What makes someone Jewish?

In Jewish History class my teacher continuously asks us "what makes someone Jewish?". I truly do not know. Some people answer "knowing prayers" or "having a Jewish parent" or even "if someone says they are Jewish that makes them Jewish".

I am Jewish. I say that I am Jewish. I have two Jewish parents. I know prayers. I am Jewish. But what makes me Jewish?

I was enrolled from a young age at a Jewish Day School where half my day was dedicated to studying the Tanach, Taffilah, and Rabbinics. Even with those hours of focused learning, I do not know what makes someone Jewish.

I have grown up in a Jewish household. In my family we celebrate main holidays, all of my siblings and I had a bar/bat mitzvahs, and mezuzahs placed on each door, but how do those things contribute to someone being Jewish?

This question comes in my head a lot because I am living with over 60 Jewish kids. We all have one thing in common; we are Jewish. How does that connect us? What is connecting us?

Palestinians and Black Lives Matter

"In the process of gaining our rightful place, we must not be guilty of wrongful deeds"  -Martin Luther King.

The comparison of Black Lives Matter and the Palestinian people is not an accurate comparison. The article focuses on the differences, similarities, and the parallels between the two. Black Lives Matter movement works to inform people about the oppression, police brutality, and the workings towards coexistence within the world. On the other hand, the Palestinian people's actions are not fitting into those same molds. The people that support Black Lives Matter are reaching for equality while the Palestinians are reaching for the opposite. The Palestinians are working to demolish Israel and are using many forms of aggression to achieve that. Due to this, I believe that comparing the Palestinian struggle to Black Lives Matter is wrong. I believe that they are extremely sensitive matters that have similarities but the way that they go about achieving their goals are affecting the perspective that the world has on both of them.

http://www.tabletmag.com/jewish-news-and-politics/195487/how-israel-is-being-framed

Where do those stories come from?

For generations stories have been retold. This article focuses on Kalmin's book of stories and how many stories are interpreted.  The focus on Kalmin's book is for the historical content to fit that time period. He explains the transmission and migration through his book. For example, the non-rabbinic traditions from the Roman East ended up in the Babylonian Talmud, and rabbinic teachings that went to Rome. He also discusses the role of the rabbis was not always the leader but they sought power within the community. His book reinforces the power of written communication and how it changes throughout time.

Choice

I was talking with my roommate Yulie about her obligation to the IDF. As a dual citizen, she is required to serve in the IDF but if she gets a release letter, she won't have to serve. I was trying to imagine if I was in her position, having the requirement of the army. It was unimaginable. For Yulie, she doesn't have a choice. For me, I have considered joining the IDF but it is only a choice for me. It's extremely weird to think about my future; applying to colleges, getting a job, and make a living for myself. In Yulie's position, she doesn't have to think about her future, it is already set for her for the minimum of 2 years.
I think the obligation for Israeli citizens to join the army after high school is a positive and negative aspect. Most high school students after graduating do not have any idea what they want to do with their life, so giving Israel's the time to delay the process is contributing to the positives. A negative aspect is that every Israeli citizen does not have a choice. Even if they do not want to, they have to serve their country. As for me, I would love to stand behind the state of Israel and that is because it is my choice.

If you want to read Yulie's perspective of this, check out her blog!!!
http://israelicool.blogspot.co.il/

IDF Self-Defense

In the article there was a quote that stated, "If someone comes to kill you, rise up and kill him first". The IDF is being judged on their actions towards the stabbings. People that are anti-Israel use the army as a negative aspect to bring Israel down because of the things that are portrayed on media worldwide. The IDF is known to be one of the best armies worldwide and their actions of one single incident should not define them. When a stabbing attack occurs from a teenager, that teenager might have been brought up just to know that they should kill. I think that the way that the IDF is teaching self-defense is good fitting the situation of Israel. During Gadna, my eyes were opened to the ideas of self-defense with weapons and I fully accept the ways that the IDF is teaching their soilders.

Week of Adventure

For the past 10 days, I have been traveling throughout Israel doing incredible once in a lifetime things. We started off going to Masada. We woke up at 4:15 and headed straight to the mountain. The hike up was difficult but totally worth waking up for it. We got to see the sunrise from the east that was over Jordan. During our time on top of Masada, we got to learned about Herod and his construction of the many castles that were hiding places. After our three days at Masada, we went on a hike through a spring that led to a beautiful waterfall. On our way back from the waterfall, we went to the Dead Sea. We got to float and put mud all over our bodies. It was a lot of fun because it is the lowest place in the world. 

After those four days of fun, we arrived at gadna. From the first moment we got there, we were treated like soldiers. It was intense. It really was. Our commander made it clear to us that the #1 thing in the army is friendship and I truly got to experience it during the five days I was there. I was with my group of 13 girls at all times. We did everything together and we all bonded. The commanders taught us all about guns. It was extremely scary to be able to hold and shoot a weapon thats its entire purpose is to kill. During gadna, we had to sleep in army tents, wear the full uniform, and always pay attention to who is talking to you. I had not thought much about going to the army until my week in gadna. Even though the experience was not the best due to the conditions. I would love to stand for the land of the Jewish people. There are many options for me in the future but I am glad that I have the Israeli Army as one. 

Sunrise at Masada

Me in the full uniform at gadna

Taxi ride

When my weekend with my brother away from the Kibbutz came to an end, I had to get a taxi to return to Tzuba. Immediately when I got into the taxi, the man driving the taxi began sharing his opinion with me about politics. He talked about how hebrew is separating the state of Israel, because not everyone is able to speak the language. I was shocked that this random man felt comfortable to share his views with a random American girl. This taxi driver was explaining to me how the language of the Jewish people is not a positive thing for Israel. Even though I disagree with his opinion, I let him continue to speak because I was so intrigued by his political views. As he continued, I was stuck on the fact that this man was so open to share his views with me. I felt privileged that he confided in me so honestly, even though it was not a big deal to him.