Open to the Possibilities

By Rachel Kaufman
University of Missouri-Columbia

Whenever I tell people that I have lived in Texas for the last 20 years, they all assume that I am a conservative, horseback-riding, cowboy-loving and bible-reading redneck. When I tell them I live in Houston, they think I have a truck rather than a horse. When I tell them I’m Jewish, they often respond, "Oh, are you the only one in Texas?" The answer is always a resounding, "No!"

I grew up in a very multicultural city, surrounded by people of all ethnicities and religions. Houston is a city with roughly 5 million people and more than 20 synagogues. We have well over 100 churches, multiple mosques, Buddhist temples and other places of worship. Still, people are surprised that a southern city right below the Bible Belt has such an influx of Jews.

My parents have always pushed Judaism. My older brother and I went to services on Shabbat when we were younger and we celebrated becoming B’nai Mitzvah when we were 13. However, I spent Kindergarten through 12^th grade in inner city public schools. My parents opted not to send me to Jewish schools because they felt that it was important to learn to adapt to different ways of life. While Christianity is thought of as the mainstream way of life in America, when you are only surrounded by one type of lifestyle, you become closed off to an entire world.

In public school, I met some of my best friends. Many of my friends were Christian but a few I knew through various Jewish activities such as the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. It was weird to observe how my friends behaved when it came to religious matters. Every year around the High Holy Days, my Jewish friends and I would miss school for Rosh HaShanah and Yom Kippur. The non-Jews would often inquire as to where we were and we would simply state, "services." I also noticed that there were a lot of Jewish kids who only went to services on these days.

In the same respect, I had many Christian friends who only went to church on Easter and Christmas. I sometimes hear complaints by Jews that we try to make our holidays more Christian by setting up lights and "Hanukkah Bushes," but what I don’t hear are people talking about Christians inquiring about Judaism. In my personal experience, all of my close Christian friends are more than interested in what we do. They have at some point wanted to go to services, Shabbat dinner, Passover seder or a Bar/Bat Mitzvah. Since Judaism is far less common than Christianity, there is a certain mystique surrounding the practices of such an old religion.

I have attended church services a few times because I, too, am curious about a different religion. This doesn’t mean that I have any intention of converting, but it means that I am willing to expand my horizons.

There is an intertwined web between these two religions. People are more curious than they let on. It is only in a truly multicultural world that religions can flourish and impact the lives of not only their followers, but also everyone in a society.

Rachel Kaufman is a sophomore Journalism and Political Science major at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Houston, Texas, where she was the Teen Editor for the Jewish Herald-Voice for four years.

[Posted 11/1/05]