Finding Judaism Abroad

By Tanya Weitkamp
Missouri State University

Poor, rich, New England, Midwestern, Californian, Conservative, Orthodox, Reform, most of all Jewish. It doesn't matter what title comes before: there are tons of different types and ways to describe Jews. In the long haul, we are all Jewish. Yeah, it's been said a thousand times before. I'm a Jew, you are a Jew, we are all Jews. But I didn't really get it until I started traveling abroad.

These past few months I've been traveling. It started in December with a Taglit-birthright israel trip. There were a wide variety of people, all from different backgrounds and lifestyles, traveling with me for those ten days. We came with different goals in mind and different ideas of what we'd experience. Our main goal, of course, was to see Israel.

After the ten days of intense sightseeing and personal growth passed, I stayed for an extra week in Israel with a family of Israeli Jews in Kedumim. These were people that had to deal with roadblocks and the worries of war every day. And they were Orthodox Jews who followed all the laws of Shabbat and sat around the table singing songs and playing cards to pass the hours before Havdalah.

Then I went to England for a semester. I became that special Jew, the novelty. Very few people had ever met a Jew in the town of Canterbury, Kent. I was always answering questions and explaining why I do or don't do certain things. I was their guide to Judaism.

While I was in England, I returned to Israel and met secular Jews: Jews by nationality, not necessary by religion. They spent their days talking about their time in the army and at night went out and partied. I was in Israel for Purim and saw Scouts creating a Purim carnival to raise money for their youth center. I sat in on a Bar Mitzvah, where the only words I recognized were the prayers. My last night was spent in Tel Aviv. I sat around and talked with people whom I would never see again, but who were eager to talk to me simply because I was Jewish and had willingly returned to Israel.

I met even more Jews when I was in Paris. I was only there for a weekend, trying to see the city before I returned home to the United States. I was staying in a hotel in the northeastern part of the city and happened upon a community getting ready for Passover. There was a kosher market not much larger than a movie theatre bathroom, packed full of people speaking French and buying matzah from Israel. I was over 4000 miles away from home, yet I felt content because I was surrounded by my culture.

All the places I traveled this past year were foreign to me. I'd never been to Israel, England or France. Yet, in every country, I felt a connection with my Jewish community at home. In Kedumim, I experienced a Shabbat that felt like I was back in middle school attending a shabbaton. In England, I was the young girl explaining my lifestyle to my new friends. In Tel Aviv, I was back in BBYO, just hanging out with people simply because we were all Jewish. In Paris, people prepping for Passover surrounded me.

There is a saying that "home is where the heart is." I always thought it meant that when you are loved you could always find a home. Today, it has a new meaning. My heart is always full of Jewish life and customs. Now I know that whenever I find something Jewish, whether I'm in the United States or trekking through Europe, I will always feel safe and at home.

Tanya will be attending Missouri State University this fall, studying film editing. When she's not writing or in class, you'll find her in the darkroom. In her spare time she participates in the St. Louis Renaissance Faire.

[Posted 05/18/07]