I am Jewish, and I'm proud of it.
I've been asked, "what does it mean to be Jewish? What is Judaism, exactly?"
That is a question to which there is no one right answer. Judaism is a religion, but at the same time, it's not. There are so many different divisions of Judaism, whether Orthodox, Reform, or Secular. So, if there is no one way to practice Judaism, how can it be a religion?
Okay, so it's not entirely a religion. It's a culture, an ethnicity... sort of. There are Ashkenazi Jews (of European descent), and Sephardic Jews (of Middle Eastern and Spanish descent). There are Jews in China, Australia, and Brazil. And though we all have a similar way of life, we have different methods of practice and traditions.
So if it isn't exactly a religion, and it isn't exactly an ethnicity, and it isn't exactly a culture, what in the world is it?
It took me a long time to realize and appreciate this, but when someone asks me what it means to be Jewish, there is really only one thing to say: "Being Jewish is inexplicable and complicated."
This is the only thing that encompasses everything that Judaism is to me. Judaism is going to eat Chinese food while other people are opening mountains of presents. Judaism is bringing your Bubbe's matzoh ball soup for lunch instead of a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Judaism is going through all the stress of preparing for a Bat Mitzvah, just so that you can have a huge, brag-worthy party.
Judaism is all of those things and more for me. But at the heart of it, being Jewish is being a part of a community like no other. It's being part of an extended family of 14 million people. In my experience, Jewish people will do whatever they can to lift up and support one of their own, rather than bring them down. The history of my people is a tumultuous one; dating back to the times of Abraham, the Jewish people have faced challenge after challenge. But despite all of those hardships, the Jewish people have adapted to the situation and learned to thrive.
I went through a phase of my life during which I didn't quite understand my place in Judaism. When I was younger, I was just going through the motions. Judaism was what my family made of it; I never made the effort of figuring out what it meant to me. More often than not, being Jewish was an inconvenience. No one really tried to understand why I didn't eat any bread for a "random" week, or why I was the only person in my class that wasn't singing along to all the Christmas carols during the holidays. In school, and among my friends, I was one of few. Being Jewish to me meant being lonely, excluding Jewish summer camp and youth group.
As I started to learn more about my heritage and my people's history, I started the process of figuring out where I fit in the convoluted mess that is Judaism. I'm still in the thick of that process; there is more to be discovered about myself and about my faith and culture. But what I do know is that I'm more proud than I ever was to tell people that I'm Jewish. It is now something that is at the forefront of my identity. I know that as a Jewish person, I have one of the strongest communities and support systems behind me. I know that I have a unique perspective on the world and on human interaction. I know that I have a family of 14 million.
I am Jewish, and proud of it.
