I’ve had so many conversations this year with folks who have, at minimum, thought twice about going out in public with something identifying them as Jewish, whether a kippah, necklace, or a shirt with Hebrew writing on it.
There's an understandable reason for this as we continue to see an increase in Antisemitic incidents in America. At the same time, I wonder, have we really gotten to a place in this country where it is too dangerous to show our Jewish identity, and if so, what does that say about the state of American Jewry?
There is a debate about this in the Talmud in regards to how we display the Hanukkah menorah. We are instructed to place the Hanukkah Menorah in our window as a way to publicize the miracle of the holiday. The point is to celebrate that we, the Jewish people, prevailed in the face of persecution and are free today to celebrate our religion openly. That said, the rabbis acknowledge that the preservation of life takes precedence over everything else and so an exception was made for “times of danger.” Essentially, if a person is living in a “time of danger” and fears that placing the menorah in their window might threaten their life, they are permitted to light it away from the window. (Shabbat 21b)
Are we living in this level of danger in America?
I’m not convinced we are.
That isn’t to say I’m dismissing the need for caution and security. Both are critical. The concerns are real and must be taken seriously. But I don’t personally fear for my life right now when I go out in public wearing a sweatshirt with Hebrew writing on it. Instead of retreating inward, I believe we would benefit from putting ourselves out there more in ways that invite dialogue, and encourage folks to expand their understanding of, and associations, with Judaism and Jews.
Last weekend, I had an opportunity to do precisely that, to not only wear my Jewish identity in the public sphere but to do active outreach, inviting people to engage in conversation, education, and a cultural exchange. Not about Israel, not about Antisemitism, but around one of the most basic, easily accessible, least-controversial, and joyful elements of Judaism: food.
How? By hosting a booth for YourJewish at TCVegFest on Harriet Island in St Paul. With the help of my partner, Jake, and my youngest son, Emmett, I sold vegan rugelach and vegan challah, offered free challah braiding tutorials that we then baked on the spot in a pizza oven, and offered an opportunity to “ask the rabbi” anything about Judaism.
I wondered if we would receive any harassment/protests related to Israel. I wasn’t fearful for my physical safety… the St Paul police presence was extensive, as was the presence of hundreds of volunteers for the event. But I was mentally prepared for someone to, at the very least, ask me difficult questions about the war. But by the end of the day, I had received zero difficult inquiries or harassment, and the only time Israel ever came up was from other Jews, who asked me if anyone had given me a hard time. Of course I’ll never know how many people quietly boycotted our booth. Maybe people did, maybe they didn’t, but since I’ll never know it doesn’t feel useful to dwell in that space. Instead, I’m lifting up all the tremendous encounters we did have.
Over the course of the festival, our booth engaged well over 300 people. Our small team of 3 was too busy to capture as much hard data as I would have liked but in general, we know approximately how many sales we made and have a general sense of the breakdown of how many people engaged in more meaningful conversations.
First, and most important, I met at least 15 people who are living in Jewish households who are not currently connected to any Jewish organization, synagogue, or institution… people who are not members of a congregation, not connected to Federation, JFCS, JCA, JCRC, or any other organization and who have never heard of Jewfolk or Mammalehs or Jpride or PJlibrary… some of those folks are now receiving this e-mail in their inbox… if that is you: welcome!! I’m so glad you stopped by our booth.
I also met a number of already connected Jews and it was wonderful to chat with these people and to see their excitement that the Jewish community was represented at VegFest. Many wanted to know the egg substitute for vegan challah (pumpkin puree) and were genuinely interested in the work I’m doing and trends I’m seeing in the Twin Cities.
Beyond those connected to the Jewish community, we had a huge number of customers from the Hindu community. It was lovely to engage in dialogue with many of these folks, and also to engage in the popular festival custom of “trading” where we shared our challah and rugelach in exchange for their delicious items, like momo. Yum!! We also had a surprisingly high number of folks eager to share that they were 7th Day Adventists and wanted to chat about some of the connections they feel to Judaism. I love these conversations, and the exchange that comes from dialogue with those who connect to religion in totally different ways.
Many people had questions about Judaism and veganism, questions about kashrut, and the origins of challah and rugelach. I was blown away by the number of people pronouncing challah with a hard ch, as in chart or champ. The sheer volume of times that I heard this pronunciation made me question why we, as a Jewish community, are still spelling it this way. Perhaps we can apply the wisdom of Hanukkah and start spelling it Hallah. Who is with me? Why put unnecessary stumbling blocks in the way of well-meaning folks? If nothing else, our presence at this festival helped 100+ people adopt the proper pronunciation. :)
But truly, I think we did so much more and after a few days of reflection, I’m so grateful to have had this experience and am walking away with the following big take-aways:
The first, and most important, is a strong desire to continue doing these festivals. We have proven that this is one successful way to meet Jews where they are; to bring Judaism to people who aren’t otherwise going to walk into synagogues or Jewish institutions but who still feel connected to their Jewish identity and would love to connect in other ways. And though public festivals may not reach this population in the thousands in the Twin Cities, it does in the dozens, and we need to start somewhere. And who knows, maybe someday we’ll get into the State Fair.
The broader non-Jewish public needs exposure to mainstream American Jewry that is positive and accessible. We can’t allow the dominant associations so many Americans have with Judaism to be exclusively centered around Israel, Antisemitism, or Orthodoxy.
Not that these are not all important parts of Judaism to share, they are. But it has become increasingly clear to me that these three things take up way too much space in the way that most non-Jewish Americans think about Judaism and Jews.
We can’t only be Jewish because some people hate Jews. We can’t only love Israel because some people hate Israel. And we can’t live in a country where people think all Jews wear black hats and long skirts.
I hope that through our participation in these festivals, we can do our small part in expanding the way the general public thinks about Jews and Judaism… teaching people the basics about how to pronounce challah, informing them that female rabbis have been ordained for over 50 years, and sharing in cultural exchange about Torah, food, holidays, and so much more.
Our participation in this festival has also given me an increased respect for all the small business owners trying to make a living by going from festival to festival every weekend. I know a bit about this world from Jake, who makes part of his living selling vegetables, but to be surrounded by folks putting in countless hours selling a product they are passionate about was inspiring. In fact, it inspired me NOT to renew my Amazon Prime membership, which ended on Monday, and to try to do a better job of shopping and buying local… from food to everything else.
Though one of my goals at VegFest was to share a product I’m proud of, I also recognized just how difficult it would be if my business model relied exclusively on challah sales! Kol Hakavod to all the small business owners out there and also a huge thank you to all of you who have donated to YourJewish to support the work we are doing and for recognizing what it takes to achieve our mission. To plant a seed on that note… we’ll be launching our High Holy Day campaign in the days to come and hope you’ll consider participating. Stay tuned. And to plant another seed, the next time I do this, I’d love the support of volunteer bakers and booth attendants. So if you love to bake or are interested in helping on the day of a festival, please let me know. This is a great opportunity for retirees and also a great B’ Mitzvah project for those of you with kids that age.
Thanks to all who supported us this weekend in different ways. Thank you to the National Center to Encourage Judaism for providing funding to enable us to run this event. Thank you to those who stopped by two weeks ago for our test-run pop up, those who donated, those who came to the festival, and those who cheered us on behind the scenes. I’m so grateful to be doing work I enjoy and believe in, and that is making a difference in our community.
Wishing you all a shanah tovah, a sweet new year!
Rabbi Jill Avrin
