Ellie
Favorite traditional Jewish food: Probably Matzah, even though most people say it gets boring after 8 days.
Favorite Jewish holiday: Passover, because I’m always with my family and I travel a lot over Passover. I also like Purim, because it is just a happy holiday. A lot of holidays are really complicated and are really serious, but Purim is really happy, which is important. How would you describe your identity? I have a lot of different backgrounds because both of my parents are mixed. When people see me, it is a bit frustrating because they don’t know what I am. People ask if I’m Latino, if I’m white, and sometimes I don’t know how to answer them. I can’t give a one word answer because I can be described in so many ways. Sometimes I’ll say “I’m me”, I’m just a human. It can be annoying to get that answer because it’s not what people want to hear. I’m half African-American, my mom is Moroccan, and we have a lot of family in Toronto, so… |
Do you feel like your looks and experiences are included in the general picture of what a Jewish woman is?
I don’t think I would fit into the stereotype. When I think of the perfect Jewish girl, I think of a really smart girl that gets good grades and kind of does everything, and that is just not true for me. Because I am a lot of different things, I don’t fit into any category. How does this affect your feelings about Judaism? Sometimes I can’t connect with people that represent that stereotype because a big part of the community is camp and Jewish activities, places that people go and how they act, where they go to school and the friends they make. Camp is a big part of people’s life, but I’ve never been to camp before. I wish I had that experience that other people had, but at the same time, it is not really for me. Do you feel like you have been generally welcomed in Judaism? Why or why not? I think I have. I think that we have a generally welcoming community. When I transferred to [a Jewish day school] in 8th grade, a lot of people asked me how hard it was, but it was actually really easy. Everyone was really nice and welcoming and they made it their mission to make me part of the family, even though I was there for such a short period of time. |
"Everyone was really nice and welcoming and they made it their mission to make me part of the family." |
"Even if some people may feel excluded sometimes, we are a really strong, tight-knit community that will be there for you." |
Are there times where you have felt excluded from Jewish spaces?
Yeah, there has been a time where I have been excluded. At my Jewish school, everyone lives a specific life, which is really different from the way that people I used to be around lived. I sort of went from one extreme to another. It was two very different environments. At my school now, everyone dresses a certain way. I was kind of excluded from that because I couldn’t relate. I didn’t want to try and fit in to something that I knew wasn’t me. Does identifying as Jewish play an important role in your life? Every aspect of my life is Jewish right now, which kind of frustrates me. I go to a Jewish school, I go to synagogue, I’m a part of RTI, which is Jewish, all my friends are Jewish. I sometimes wish I could expand and meet new people, but I don’t have the time. What is your favorite part of being Jewish? The community. Everyone is there for each other. Even if some people may feel excluded sometimes, we are a really strong, tight-knit community that will be there for you. Even if you don’t go to synagogue, you still have Jewish family friends and extended family. Everyone is connected somehow! When I came to RTI, we all had connections and mutual friends. I didn’t know more than half that people, but we could all go on and on about all of the people that we knew. I love being part of RTI too. That is really important for me. |