Rachael Baitel: Yom Kipur en Princeton

Rachael, hija de Allan y Rosalind, estudia en la Universidad de Princeton en donde participa activamente de las actividades de Hillel en el Jewish Center of Life (http://www.princeton.edu/hillel/). En Yom Kipur, la invitaron a hablar en la sinagoga sobre su vida judía en Princeton. A continuación compartimos sus palabras que incluyen una valiosa reflexión sobre su identidad judía en KSI:

Before I begin to speak about what Judaism means to me, I must come forth with important facts about my youth. I was born to Jewish parents, but was raised in a predominantly Catholic country, Panama. I attended Hebrew school on Sundays, but during the week from grades K through 12, I went to an Episcopalian school. As for my parents, my father is a first generation Panamanian whose father emigrated from Poland during World War II to take refuge from the Nazi movement. My mother is a 5th generation New Orleanian who moved to Panama to work for the US Department of Defense schools. Identifying me as a Panamanian after all I’ve said might seem wrong to you. And believe me I questioned my ethnicity and nationality for the longest time before being able to actually embrace it. So now, after telling you my abbreviated life-story, let me introduce myself, my name is Rachael Baitel Levy and I’m a Panamanian-American Latina Jew!

My upbringing has directly influenced the meaning and value I give to my religion. In Panama, it seems that there were two ways for a Jew to go about practicing Judaism. You could either be a passive Jew (what today in the US is considered a cultural Jew) or an active Jew, which is analogous to Orthodox Judaism, or at least that’s how it is in Panama. For the longest time there was no middle ground and families such as mine found it difficult to practice Judaism and were, therefore, identified as passive Jews. This remained the case for years. However, with one year to go before my bat-mitzvah my synagogue, hired a new Rabbi, one who would completely disrupt the order of things. He established a conservative community in Panama. He’s totally transformed my Jewish congregation in Panama and has come a long way in re-uniting the two Jewish clans. He instilled in me the importance of learning and practicing Judaism, especially in the Diaspora. He taught me to love my Jewish heritage and never feel ashamed of it. It is thanks to him that I was able to create with a group of friends a youth movement for my synagogue that focuses on strengthening the kids’ Jewish identity. He inspired my father to be president of our congregation and my mother to lead the sisterhood. He helped me understand that being Jewish has a greater meaning in the overall scheme of things, not only spiritually but socially. There will always be a community willing to help me and make me feel welcome no matter where I go.

Rachael en Camboya

Coming to Princeton, one of my greatest fears was in fact, once again not fitting into the Jewish community. Being called ‘goim’ as kids from the orthodox community back home called my friends and me was not something I was willing to return to. What would college-age American Jews be like? Would there exist a social divide between people of different religions? Would I be identified first as a Jew and then as Panamanian? I truly did not know what to expect, other than the certainty that the university was no-longer Anti-Semitic which was an issue my Princeton interviewer strongly pressed.

My first Shabbat on campus cleared up any doubt and fear I ever had. Before even getting to campus, my email was full of invitations from both the CJL and Chabad. At the time, I unbeknownst to me that they were different, I decided to RSVP with the CJL to attend services and go to Chabad for dinner. At the CJL I met many lovely people, one of whom is still today my best friend at Princeton. But that night I wasn’t able to have dinner with her because after services someone called my name, welcomed me to Princeton and told me that we would have dinner at Chabad which was only a short walk away. As soon as I walked into the Rabbi’s house, I felt at home.  The combination of a long big table surrounded by friendly faces, the Rabbi’s lovely wife with her small children greeting everybody and home cooking filled me with joy and a sense of belonging.  I felt welcomed, I felt accepted and more than anything I knew there was a community I could count on. For the friends I’ve made and the people who have touched my life, I am truly grateful.  Judaism has become, more than ever, an invaluable part of me and my Princeton experience.