2001 - United Synagogue Youth

ShalhevetJewish Identityby Melissa CohensonWhen I walk the halls through my publichigh school, I walk not only as a freshman, but alsoas a Jew. I walk with this sense of pride. Not onlyfrom my Jewish people, but from the State of Israel,my, and every Jew’s, home. I amproud to answer to anyone thatI, Melissa Cohenson, am a bornJew. I also give an immenseamount of praise to mymother for becoming a Jew.When my mother marriedmy father, he was a Jew, shewas not. She gave it muchthought, and decided to convert,leading to the everlastingJewish life that my sistersand I will eternally hold.I can proudly say thatboth my saba and grandma,from my father’s side, survivedthe terrors of the Holocaust. Mysaba lived to be 77. Never once did I see him witha frown on his face, or anger in his heart. He wasso filled with life, and reflected it unto me. Sabataught me so much about Judaism that without hisknowledge, I would not be the person I am today.After his death, on November 23, 1997, I realizedthat I couldn’t be sad forever thinking about hisloss. My saba would not want me to live withresentment in my heart because of his suddendeath. So, I decided I had to give back to theworld, in God, and most importantly to celebratewho I am.What I have to say to every Jewish teenout there is that you must acknowledge the fact,and be ecstatic about, the fact thatyou were born a Jew. Just lookat our history; we rebuilt theFirst Temple after it was destroyed,we received theTen Commandments, wereceived the Torah, wesurvived the Holocaust,we survived EretzMitzraim, and most importantly,everyday we overcomehatred from otherethnicities by surviving.I am happy to saythat for one week in November,my Rabbi, my father, somecongregants of my temple, and I willbe traveling to our homeland, Eretz Yisrael. Whatyou as a teen today can do to help our people isto keep believing in God, keep on praying, continueto have faith, and now more than ever, livelife to the fullest, knowing that there is a reasonGod created you as a Jew. What I have learned isthat we were all created because God believesthat we all have the ability to make a significantand positive impact on our people.38