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September 09, 2002
Happy New Year
Last Friday night was Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. Keggers and party hats aside, the New Year a very important holiday. It begins a time dedicated to reflection and forgiveness (both seeking aand giving). For many modern Jews, it is also one of the only times during the year that we actually go to services and participate in religous ceremony.
Every year around this time, one of the things I reflect on is how "Jewish" I am or want to be. The focus for this year is meeting Jewish people. Growing up, I always had at least a few Jewish friends. There weren't a whole lot of options in the area, but I always managed. My class at our temple had 17 people (sadly, this was a relatively large class). Until high school, we were all pretty good friends. In high school, we didn't have religious school classes anymore, so the group dissipated. But there were a handful of new Jews to fill the void at my high school. In college, there were lots of Jews, but not many that I actually connected with.
Georgetown Law is, supposedly, 30% Jewish. Based on my own sample from talking to people, that's probably spot on. (If you ask the favorite condiment and they say "lox shmear", you have a winner). To me, this is a good thing. I love being around Jews. It is an instant connection. We can commiserate about services, smirk when we eat bacon, and tell war stories about Hebrew school.
After years of repeating this cycle, however, I've finally figured out the central difficulty with trying to meet other Jewish folk my age. It was as true in the beginning of high school as it is now. It makes sense that if you want to meet Jewish people, you should join Jewish organizations and participate in their activities (in this case, the Jewish Law Students Association). Unfortunately, the membership in said organizations seems to be self-selecting as the Jewish people I have no interest in hanging out with.
I'm just looking for the people who like bagels and want to chill. I don't need to know about how you led services as an undergrad. I probably don't care about how you have picked a different branch of Judaism from your parents. Just tell me that you read Heeb and like it. Sprituality is good. In-depth discussion about religion is healthy too. I'm not criticizing anyone for how observant they are or are not, nor is that the criteria for who I would choose as friends. But there is something about the type of person who runs the local Jew Club.
On a case by case basis, all of this may not hold up. But the fact remains: While I have (and like to have) Jewish friends, I've never made a lasting connection with someone I met through a Jewish organization.
Posted by buddha at September 9, 2002 11:52 AM
Comments
That same problem is driving me, bit by bit, further away from any organized Judaism. The problem is that there are almost no other Jews here...
Happy New Year
Posted by: Anonymous at September 10, 2002 05:05 AM
it's not organized judaism, as a religion, that i have the difficulty with though. going to temple is part of organized religion, and i support that. i could meet someone there who was just going to services for whatever reason inspires them to do so and be fine. it's the people who take it upon themselves to organize a structured jewish community that i struggle with.
I have problems with other comparable student organizations (all attempts at student government, for example), so it's possible this is just an example of a more general issue. but i think it's different when it comes to Jew clubs.
Posted by: dan at September 10, 2002 11:39 AM