Raised in a Persian Jewish community, I was surrounded by people who shared my culture.
“I didn’t expect to find such a vibrant Persian Jewish community at Berkeley Hillel.”
Humans of Hillel
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Converts Make Great Jewish Leaders, So Let’s Treat Them That Way
The first time I ever made a shiva call, I was nervous. As someone who had only joined the Jewish people four years prior in May of 2015, and whose immediate family included no Jews, there were many Jewish traditions with which I had no personal experience. While I had a familiarity with customs surrounding mourning in […]
As a cadet in Charleston, I was worried I wouldn’t see another Jewish person.
I knew South Carolina didn’t have a big Jewish population, and I was worried I wouldn’t see another Jewish person for the next four years.
Asking my Jewish community to use my new set of pronouns was frightening yet liberating.
“When I first came out as transgender, asking my Jewish community to use my new set of pronouns (he/him and they/them) was frightening yet liberating.”
I realized I can be Jewish and queer. One identity doesn’t negate the other.
“When I came out as nonbinary, I distanced myself from my Jewish community. I wasn’t sure how people would react.”
Being diagnosed on the autism spectrum made my identity even more complex.
“I was diagnosed on the autism spectrum my senior year of high school.”
I grew up in an interfaith family, with a Jewish father and a Christian mother.
“I grew up in an interfaith family, with a Jewish father and a Christian mother, and my parents decided to raise me Christian. I was baptized, I had communion, but I never really identified with Christianity, nor had much of a choice in practicing it. I wasn’t supposed to be questioning my practices and beliefs, […]
I had culture shock when I moved with my family from an Israeli kibbutz to Wisconsin.
“I had culture shock when I moved with my family from a kibbutz in Israel — one that only spanned two streets — to Wisconsin.”
My dad is Jewish, and my mom is Filipino Catholic. I have no shame.
“My dad is Jewish, and my mom is Filipino Catholic. Growing up, I felt pressured by my Jewish relatives to only focus on my Judaism and forget about the other parts of my identity.”
Because I was raised in an interfaith home, being Jewish was always a choice for me.
“Because I was raised in an interfaith household, being Jewish was always a choice for me.”
