By Rachel Klein
During the opening conference, Rabbi Zeff led a program about the ideologies of different Jewish movements. We started the program by standing near a post-it that had a statement about beliefs in Judaism. We did not yet know which belief was associated with which movement, we just all had to stand near the one we believed. What was the most interesting to me in this moment was how our entire cohort was mixed up, with people identifying as Orthodox standing next to people identifying as Reform. It re emphasized the idea that, despite all of our differences in background, we all have a lot in common and a lot to learn from each other.
After the post-its, we learned about the ideologies of many of the major Jewish movements. What was interesting for me was that I, a very proud Reform Jew, had been standing next to a post-it that was associated with the more traditional of the Conservative movement. In this situation, many would be upset that they did not have a real Jewish identity as they did not have beliefs in line with their identity. I, on the other hand, found this fact empowering. I felt so strongly connected to my identity as a Reform Jew being given the choice to believe whatever I like and still be a proud Reform Jew. I also felt so strongly connected to all of the other people in the room with me, even though we all identify as Jewish in a different way, we all identify as Jewish and have that in common.
