Confirmation Identity Statements

For this month’s “Jewish Journeys” selection, we asked our Confirmands to offer their thoughts on their own Jewish identities. The following are samplings from some extraordinary submissions. - Susan Ardell, Outreach Committee

Alec Harris

I am my Mom's favorite kugel,
I am Shabbat dinners,
I am full stomachs after Yom Kippur,
I am my mom's personal seder additions,
I am the blue airline tag on my backpack from Israel that I refuse to remove,
I am quiet self-reflections during services,
I am my mom's tears flowing down her cheek during my Bar Mitzvah,
I am the hot chocolate my dad bought for me after Sunday School,
I am the whipped cream on the hot chocolate that always seemed to trick me and burn my tongue,
I am the schnitzel we ate every day during our trip to Israel,
I am chanukah candle drippings stuck on the counter,
I am my dad's search of the afikomen,
I am the free goldfish won at the Purim Carnival,
I am Sunday School snack,
I am the popping balloons during my Bar Mitzvah service,
I am hunger pangs on Yom Kippur,
I am the mother-son snowball dance,
I am post-Sunday School father-son jam sessions,
I am mile-high bagels after break the fast,
I am matzo pizza,
I am Jewish, I am me.

Cassie Joyce

This week in choir we were handed a new batch of songs that we were to learn for our next concert. In that new batch I saw that we were going to be singing Hatikvah. No one was very familiar with the song, but I realized that it was the Israeli national anthem and also the song that I sang every Wednesday when I came to Hebrew School. When we began to sing, I found I knew every word and a sense of joy came over me.

This song brought me back to my Hebrew School days and instantly made me feel a connection not only to my temple but also to Judaism. It is instances like these that make me realize what an effect Judaism has had on my life. Judaism has given me and taught me a sense of community, family and love. I admit I do not have perfect attendance at Sunday School, but even if I have been gone for two weeks, I can come back to temple and be greeted with smiles from everyone and feel as though I didn't miss a thing. I know that if I ever found myself in need of help or I just wanted to talk, I could always count on someone at the temple to lend an ear.

When I first heard that we had to write a Jewish Identity paper, I dreaded the thought. I didn't think that I would be able to put into words how I felt about being Jewish or how it has affected my life, but as I sat down to write, I found it wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be. Even something as small as singing Hatikvah in choir makes me realize my Jewish identity. I know that I have constant reminders in my daily life of what it means to be Jewish and I hope to pass on the same sense of community, family and love that I have gotten from Judaism to others.

For our June article, Interfaithfamily.com will charm you with “A Jewish Wedding for Under $2500.” If you have questions or comments about this column or if you wish to become an Outreach contributor, please contact Susan Ardell.

To view past Outreach articles, go to Outreach Archive.