But what’s a ‘real’ Jew?
“You stand today, all of you, before the L‑rd your G‑d: your heads, your tribes, your elders, your officers, and every Israelite man; your young ones, your wives, the stranger in your gate; from your wood-hewer to your water-drawer.” This week’s Torah portion is like the handbook for a Hillel Executive Director, or so is the opinion of this Hillel Executive Director. If you talk to any number of current Jewish college students or Jewish adult who was once a Jewish college student and ask them why they don’t check out their college’s Hillel, I’ll bet good money that the reason you will get over and over again is some version of the following:
I'm not Jewish enough for Hillel.
Believe you me. I get it. I am the product of an interreligious marriage. My mother is Jewish but my father is not. I grew up absolutely knowing that I am a Jew, however, as happens to a lot of Jewish children of intermarriage, from time to time, some ill-informed Jewish peer told me I wasn’t a ‘real’ Jew. Not a real Jew? What does this even mean? Most kids/teens/young adults aren’t confident enough to ask their unsolicited judge, “So tell me, what’s a ‘real’ Jew?”. I suspect that at our core, we feel the sting of that comment because secretly, we’ve wondered if we are a “real” Jew.
This week’s Torah portion is often held up as a declaration and reminder for us as a community to stand together and once again, show up for God and for each other. I feel that to my core but I also want to push it one step further, at least for this Hillel at Miami team, and state that it’s a reminder that we, as a Jewish communal organization, need to make sure we are showing up for you regardless of where you are on your Jewish journey. So let me state it clearly here for ALL the Jewish students at Miami University -- you are Jewish enough. There is no one in this Hillel who won’t accept your Jewishness. All of you---the Jewish Day School or Jewish camp attendee to the occasional synagogue attendee and Jew-curious---you are welcome here.
Shabbat Shalom
