Feeling Jewish Daily

I was having a discussion the other day with a middle-aged member of our community who had had a conversation with young pre-teens in our Jewish community.  The topic was “Do you feel Jewish every day of your life and how do you feel about being Jewish?”

The conversation topic interested the students and they actively engaged in the discussion.  What was discovered was that 2 out of the 5 students felt Jewish every day of their life.  One of those individuals mentioned keeping kosher and living Jewishly, welcoming Shabbat weekly, observing the chagim, going to Israel.  The other of the two could not explain in what ways he felt Jewish every day other than to say he knew that when he was with his non-Jewish friends he knew his beliefs were different than theirs.

So, what about the other 3 children?  They said they only felt Jewish on the holidays and on Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings when they attend the Lincoln Jewish Community School.  When asked to explain further what they meant by the holidays, it turned out that the term did not apply to Shabbat or Pesach or the High Holidays, it only applied to Chanukah.  That was the one time of the year that they felt distinctively Jewish. 

The good news is that all five of the children said that they did feel good about being Jewish.  Although each of them was the only Jew in their public-school class, none of them knew what the word anti-Semitism meant.  They thought it meant discrimination against a religion but believed it could be against any religion.

As a Jewish educator, I wonder if what we’re seeing from these students is indicative of what we’re seeing in other communities in America?  I know that my grandchildren in Israel would not answer the question, “Do you feel Jewish every day of your life?” in the same way that 3 out 5 of the children here answered.  Is that because they are surrounded by Jews in every aspect of their daily life?  Is that because every time they take a morsel of food into their mouths or take a sip of water they utter a bracha (a blessing)?  Or is it because they have discussions around the table about Jewish values and Jewish learning?

What is it about our own children being raised in this community that only 2out of 5 of the pre-teens in a room can say that they feel Jewish every day of their lives?  Is it that the-majority-of the children are being raised in homes with little understanding of how to inculcate Jewish living into daily living?  Is it that the adults in the homes are somehow not as interested in carrying out the discussions needed about the ways in which we are commanded to behave.

I know that I often say to visiting groups, that when we had a pet, we made sure we fed that pet before we fed ourselves.  In our house that was not a secular action.  That was a Jewish action, because Jewish law says that you have to feed your animals before feeding yourself.  The same kind of thought process goes into paying someone who comes to the house as a day-laborer.  I know that Jewish law says that individual must be paid at the end of their work period and that they are not to have to wait to be paid.  So when I sit down to write a check for such an individual, that too is an expression of living Jewishly.  How many of our kids are aware of these things?  How can we let them know that living Jewishly goes beyond just attending school on Wednesdays and Sundays?

If I were to ask you the very same questions that these children discussed, what would your response be as older adults?  Have your feelings about being Jewish changed with age?  What can we do to ensure that those growing up in our community will ultimately feel Jewish every day of their life?