Strength within Jewish Identity: Connecting for Meaning and Guidance
May 30, 2025
As people swirl around their cesspools of antisemitism, pretending that concern for one group of people isn’t hate for another, I realize that I’d rather think about what being Jewish means to me. Thinking about the light that motivates me is a better shield for the moment and guide into the next. It helps me, too, to think about helping you on your way, pushing past darkness and negativity into the place from which you can receive nurturing thoughts and hear/heed/absorb the wisdom that emerges from our sources. Whether or not you are Jewish, I hope that my exploration and learning can help you, too, grow into your higher/deeper self as I seek to do the same.
Being Jewish is an essential part of my identity, as basic as being a woman with curly hair and green eyes. To be Jewish is not to be defined by haters, because what can they possibly know when they’re blocked by blind bigotry. And why should I let them distract me from continuing to find the beauty in this eternal path of discovery, compassion, and learning with roots so deep, coming from and sustained by the generations before me. This is what I need to be me.
How much of my Jewishness is about Judaism, the religion itself: remembering and experiencing Shabbat blessings over candles, challah, and wine at home; and preparing for and celebrating holidays as a family or alone; and services in synagogue, often sitting beside a friend, our friendship expanded through shared ritual; and saying prayers that are sometimes inspiring though often words to read and recite and, perhaps, create meaning through repetition; and mourning my father by saying Kaddish (the mourner’s prayer) on the anniversary of his death and on certain holy days—a powerful practice that keeps loved ones within the fabric of our lives; and learning Torah stories as an adult that brings more questions, connections, and insights than the way they were explained then to create common touchstones of identity in Hebrew School; and contemplating G!d, HaShem (the Name), HaMakom (the Place), the Divine Spirit, and how this eternal meaning is a part of my life; and why it’s important to know that I’m not just me—I have never been even if I thought I was—adrift in this world.
And how much of being Jewish for me is about Israel and my connection to the land and the people who live there; and how much is about my connection to Jews here, in the Diaspora, even those who live in such different worlds of Judaism; and how much is about continuity—being a link in a very long chain of resilient, inspiring men and women; and how much is about a zeal to learn from our texts so that my life fulfills its purpose—one that is internal and unfolding. And how much is the shared pain when people are murdered for being Jewish, and the pain of hearing those murders justified by the antisemites for whom hate is inspiration.
There are myriad ways to learn how to be a good and righteous person, and what that even means—this way has been and will continue to be my guide. Yes, this is the path I was born into and the way to which my soul clings—the seeking is within my expansive tradition. This is not about superiority of one vision over another: it is about fully living my life and being my purpose and seeking the best way to do that. By not acquiescing I bring honor to the past, commitment to the present, and sustain the future.
In a pause in my writing, I read a psalm, which I aim to do once a day. Today I read Psalm 25; such a powerful psalm with lines that are as relevant today as when they were written by King David 3,000 years ago.
1 Of David. O ETERNAL One, I set my hope on You; 2 my God, in You I trust; may I not be disappointed, may my enemies not exult over me. 3 O let no one who looks to You be disappointed; let the faithless be disappointed, empty-handed. 4 Let me know Your paths, O ETERNAL One; teach me Your ways; 5 guide me in Your true way and teach me, for You are God, my deliverer; it is You I look to at all times. 6 O ETERNAL One, be mindful of Your compassion and Your faithfulness; they are old as time. 7 Be not mindful of my youthful sins and transgressions; in keeping with Your faithfulness consider what is in my favor, as befits Your goodness, O ETERNAL One. 8 Good and upright is GOD, who shows sinners the way. 9 [God] guides the lowly in the right path, and teaches the lowly the godly way. 10 All GOD’s paths are steadfast love for those who keep the decrees of the covenant. 11 As befits Your name, O ETERNAL One, pardon my iniquity though it be great. 12 Whoever fears GOD will be shown what path to choose. 13 They shall live a happy life, and their children shall inherit the land. 14 GOD’s counsel is for those who show reverence; to them the covenant is made known. 15 My eyes are ever toward GOD, who will loose my feet from the net. 16 Turn to me, have mercy on me, for I am alone and afflicted. 17 My deep distress increases; deliver me from my straits. 18 Look at my affliction and suffering, and forgive all my sins. 19 See how numerous my enemies are, and how unjustly they hate me! 20 Protect me and save me; let me not be disappointed, for I have sought refuge in You. 21 May integrity and uprightness watch over me, for I look to You. 22 O God, redeem Israel from all its distress.
And as King David called out, so do I: asking to be protected—all Jews—and saved and returned—the hostages—and for our world to transform from enemies filled with hate to be a place of refuge for us all to live lives of integrity and compassion watched over by the force of creation.