Howard Cooper - Can I Tell You About Being Jewish?: A Helpful Introduction for Everyone

Can I Tell You About

Being
Jewish?

A Helpful Introduction
for Everyone

Howard Cooper

Illustrated by Catherine Pape

Jessica Kingsley Publishers
London and Philadelphia

Contents

Introduction

The other day, when I was walking home from school with my best friend Ayla, she asked me a question I couldnt answer. Ruth, she said, what does it feel like being Jewish? I mean, Im not Jewish, and you are. But, like, what makes you Jewish?

I stopped dragging my feet through the leaves and looked at her. I realised it was a hard thing to explain. Thats why I couldnt answer her. As we stood there, kicking leaves at each other, she seemed a bit embarrassed. Almost as if shed asked me a rude question.

Im going to tell you a secret, Ayla, I said, but you mustnt tell anyone. Do you promise?

She smiled, nodded, then looked away. I think she is shyer than me, though she tries to cover it up. Ive been keeping a diary, I said, and Im going to let you read it. If you want to. Its got lots of stuff about being Jewish. Ayla was standing there, on one foot, trying to keep her balance. And giggling. Which sort of annoyed me, but was also why I liked her. Maybe if you read it, I said, youll understand a bit more? About what its like being Jewish?

When I came home I went upstairs to my room, took the diary from its secret hiding place Im not telling you where that is and looked through it. I spent time adding in some extra bits, to help explain things. And next time I went to Aylas house to play I gave it to her to read.

Here are some of the things I wrote that helped Ayla know me a bit better my picture of what its like being Jewish.

Friday, 6 January

Tonight, we have all the family coming round. As usual! Friday nights at our house can be quite chaotic. Its supposed to be a happy time, a relaxed time, because its Shabbat , and the end of the week, but I dont always find it relaxing.

Ayla, Shabbat is the Jewish Sabbath. It begins in the evening when it gets dark and lasts until it gets dark on Saturday night. Although not all Jewish people keep it, its like the centre of my Jewish week. My grandpa says that its kept the Jewish people going for thousands of years.

My grandma Jean and grandpa Les always come on Friday nights thats my mums mum and dad. My dads parents live abroad so they dont come that often. They arent Jewish. My dad became Jewish when he met my mum, which Im kind of proud of, that he loved her so much he wanted to share her Jewish way of life.

My mum is Jewish, Ayla, which is why my brother Jonathan and I are Jewish. We sort of inherit it from her. Being Jewish is passed on in families from one generation to the next, through our mothers.

Dad had to study Judaism and go to the synagogue and take part in festivals and Shabbat . After a year or two, he went in front of three rabbis who asked him lots of questions, like in an exam, to make sure he was sincere and was becoming Jewish for himself and not just because he wanted to marry my mum. And he passed!

This is the other way of becoming Jewish and anyone can do it. Its called conversion. Sometimes people do it because they are planning to marry, or are already married to, someone who is Jewish. Or sometimes it is just because they are drawn to the religion and history and way of life of Jews. Whether people do it because they love someone, or just love the idea of being Jewish, I reckon its a pretty amazing thing to do, particularly when you think about how Jewish people have been picked on in different times and places around the world.

This evening therell be my mum and dad, and Jonathan (whom I hate when he teases me, which he does quite a lot, but hes 15 and Im 12 so he thinks hes superior to me, which he absolutely isnt). And my grandma and grandpa. And my mums older sister Aunty Helena. She usually manages to upset my mum by criticising her. Lets hope this evening doesnt end up in a row. If it gets too much downstairs I can just go up to my room and write in this diary.

You know how argumentative I can be, Ayla? I cant seem to help it but its almost a tradition for Jewish people to enjoy arguing things out. Two Jews, three opinions, my dad says. Which is sort of funny, but also sort of true.

Im going downstairs now to set the table its my job, which I love. I get the two candlesticks out of the cupboard, and the candles, and the wine cup for the blessing, and the decorated cloth that covers the challah .

Challah is the special plaited bread we have on Shabbat .

Mum lights the candles and says a blessing, Dad sings the blessings over the wine and for the Sabbath even though he cant sing and everyone laughs at him, which is kind of sweet and then we all sing the blessing over the bread, which is a way of saying how much we appreciate the food we will be eating. If we are lucky we will have a moment of quiet before all that, just to appreciate the week we have had, and all the good things that have happened. A time for gratitude, Grandpa calls it. And then we all tuck in!

Saturday, 7 January

We had a guest last night for Shabbat dinner. He was from Syria and hes a refugee. Mum had met him at the asylum drop-in centre at the synagogue, where she volunteers. His name is Ahmed and he said he was 17, but he was very quiet. We often have extra guests on Friday night for Shabbat hospitality is a tradition. Through history, Jews were often outsiders in different countries, so we try now to be welcoming to strangers. It is mentioned a lot of times in the Bible. Its a law given to our ancestors, and although Jews today dont follow all the laws in the Bible, this one is still important for us, because its how we can build a better world. I like that about being Jewish, that it cares how people act towards each other.

Ayla, I know that you follow the Quran, which is important to you. And Kathy in our class goes to church and reads the New Testament and believes in Jesus. Well, Jewish people have the Torah, which is the Bible written in Hebrew. Its very old, it was written around 2500 years ago and its stories and laws have been sort of imprinted on Jews ever since. It teaches us how to behave, and to be kind, generous and caring towards others. And it teaches us about special holidays we have, and Shabbat of course, and what foods we can and cant eat, and giving to charity, and loads of other laws and customs. The Torah is like the trunk of a tree and Jewish customs are like the branches that have grown from it. Lots of the traditions evolved after the Torah was written, because Jews have never stopped studying and discussing and arguing about! what is the best way to live so that we can keep our own identity while at the same time contributing to the wider world we live in.

I didnt go to the synagogue today, although I need to start going more often because I have my Bat-Mitzvah coming up at the end of the year.

Ayla, I am going to invite you to my Bat-Mitzvah in November. Its going to be so cool. Its when I get to read from the Torah scroll in front of all my family and the congregation, and have a party to celebrate. Its part of growing up Jewish and becoming a responsible young person and not a child any more. It takes place normally when you are 12 or 13 if you are a girl, and 13 if you are a boy. When Jonathan had his Bar-Mitzvah ceremony thats the name for boys ceremonies everyone made a big fuss of him. Although I was proud of him, I was also a bit jealous and I thought that when it was my turn Id do it even better than him. Which I will, youll see!