What being Jewish means to me by Linda Koplovitz

Most often one is given their identity by one's parents. When you find out who you are, what you are, it is up to you to find meaning.

First when you are a Jewish child in America, you realize that Chistmas is not for you. All the other children are talking about their decorations on the Christmas tree and candy canes and Santa. At Easter time when all the kids are eating chocolate covered bunnies filled with coconut, when you're Jewish, it's Passover and you are not permitted to eat the same foods that your classmates are eating, especially the candy.

Then as a child you find out that there was a Holocaust and children just like you were burned in ovens. There are questions, why? The questions go unanswered a long time. There are nightmares that they will find you again.

So in the beginning you feel different, you feel left out. But when you are a child, you are thinking childish thoughts.

You have to look at your life in a positive light. So as I look back, I remember Passover celebrations with my mother's family. All the women were in the kitchen preparing a feast, while all the rest of the family sat around a beautifully adorned table with white linen table cloths and glass wine goblets. The smells of chicken soup and brisket and the women chattering as they are making knishes and preparing homemade gefilte fish and borsht with sour cream fills the air.

All the family, cousins and Aunts and Uncles and Grandparents all together laughing and enjoying each other was so much more important than a Christmas Tree or an Easter Egg.

We were Jewish, we were special and we loved each other.

So as a child matures through life, she or he is trying to find meaning of what it is to be Jewish. Besides the actual learning of the bible stories and the study of the Torah, where do we get our pride from?

I got my pride by finding all the other Jews that did good deeds in life and in history or who were famous. There were all the Actors in Hollywood, who changed their names, like Kirk Douglas was Issur Danielovitch, Ross Martin was Martin Rosenblatt or Paul Muni was Muni Veisenfrient. There were great scientists like Albert Einstein. And there were even Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, Ohio residents and the authors of comic book superheros such as Superman that were Jewish. And let's not forget Ben Cohen & Jerry Greenfield, proud parents of Ben & Jerry Ice Cream.

What fun to tell my friends that I was Jewish just like these famous people. Unfortunately my sister never acquired this Jewish Pride, was stolen away by a Christian cult group when she was young and never recovered. It was a summer camp and all the children were made to pray to Jesus before enjoying the festivities. When she married a Catholic man, she converted. For me, that was not a possibility. I was too wrapped up in Jewish Pride. To this day, I am sorry for my sister.

When I became a mother, it became even more important for me to get in touch with my religion and my people. My sons will have a Bar Mitzvah and my daughter a Bat Mitzvah, if she wanted one.

When my youngest son was born we joined a small group of Parents and children who were meeting for Sunday School in someone's house and not in a Synagogue. This was a unique group because the Parents stayed with the children and helped participate in study and arts & crafts. It was a wonderful experience for I was a child again, learning again. And this time I was mature enough to appreciate what I was learning. I found new meanings in the old bible stories. And with the help of my friend and Rabbi, Kenneth Block, I discovered the rich mythology of my own faith as well as other faiths.

I have come to realize that all religions are mythology, but what makes being Jewish so special is our history, our common mythology that unites us to be good people and do good in the world. Being Jewish means standing up for the little guys, like in the Superhero comic books; truth, justice and the American / Jewish way.

There is no other religion but this: Truth, Justice and doing good for one's fellow man.

We say, God is one. What we need to say is that we are One People, One God, United in Common Good. We are God's chosen people to be good and do God's work here on earth. Our rituals, our Passover Meals, our lighting of the Chanukiah are all reminders of our being Jewish and one with God.

When I look into the eyes of my children I want them to know that our history as a Jewish people is up to them. They have inherited the legacy of carrying our love of each other, our migration, pilgrimage, and survival forward through all time by telling our story to their children.