In today’s day and age, it is so easy to feel overwhelmed with all of the problems surrounding you. When I first joined social media, I felt like every day something new had gone wrong somewhere in the world. I had no idea where to start. One day, I saw a post from a climate organizer I followed with some tips on how to get involved. Step one was to reach out to anyone and everyone about working with them. Shortly after seeing her post, I came face to face with the perfect opportunity to put this theory to the test.

While I attended Camp Tov this summer, a speaker from The Jewish Council on Urban Affairs (JCUA) spoke to us about our role as Jews in combating white supremacy. I took a deep breath and emailed the speaker, Mara, to ask her if there were any opportunities to work with JCUA, and it totally paid off. Every day, I am so grateful that I gathered the courage to email Mara. Taking part in Jewish organizing has been one of the most fulfilling opportunities I’ve ever had. While working with JCUA, I know that everyone around me is similarly fueled by a love of learning and the desire to repair the damage done to the world around us. Unlike my past experiences with activism, I never feel like I have to compromise any part of my identity while I work.

During one of the campaigns I worked on this fall, Fair Tax, I felt called to take part because of how closely its message aligned with Jewish literature. For example, Torah teaches that you should leave portions of your field unsown so that your neighbor or the stranger can come and eat. With this message in mind, all of us knew that it was our role, as Jewish people, to make sure that those around us were taken care of, even if meant sacrificing some of our time or resources. Because of my few months working with Jewish organizers, I want to encourage all Jewish youth feeling a little overwhelmed to reach out to any Jewish organizations they love, I guarantee they will not regret it. 

My Jewish Journey does not start with me. It begins with my ancestors who left Spain during the Spanish Inquisition who wanted to practice Judaism safely. Instead of denouncing their culture and assimilating, my family fled Spain to preserve their Jewish identity. My relatives continue fleeing their various homelands in order to uphold their Jewish traditions. 

The Jewish traditions that they worked so hard to maintain have been passed down from all those generations and countries to me. My Jewish Journey is the Journey of my ancestors. My part of the Journey is to continue their traditions and pass them along. I can not let go of these traditions that my relatives fought to maintain. 

My part of the Journey is to continue to pass along these traditions and keep them alive. Even though life in 2020 is very different from life during the Spanish Inquisition, I need to uphold and pass along these traditions that my family has been living by. 

While I think it is crucial to maintain my family’s history, which includes their traditions, it is also important I live my life how I want. I can not be restricted by the guidelines that my ancestors implemented for my family. As I previously mentioned, 2020 is very different from the Spanish Inquisition, thus some traditions may be no longer relevant or I may not be able to maintain them anymore. I have the ability to adapt these historic traditions into modern times and pass along these adaptations. My Jewish Journey does end with me either. 

Lena is a senior at Rochelle Zell Jewish High School, where she plays volleyball and is editor of the yearbook. She has participated in several Springboard programs, most recently as a Peer Ambassador.