What’s happening on campus? Hear from students, professionals, and Hillel community members whose lives have been impacted by Hillel and who impact the world with their voices and stories. Share your story with us!
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I think the music I write is a reflection of my story. A lot of it is about my conscious analysis of what it is to be Black and Jewish. It’s my commentary on that experience. Hillel has provided that support system for me, and it has also influenced the actual art itself.
I don’t see that my Persian identity ever has to stop for my Jewish identity to start. Iranian Jews have been in Iran since 586 BCE, so the Iranian and Iraqi diaspora are the most historic diaspora of the Jews. My family has been in Iran longer than we’ve been in Israel and longer than we’ve been in the U.S.
There鈥檚 this perception, largely accurate, that college kids are not particularly observant. I was really concerned about finding a synagogue that could be a home for me and some type of observant community at school. I was worried I was going to be left out or stuck on my own on Shabbos.
In Judaism and theater, I feel a constant need to improve; to know that each event or moment in time can be better than the one that came before it.
鈥淛udaism is more than my religion 鈥 it鈥檚 my identity.鈥
鈥淲hile Shabbat services have been an incredibly important part of my life, not everyone connects with our rich tradition by praying out of a book.鈥
鈥淢y dad is Jewish, and my mom is Chinese. Growing up, I noticed I was different from others in Boulder, Colorado.鈥
鈥淚 am biracial. My dad is Black and Christian, and my mom is white and Jewish.鈥
鈥淢y freshman year, I joined Hillel Race Talks, a committee to keep conversations about diversity in the Jewish community alive on the Brandeis campus.鈥
鈥淕rowing up in an interfaith family shaped my own experiences as a Jewish woman. I learned that the more we embrace different traditions and listen to different perspectives, the more we can learn and grow.鈥
