I wasn’t teaching during first period today, so I attended my colleague Rachel Bergstein’s Jewish History class. It was fascinating to watch Lauder students discover a shared history they had heretofore known almost nothing about. Many of these Hungarian students knew about Jewish flight from Europe in the years leading up to World War II – but few realized how many American Jews have familial roots in Hungary. Even fewer knew about the Jewish people’s long history of exile and resettlement.
We’ve heard many stories in Hungary about people who have only just learned of their Jewish heritage. We spoke with Zsuza Fritz, Director of the Budapest JCC, who didn’t find out until her grandfather’s funeral that her grandparents (and her parents and all their family friends) were Jewish. Many students at Lauder have had similar Jewish journeys. They and their families are newly in the process of working to determine what it might mean to make Judaism part of their lives and identities.
I spent much of my day grappling with what it might feel like to learn as a teenager that one’s grandparents or great-grandparents were Jews. I found myself wondering how I might react if it was suddenly revealed that my ancestors were, for instance, French. Perhaps I might choose to embrace this identity; I might learn the French language, try out some French recipes, maybe even visit Paris. But I might be just as likely to treat this newfound information only as an interesting bit of family trivia. I might think, “Well, now I know something new about my great-grandparents – but I don’t know anything new about me.” We hope that Jewish teenagers in places like Budapest will come to value their Jewish identities – but it certainly isn’t a given that learning of Judaism in one’s past automatically implies an investment in having a Jewish future.
This, I think, is why Rachel’s class was so important for the Lauder students. American Jews interact with their faith and culture in a wide array of ways. But, for American Jews of all stripes, connection to the past is a primary reason for valuing Judaism moving forward. Knowing the ways in which Jewish tradition has been threatened heightens one’s investment in working to preserve it. Hopefully, with growth in the Jewish history program at Lauder, more students will come to see themselves as integral parts of the Jewish story – and will feel invested in writing the next chapters of that story.
Lauder is, without a doubt, an incredible school – and the students here are getting a great education in a beautiful city. That said, I found myself thinking several times today about just how lucky the students at CESJDS are for having families that made their way to America. In America, Judaism is alive. For so many American Jews, having Jewish ancestors means one is now part of a vibrant, thriving culture and community. I see every day at CESJDS just how much Judaism impacts my students’ lives and identities. For none of my students is Judaism simply a fact about their ancestral past.
Students at Lauder have been excited to share with me about great Hungarian achievements. I’ve come to that the Rubik’s cube was created by Ernő Rubik – a Hungarian sculptor – and that the ballpoint pen was developed by László Bíró – a Hungarian newspaper editor. I am excited to come back in a few years to hear students excitedly share great Jewish achievements as they learn more about this aspect of their history and identities.
