What an incredible experience it was teaching the high school students in Lauder-Javne today! I was excited and fearful walking into each and every lesson. Excited, because of the possibility that my lesson plan will reach some of the students and make them think of Jewish identity in a different way. Fearful, because I knew I was stepping into one of the most complex fields of study for many of the young girls and boys in the school. I was pleasantly surprised by the students’ level of English proficiency; language was not an obstacle for us at all. Interacting with the students exposed to me the similarities they share with my Las Vegas high schoolers, like how they socialize with each other or how adding some humor to a lesson can make a big difference in a teenager’s attitude. But I was also exposed to one significant difference between Budapest and Las Vegas Jews; because of their histories, each community understands Judaism in a fundamentally different way. The Jewish educators in Lauder Yavne are facing a truly difficult mission — attempting to make Judaism relevant and meaningful for their students, to many of whom Judaism is simply not a factor in their identity. However, education is always a process, and I was so impressed with the vision of the Judaics department team, and with how elegantly they are pursuing it in their classrooms and outside them. I was full of joy to hear students share their unique perspectives with me in my lessons today, and most excited that one approached me after class to ask my opinion on a dilemma he is facing and discuss the lesson further. It warms my heart to know that I was able to reach even one student and make him examine his Jewish identity in a new way. After a full day in school, we visited the beautiful Parliament building and had a short activity and reading at the Shoe Memorial. It is a strange, unsettling feeling, standing in front of the pastoral scenery of the Danube in gorgeous Budapest, watching the boats sail by and the beautiful city lights reflecting in the water, all the while thinking about the cruel events which took place right where I stood. Dinner was pizza at Moishe House, where I spent quite some time learning from fascinating young-adult Hungarian Jews about their lives. I spoke with Daniel, Vera, Rudolph, and Eva about the hopes for political change and a better future, the occasional desire to give up on your country and leave, and what it was like growing up in a home shadowed by the Holocaust and living Judaism in secret. We also laughed, shared pictures of our families, got to know each other as individuals, and genuinely connected. Another fantastic day.
