My Jewish Identity: something I have struggled with—and, at times, suppressed because I didn’t have friends at my school or in my life that I could relate to. None of them had the slightest clue what Judaism was beside the fact that there was a holiday that coincided with Christmas some years. My absences on the High Holy Days would cause me to fall behind in class; so far behind that, I stopped taking them off. Overall, I was losing what little grasp I still had on the culture of my ancestors. That is until I joined BBYO. 

Finally, a group of people who had similar experiences as me, and who there was no explaining to about holidays or customs. The Havdalah and Shabbat ceremonies I attended freshman year only furthered my interest in the religion I had so long repressed in my own head, and I began to learn more about Jewish customs and traditions, even taking an online course about the revival of Klezmer music in America in the 1970s.

This growth made me want to get involved and run for board, which I am currently on with a job of recruiting 8th graders. I use my experiences to explain how amazing getting involved in BBYO is, and how much of a new world it opens up. If it weren’t for this organization, I would have fully lost my touch with Judaism by now, and for that I am thankful!