Jewish Peoplehood - Jewish life and history around the world cohort 17

Cohort 17 learned about tolerance, openness, and the brief histories of Israel and Russian Jews. It was interesting and definitely engaging to consider new ideas and topics, and envision ourselves in situations so different from our own, knowing they are so prevalent to each of our stories. The workshop consisted of discussing connections to the Jewish people outside of our closer communities and meeting with Rabbi David Lazar and Irina Klay.

In the previous workshops, we have discussed Jewish identity, Israel, and several other topics. This workshop, however, was one of the first conversations where we thoroughly explored the topic of our connection to the rest of the world and other Jewish communities. The conversation included questions like “when did you realize you were part of something bigger?” and “how do we realize our connection with other Jews or Jewish communities?” In response to questions like these, many agreed that our connection and our awareness for this connection to other Jewish communities stems from becoming maturing and becoming more involved in our own communities. By developing ourselves in each community, whether it be our school, temple, etc., we are widening our circles and our visions of our effects of the world.

Rabbi Lazar then spoke to us about a brief history of Israel and the Jewish people, including our traditions. We considered ideas such as young marriages and widened our knowledge of how Jewish people ended up in Israel. We discussed the Jewish tribes and being exiled from many, many places. The most intriguing aspect of this meeting with Rabbi Lazar, in my opinion, was the discussion of tolerance and openness. We talked about the difference between the two ideas, and what expectations we have of the people around us. Do we want people to be tolerant of us or open to us? How do we expect ourselves to act with those we are not necessarily in agreement with? I believe that openness for those with different ideas or beliefs contributes significantly to the type of people we are and our part in being Diller teens. 

With Irina, cohort 17 learned about the history of Russian Jews, which was also interesting considering I know very little about the topic. We then played out a wedding, each of us resembling realistic jobs. There were poor and rich Jews, there were announcers, and of course, a bride and groom. It was especially funny considering the bride was a boy and the groom was a girl. It was interesting for me to consider how all our histories and the themes brought to the table influence our personal stories and how they affect and will continue to influence us as Dillers of Cohort 17.

~ Sydney