With the crowd breathing deeply, the final hugs and words of departure were being given. Leaving Budapest, Hungary and twenty-four amazing students I had learn to call my friends and family over the past week, it occurred to me how much impact people can have on each other in such a short time.
This impact and connection I formed with the Hungarian students, taught me so many things. It came from a place of not only learning about their language, culture, and politics, but also teaching them. By teaching them about my life and spreading the ideas of Judaism that have been instilled in me, I started to not take my Judaism for granted.
Although SSG and BT are both Jewish day schools, BT students have knowledge and have experienced at least one Shabbat a year, while most SSG students know little about Shabbat and never celebrated a full Shabbat day. While I knew this fact before I came, I had a preconception in my mind that they would at least have an understanding of what a Shabbat experience would be like. Although this idea was wrong, it astonished me even more, of their yearn to learn about it. This comprehension of not only their lack of knowledge, but more importantly their enthusiasm towards learning, was one of the most significant impacts for me.
Before the trip, I had mostly disregarded learning about Jewish topics, doing it solely because it is a part of my life and part of the school curriculum. However, through this experience of teaching these Jewish concepts and songs that I had took for granted, I realized the importance of my Jewish education. Experiencing an unique Shabbat with an extremely diverse group made me realize the specialness not only of being a Jewish American going to a Jewish day school, but also of the power I posses to spread my knowledge of Judaism.
While I came with expectations for long nights of giggles and meaningful conversations, I could never have imagined the impact that each individual student at SSG had on me. By being willing to learn and understand, students at SSG empowered me to teach, not only giving me confidence, but also making me appreciate my Jewish education. By teaching, I was able to learn, and by learning about their culture hopefully now I will be able to teach others about Hungarian life and the importance of spreading knowledge.
