If I had children I’d want them to be like
the Israeli teenagers
who came together (“Betzavta”) for a workshop in Hadera

Bright, articulate,
Making eye contact
(All 20 of them!)
No one hiding behind their phones.

In Israel,
You don’t have the luxury of safe spaces.
You have to grow up fast.

I thought I’d hide and just observe them
But they drew me into the group discussion:
“What are your top 3 Jewish values?”

From the options, they chose:
Love your neighbor as yourself
Serving in the IDF
Mutual aid
I guess as secular Israelis, they pray with their feet
and hands.
Defending their opinions
with strength and confidence
like they will defend the State of Israel.

Yet I chose:
Speaking Hebrew
Celebrating holidays
Believing in God
Mirroring how I live in the U.S. and how I connect to my people.

Fascinating, I thought
What they chose
What I chose
What nobody chose.
The answers would be different, too
If we polled haredi teenagers from Jerusalem.

It took a while for it to dawn on me –
Why should speaking Hebrew stand out for them?
It’s nothing special
They’ve done it since birth.
Celebrating holidays? Keeping kosher?
It’s already baked into their calendar and cuisine.
Not so much, mine.
We learned about each other – together —
And got fresh perspective on Jewish identity.

How often does a fish contemplate the water it swims in?