the people posting their “get over it, losers” comments don’t actually fit that profile, prompting the satire blog, Actually, you’re the 47 percent. Though to be fair, probably the majority of the posters who contribute to We Stand with the 99 Percent aren’t actually members of the uber-wealthy 1 percent, though they all seem to be well off. It’s quite a harrowing contrast, really… between the folks who say “I’m fortunate and I want to help out where I can” versus those who say “F*ck y’all whiners; nobody owes you shit.”

A Jewish faction is also responding to the “Occupy” Movement with their own Tumblr, plus various tie-ins with current holidays…were some Kol Nidre services at some of the protests, and some sukkahs for Sukkot. It makes a whole lot of sense to me that this has taken off, particularly with younger, activist groups who are somewhat disillusioned with synagogues and Federations (though perhaps unjustly in this case, since both groups do engage in philanthropy. Then again, the “Occupy” theme is more hands-on…kind of like Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and his congregants marching with MLK Jr. Maybe we are just reborn hippies. )

On the opposite side of the pendulum, some (political) Conservative Jews be freakin’. Was only a matter of time before some right-wing columnist threw out the word “antisemitic.” Which frankly I think is a big problem on so many different fronts that I’m completely baffled. Crying “antisemitism” over any and all disagreements is so much more serious a problem for the Jews than any social protest. The right wing Jews are paranoid…about anyone who might be anti-Israel, about anyone who might equate banks or other “rich professions” with Jews, about anyone who isn’t us, basically. I mean, I get it to an extent. Fear of antisemitism might be ingrained in us…it’s a very real danger our ancestors have had to deal with for millennia, even in this country and even to this day. But we can’t be so afraid of the past to keep us from embracing the future. We (most of us) see ourselves as part of the broader American society…we are part of the broader American society, so that means we have the responsibility to look at real problems without calling foul based on old stereotypes. Yeah, so Jews have a “reputation” for becoming rich bankers or whatnot…but the vast majority of us are in the 99 percent. I fully believe that most Americans understand that. As for the xenophobic nutcases who don’t…I’m not into giving them more power. JewSchool.com offers a rebuttal to “the right winger who cried antisemitism” argument, Jewish participation in the “Occupy” movement, plus a Torah argument for people coming together in mutli-purpose social activism. Yasher koach!


]]> http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/10/30/the-occupy-movement-bridging-judaism-with-the-american-economic-system-for-better-or-worse/feed/ 0 chavalah OccupyJudaism http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/xena-and-the-power-of-repentance/ http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/xena-and-the-power-of-repentance/#comments Fri, 30 Sep 2011 19:08:15 +0000 chavalah http://chavalah.wordpress.com/?p=177 ]]>

Xena: Warrior Princess as played by Lucy Lawless

When I arrived late to Rosh Hashanah (Day Two) services today, barely in time to hear Rabbi Steinlauf’s new year’s sermon at Adas Israel, I didn’t think that I’d be moved to write my monthly blog entry on “Xena: Warrior Princess.”  …even if I did stay up too late last night, re-watching old episodes.

I’ve been joking that missing Rosh Hashanah (Day One) services yesterday would be my last sin before Yom Kippur.  It helps keep some of the guilt at bay.  Instead of attending High Holidays I went to my new job and my new school program.  In a lot of ways I feel prepped for Rosh Hashanah this year.  My life is full of motifs of new beginnings (see above) and new endings.  Right now I’m struggling with the loss of a community that sustained me for six years, and the changing relationships with my friends within that group.  I’m also still in the year of mourning for my grandmother, Fraida bat Reuven, who died last March, may her memory be for a blessing.  Rosh Hashanah teaches me to remember the old, but to embrace the new.  It’s a message of faith that is somewhat alien to me, but that I want to aspire to.

Yom Kippur asks me to take a critical look at my past and to atone for my sins, something with which I have a little more affinity.  But the message is that through repentance, you can come out clean on the other side.

“Xena: Warrior Princess” revolves around a focal character who longs to repent for a long and bloody history as a warlord.  She accomplishes this through what Jews might call teshuvah, or action.  She retains her fighting ways, but she puts them to use in defending the innocent.

In the beginning she doesn’t have much faith that she’ll be forgiven.  She’s cynical, and she does these things basically because she sees them as the right thing to do. It is when she finds community, through quirky characters like Hercules, Salmoneos, Atolycus, Joxer the Mighty and most especially Gabrielle, her erstwhile friend turned besheret, or soul mate, that she regains hope for her soul.  This is the way it is in Judaism as well.  We have no Catholic confessionals from which to confess our sins alone and in private.  Jews atone as a group, called by the shofar to stand with each other and to take responsibility for one another.

At the end of the series Xena is literally able to transcend to a new plane of consciousness, which I suppose, on a less fantastical level, is the purpose of the High Holy Days.  Who will be written  off and who will be inscribed in the Book of Life?, we ask.  Who will fall prey to their past mistakes and who will learn from them and be lifted up to something better?  Like with Xena, who spent at least half of her life instilling terror across the world, it is never too late to atone.

Stay tuned next time for the Jewish/sci-fi cross-over when I discuss “Farscape”’s John Crichton’s quest for home and how it relates to the Passover story!   L’shanah tovah—happy new year to all of my Jewish family, and may we all be inscribed in the Book of Life.


]]> http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/09/30/xena-and-the-power-of-repentance/feed/ 0 chavalah xena http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/personal-history-a-jewish-college-in-an-alternate-dimension/ http://chavalah.wordpress.com/2011/08/30/personal-history-a-jewish-college-in-an-alternate-dimension/#comments Tue, 30 Aug 2011 16:29:18 +0000 chavalah http://chavalah.wordpress.com/?p=174 ]]>

Sukkot with the Chestertown Havurah, October 2003

A few weeks ago, I received a newsletter in the mail that boggles me to this very day. Was the first official issue from my college Hillel.

When I decided to attend Washington College around 10 years ago, I pretty much accepted that I was foregoing a Jewish community in favor of a creative writing minor in the middle of rural Maryland. Sure, larger schools in more diverse, urban areas offer fiction writing courses, but not The Lit House or The Sophie Kerr Prize. That, plus the incredible people that I met made my college experience rich and fortunate.

However, my one regret was that there wasn’t much Jewish life to speak of. Our big staples, a Chanukah party and a Passover Seder, were really organized by the local Havurah, and they were kind enough to invite college students. Sometimes a handful of students would attend (particularly the seder, which was held on school property), but it was mostly a “townie” event. Hillel was small and basically dormant. I served as treasurer for two years—a sure sign that the club didn’t attract many people in my day. As a senior I tried, fruitlessly, to organize a challah-baking event. Most interest I received came from my non-Jewish friends rather than the sparse members of Hillel.

Since I’ve been gone, apparently, a lot has changed. According to this premiere newsletter, WAC’s new “Program of Jewish Thought” is teaming up with St. John’s College, Princeton and Hebrew University for two annual symposia a year, new library research opportunities into Jewish studies, and a month-long winter course in Jerusalem. Whoa. I mean I was fortunate enough to take two Jewish courses on philosophy and literature my senior year, but this… *boggles*

Oh, and Hillel is getting a Hillel House in the middle of Chestertown. A Hillel House? When I was attending, there were barely enough members to fill a thimble! What’s changed? Perhaps these new programs will compel more outwardly Jewish students to my small little alma mater of under 2,000? Or is this mostly for the Havurah? Is there any way I can push these innovations back 10 years, just before I was a student?

Life is full of tiny regrets…only thing you can do is keep moving forward. I’m starting a second graduate program in Library Sciences next week, with the plan of adding electives in Jewish Studies at the slightly more established UMD school. Difference between urban and rural for Jews, man.

In the meantime, I’m debating how I should reach out to WAC Hillel and the new Program. Even as an alumna, there may be ways to be involved… time permitting. Maybe my new studies could even propel me into an academic role.

To close, a hearty mazel tov to the Jewish community, student and Havurah alike, at Washington College. May these new initiatives bear fruit and bring Jewish pride to even the “cornfieldiest” parts of Maryland.


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