OUA Community Essay

I was frightened the night before I attended Hebrew School for the first time. I remember standing in the shower expecting to struggle with the new language. I never learned how to read Hebrew from my parents. I feared my classmates had a head start. But after a few weeks in Hebrew School, the fear of failure ceased to exist. Similarly to math, I quickly learned how to read and write in Hebrew. Over the next ten years, I consistently practiced reading Hebrew. I reached the point where I can read any text placed in front of me. It's comforting to step into any Jewish place of worship and instantly become immersed in a language that I understand. Learning to read Hebrew is only a small part of my Jewish journey. For the past two years, I have been the President of the Youth Board at my temple. I lead the board in planning events for our temple community. We create engaging activities for members of our temple in order to bring people together as well as learn to appreciate our history. We also pride ourselves in interfaith work. As one of the largest temples in my county, it is our responsibility to not only create a safe community for Jews, but also create a safe place for people of all religions including Christians and Muslims. Learning about these other religions teaches us that we are more similar than we are different. In my role as President, I am a leader. I lead the high holiday services for hundreds of our youth and serve as a role model for the younger students in our school. I was once frightened to go to my Temple but now I help my peers gain their sense of belonging within our community.