One of my favorite activities to lead or observe students in the middle grades doing is learning about their identities and how they choose to express them. As this is a time of great change and learning, students are frequently trying on different identities as they learn about the type of person they are and want to become.
So many of our conversations in school joyfully include students’ Jewish identities. One of the hallmarks of The Adelson Educational Campus is our “open to all” embracement of being a pluralistic Jewish school. Simply put, it is a part of our fabric that lives loudly in the daily life of the school.
The mission of the Morim Limmud program is to “enrich next-generation Jewish identity and values through international exchanges.” In addition to teaching lessons and meeting with students and faculty at the Lauder Javne school, much of our time this week was dedicated to learning about the history and present-day life of the Jewish community in Budapest.
Our local guides mentored our understanding by taking us to memorials, museums, and historical locations in the city. It was here that we learned how unique and complicated Jewish identity is in Hungary. This reality came to life through the stories they shared about their own family history and present.
Back at the school, I saw obvious signs of Lauder Javne’s Jewish identity — most notable the rainbow greeting everyone at the main entrance or the menorah over the main gathering area. There were also less obvious signs such as Shabbat candles in each classroom used weekly for Kabbalat Shabbat.
However, during conversations about Jewish identity in class, this identity was more challenging to identify. For example, I asked the students how many people made up the Jewish community in Budapest. Their answer was 3,000, a number staggeringly low compared to what is estimated to be a community of more than 100,000.
I asked where they come up with that number, and a student responded that this was the amount that they felt went to a synagogue on Shabbat. How fascinating it was to hear students give voice to the complicated Jewish identity of Hungarian students. To some of these students, you are only Jewish, if you are religious — end of story.
My experience at the Adelson Campus has been quite the opposite. There, being Jewish is making rich connections to family, exploring traditions, learning the Hebrew language, visiting and learning about Israel, and for some, religion and spirituality. Being Jewish is as normal as being a teenager. It’s a part of life that is joyful, obvious, and filled with pride.
So this, then, is the task: how do we teach about identity to two very different student groups as we prepare for the student exchange? It’s a monumental task, but an important one. I’m filled with gratitude to be a part of such a meaningful, worthwhile, and life-changing endeavor.
To be continued…
