I can still remember what it felt like to notice, for the first time, that being Jewish made me different. It was never a single moment, but a series of them. Small experiences that accumulated quietly until they became impossible to ignore. At school during December, holiday parties were filled with stockings, candy canes, and carols that everyone knew by heart. I joined in the fun, but deep down I knew that while my classmates would spend Christmas morning unwrapping presents, I would be at home lighting the menorah for another night of Chanukah. On Sundays, while they swapped stories of weekend plans, I trudged off to Hebrew school, sitting in a classroom that smelled faintly of pencil shavings and old books, learning the letters of a language most of my peers had never seen. 

That difference followed me through childhood. December was always the hardest. Walking down the streets at night, I would see lights twinkling in every window, inflatable Santas waving from lawns, and songs blaring in every store. At school, we decorated paper stockings, rehearsed for holiday concerts (which were essentially Christmas concerts), and exchanged gifts in Secret Santa games. Chanukah was lovely at home with the menorah’s glow, the scent of frying latkes, and the crackle of dreidels on the table, but outside our front door, it felt invisible. I would often ask my mom questions I did not yet know how to fully articulate.

“Mom, why do I need to go to Hebrew school? There is no point. It is stupid.”

“What is the point in being Jewish?” 

“Why do I need to be different? I just want to be “normal” like everyone else.”

Her answer never changed

“As Jews, we are a minority. “

“You will understand when you are older.”

At the time, I did not understand. It wasn’t only about holidays. It was about identity, history, and a sense of belonging. When kids in school threw around stereotypes like, “I thought all jews had a big nose,” or joked, “You probably only eat bagels and lox,” I laughed along so I wouldn’t stand out more,........

© The Times of Israel (Blogs)