As you know, I work for a Jewish organization. Today I was talking to a new staff member who has been at the org for three weeks. Her first day at the office was Wednesday October 11th. I can’t imagine how that must have been for her, to walk into Jewish organization right after the lows of the weekend, and then the emotional highs of the rally in support of Israel on Monday October 9th. I jokingly said to her, if you can make it through this, you can make it through anything this job is going to throw at you.

For me, it is hard to believe I will be celebrating one year in a few short weeks. I talk to my mom on the way home from work each day, catching up on the days events and I keep telling her that even though it is hard and emotional, I am grateful that I work with Jewish people. I can’t imagine what working in my previous job would be like right now. That is a conversation for another post.

We are currently having weekly town hall meetings which are very important. They are updates from senior team members on important details that applies to all areas of the organization. I wanted to share two stories from today. They are just a snippet of the conversations that are happening each day, and perhaps how you may be feeling right now or conversations you may want to have, but don’t have people to have them with.

The Enemy you know

The first story happened in the elevator on the way to the meeting. I was in the elevator and one of the managers was talking to another manager about a conversation she had with one of her friends in Israel. As they were talking about the protests around the world, the protests and the hatred, as we as the increased police and security presence in the community. The Israeli said this, “at least here we know who the enemy is, for you, the enemy could be anyone”. I am sure we have all had this thought the past few weeks. I know I have.

I had tickets to a play on Sunday, downtown at Yonge and Dundas. I drive downtown all the time, and park and walk all around the area. I didn’t know if we would encounter any uncomfortable issues on the way to the play or after it was over. The Yonge-Dundas square area was actually quieter than I thought it would be and as we walked to the car after the play we crossed through the square and I said, I thought that we may encounter something here. I am glad I was wrong.

Hang your Mezuzah proudly

There have been a lot of false stories making their way around social media. I don’t want to get into that here, but if you go to UJA’s website you will see all of the ways you can stay connected to everything in the community, as well as the phone numbers to call if you need to report anything you see. But before you report anything, make sure you check your sources.

For those who may not know, if you have ever entered a Jewish building, or a Jewish home you would notice a Mezuzah (door post) on the right side of the doorway upon entering the home, or rooms in the home. The mezuzah is the symbol that this is a Jewish home (or dwelling) and is a visible sign and symbol to all those who enter that a sense of Jewish identity and commitment exists in that household.  

The Rabbi shared a story about a conversation he had with someone in the community. The person said that someone asked him if he planned on taking his mezuzah down in fear of his home being attacked because he was Jewish. The person replied, heck no, I would like to hang two of them. I understand his point of view. We want to scream from the rooftops in outrage from our government, our universities, so many other people. We shouldn’t be surprised, yet somehow we still are.

I am open to have a conversation with you if you want to reach out to me. For the first time in my life, I feel like I have a place that I belong. Being in the Jewish community in a time in history that has never mattered more.

Am Israel Chai – The Jewish people yet live