New Beginnings

By Alyssa Blumenthal
KOC Co-Editor

The clothes and books and trinkets have all been packed. The car has been loaded. The goodbyes have been said. And once again, it's off to school season and the scent of fall is in the air.

Going back to school means a lot of things. It means new professors and new friends. It means getting back into work mode. It means reclaiming that special spot on the fourth floor of the library and fighting for a practice room almost every night. And Jewishly, going back to school opens a world of new opportunities.

College offers us a unique religious environment, for while we are surrounded by diversity, we are also surrounded by our Jewish peers. Our Shabbatot are filled with youth and liveliness, instead of the often older congregations of our home synagogues, and we are offered the chance to participate in Jewish programming specifically targeted towards our age group and our interests. The decisions of how we are to spend our time are exclusively ours. Our choices are really our own.

So... are we going to go to Shabbat morning services or attend that football game? Are we going to spend our Thursday nights at Hillel participating in Jewish learning or are we going to go out with our friends?

College life, I've been told, is about finding a balance. And I believe Judaism is about the same.

Being Jewish in college doesn't mean we have to miss out on the football games or the parties. But it does mean we have to make a certain effort and take a certain pride in our religion, and sometimes, yes, we may have to make choices. It means that, sometimes, we will be searching for a different type of fulfillment than what our secular friends may seek, and that we will have to make certain choices that others may not understand.

It means that I choose to spend my Friday afternoons preparing Shabbat meals and my Wednesday evenings attending Israel Student Alliance meetings. It means that my Saturdays are filled with board games and soccer instead of TV.

I'm excited about this upcoming school year because I will once again be privileged to immerse myself in a young Jewish community full of kavanah, of intention and spirit, and grow as both an individual and as a Jew. And because it's college, I am allowed and encouraged to ask questions. I am surrounded by others who are also seeking and learning and coming to better understand, and this is a beautiful thing.

[Posted 8/30/11]