Rafi Ellenson (New York, NY):
I don’t want to go to Jewish Disneyland again, my Jewish Observance can be best summed up by my celebration of Shabbat, what moves me more than anything else are my legs, and the decision to attend a secular high school was amongst the most challenging of my life.
Which became
Yes, I find gender studies to be a fascinating field, I’ve been reading a lot of Stanislavsky lately to learn about the process of directing, some modern values require disobedience to Halachah, and experience is different than discussion.
Which became
Who’s this girl who wrote the poem?
Which became
Hi, I’m Rafi from New York City, you invented a food preservation system?, when did you become a Ba’al T’shuvah?, and, as I thought to myself, everyone here is so nice.
Which became
Existential crisis, crisis of faith, gender norm crisis, and why is Israel important crisis.
Which became
Judaism is important to me because of its tradition and it defines me more than I define it, the Kotel has some sort of irrational power on me, feminism is as much about equality of both genders as raising up a formerly subjugated people, and Israel is the irreplaceable Jewish melting pot.
Which became the most intense 5 weeks of my life wherein everything was scrutinized, I befriended those I would have never otherwise, and I learned as much about other peoples’ views as I did my own.
Thank you.
