By Raz Newman

I don’t wear a kippah. I also don’t put tefillin every morning or daven three times a day. Don’t wear tzitzit on or go to shul every Friday. But if you ask me, I’m the “Jewiest” guy you’ll ever meet.

When living in Israel, I never really thought about it. I mean, I knew that as a Jew these are some ways I can practice my Judaism, but I always dismissed that, saying, “I’m secular.”

To me, if you wear a kippa, you’re religious. If you daven three times a day, you’re religious. If you go to shul, you’re religious. You get the idea.

I was surrounded by Jews.

Everywhere I looked I heard Hebrew. Everyone I met was a Jew.

It’s easy to be a Jew in the land of Jews.

I didn’t have to practice my Judaism – I was living proof of Judaism. I remember never-ending conversations with my friends about God and his role in and his effect on our lives. I remember being proud of the fact that I’m Israeli and Zionist. But I never fully understood what being ‘Jewish’ really means.

I celebrated my bar mitzvah. I fast every Yom Kippur. I refrain from eating bread on Passover. I love Rosh Hashanah and the new and promising year it ushers in. I tear up every time I read the sacred scroll of Lamentations and fast on Tisha B’Av.

I used to walk the earth with that ambivalent and self-contradictory feeling – until I came to the U.S.

Here, being a Jew is not a given; it’s something you have to work at.

Here, Jews are surrounded by millions of Christians, Muslims and people of other faiths. Here, we have to make an effort to acknowledge the High Holidays.  Sometimes we even take a day off in order to practice our religion. Here, major TV stations don’t broadcast a ‘heads-up’ two weeks in advance to tell you that Yom Kippur is coming, or that you need to clean your house for Passover.

Here, in the U.S. you wake up every morning and CHOOSE to be Jewish.

There are many differences between Israelis and Diaspora Jews. But the fact of the matter is we simply view Judaism differently.

I came here, and all of a sudden I wanted to go to shul. It was important to me to wear a kippah and show everyone that I’m Jewish. For awhile, I even davened three times a day.

If you ask me, I’m secular. So, why do I do all of these things now?

I’m here to simply say, there are many ways to believe in something. There are many ways to practice your religion.

There is no such thing as a ‘better’ Jew.

Funnily enough, I realized what being Jewish really means here in the U.S.

I had to take a few steps back, in order to see the bigger picture. I had to take a few steps back to see that being Jewish is our decision.

Someone once told me that there are five legs to Judaism. We only need three in order to sync with one another. Which of these five legs do you feel in touch with?

1. Memory – We all share it: The story, the history. We’ve all been persecuted; we all share the horror of the Holocaust.

2. Family – In every aspect of Judaism, family comes first. It is the core base of our existence.

3. Mount Sinai – A narrative. According to the Bible, we were all there – all the Israelites, all of our souls – while we accepted
the Ten Commandments.

4. The Land of Israel  – Given to us as the sons and daughters of Abraham; again, a part of our collective memory, our history. This also encompasses the State of Israel: There is no such thing as ‘diaspora,’ because you choose not to go to Israel. Israel is the ‘insurance ticket’ that we all carry.

5. The Hebrew language – A language with more insights than any other.

In the darkest of times, the light of one single candle burns brighter than it would otherwise. Now, more than ever, we must overcome the differences that separate us – differences that often arise from the ways in which we practice our Judaism. Let’s get rid of the titles of more or less religious.

Rosh Hashanah is right around the corner. The promise of a new and better year. Lets all gather together – secular and religious, men and women, young and old – and together, redefine our right to live a Jewish life, the way in which we choose to live it.

I still don’t wear a kippah and I still think of myself as secular.

Now, though, with the new year knocking on our door, I am inclined to amend that statement.

I still don’t wear a kippah, but I am Jewish, and I believe.

I wish you all a happy New Year. Shanah Tova.

Am Yisrael chai.

Raz Newman is director of Israel Programs at the Mandell Jewish Community Center in West Hartford.

The Mandell JCC in West Hartford will host a Rosh Hashanah luncheon on Thursday, Sept. 25. For more information see What’s Happening, p.32 or call (860) 236-4571.