All I Do is Jew: How my religion has given me so much more then faith

For as long as I can remember, I have been part of a Jewish community.  I was raised Jewish, attended Jewish school for nine years, and went to a Jewish sleep away camp for eight summers in a row. I loved every minute of these experiences (especially the sleep away camp) but I never felt a strong connection towards Judaism itself.  That all changed after I graduated from my tiny Jewish private school, and moved to a ginormous public high school consisting of five magnets, not even including the normal school. 

My freshman year of high school was the first time I’d ever been with people who were significantly different from me in many ways.  At my old school, everyone was white and Jewish, but at my new school everyone looked differently, dressed differently, and had different views on almost everything.  I was so excited to meet new kinds of people, people who were not exactly the same as me, people who had common interests with me, and having the options to choose my own friends.  Although I was excited, I still craved the small and tight mishpachah (FUN FACT: in Hebrew, mishpachah, means family, thought you’d be curious), I had once had and was accustomed to. This is when I discovered the youth group at my temple, which also happened to be the school I used to attend. 

I know that youth groups can come off as cultish and weird, like those kinds of things that do bible studies for fun or whatever, but I swear, spending time with my youth group is probably one of my FAVORITE things in the world EVER.  I swear I’m not overselling this, it’s one of my favorite places in the world.  At my youth group, I’ve met people who have become my closest confidants, some of the people I’ve met there are now my life long friends who I love with all of my heart.  Joining my youth group has also made me a better person, the kind of person I had strived to be.  It’s made me into a leader, someone who will take charge, speak my opinion, and take chances without worrying about what people would think about me. 

I never believed that my Judaism would define me as a person, but my beliefs have changed.  My Judaism has given me the chance to meet fantastic people, and has turned me into the type of person I want to be, this fantastic change, this amazing community, and the fantastic people I get to see all the time, give me faith in my religion and in myself.

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