My mom went to Israel last month. She had a wonderful time, as everyone who goes does. I can't wait to get there myself one day. She brought us back some thoughtful gifts. Things she hoped we'd like and we did- all of them. My husband likes his Maccabee Beer shirt, we all love the beautiful rug she purchased from the Druze community. She also brought my son and me, each a piece of jewelry. Both of the pieces are Judaica.
She bought Jacob a cool handcrafted leather necklace with a metal pendant. On one side it has י engraved in it, which is the Hebrew letter yud. Yud is the first letter in Jacob if you say it in Hebrew. On the other side there is a Star of David engraved in the metal. My mom said she got it in case Jacob wanted to wear the star side face down, because the Hebrew letter just looks like a design to anyone who doesn't know Hebrew.
She bought me a really pretty bracelet. It's a green woven bracelet with a gold disc in the middle. At first glance, the gold looks like it's formed into an abstract design. But if you look closer, and you know what you're looking at, it actually says שׁמע ישראל (shema Yisrael) which means Here O' Israel. These are the first two words of a section of the Torah that is part of the daily prayer in Judaism. It's known as "the Shema." If you are interested, you can read more about the Shema here. We both love our gifts, and I have worn mine several times already. Jacob has worn his too.
But I got to thinking. My mom had really good intentions in purchasing these gifts for us. They allow us to wear a piece of our heritage with us, and at the same time not have to feel like we're putting it out there on display. For that, she is thoughtful and practical. However, the fact she feels she needs to take this in consideration is a bit sad to me too. She worried her gifts would not be worn or maybe even liked, if by wearing them we had to publicly proclaim our Judaism, and that's a bit disheartening. She worries we'll be treated badly or that we wouldn't be proud of who we are.
I've written about my religion before, and it's just hard to explain. Being raised and/or identifying as a Jewish person is not just about G-d and the way we pray. It's about our family culture and our heritage. We should be able to celebrate that and be proud of it the way anyone else is about their heritage. My mom bought be the perfect gift. I can wear that close to me, and share it with those who are interested or who ask me about it. I have the choice to share it with people who feel safe to me, and to choose to just treat it as another piece of jewelry to anyone else. It will always be special to me because my mom brought it home to me from Israel. I will hold it dear to me every time i recite the shema the way my mom told me she did when she stood at the wailing wall.
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