Good Morning America called yesterday to conduct the pre-interview for our TV debut shoot on the 14th (aired on the 20th- be sure to watch!) and I was struck by how desperately she wanted a sensationalized story as if it might sum up the entirety of our work as IF leaders.She asked a few basic questions- how did I become involved in interfaith work, why, what is happening at Brandeis now. She didn’t seem satisfied with my answer that my family, a religious Reform family, had inspired me to work in interfaith. I told her a short story of when I was on a middle school bus going home and someone whispered to me that they hated me because I was Jewish. It was not life-transforming for me, it was an event that occured after my initial interest in IF was sparked, but it reaffirmed the need I felt to participate. Immediately, she jumped on the story and I felt like that minor event would be broadcast as the experience that initiated my interest.Truthfully, my family was the beginning of it all for me. Our daily dinner discussions would always lead themselves to religion or politics; I was challenged to think outside of the box and try to step into another’s shoes and view an experience through that lens. I was surrounded by family who were engaged in service work in our greater community and our temple. I internalized my grandmother’s saying “Jews do the right thing because it is the right thing to do, not because we will be rewarded or are afraid of being punished later.” With a long standing history of events where Jews were left alone to fend for themselves, I know how valuable community resources are to the group’s identity and safety.Today, teens are troubled by conflicting identities (and even an onset of apathy) as we tell them to develop their personal ideas but “don’t discuss politics or religion”. Our world’s prevention against danger- either physical or emotional- comes in the form of strong communities. At IFYC, we are widening our reach and cultivating even larger communities than our single religious groups provide. We will think more creatively, act more respectfully, and benefit for a larger social network as our communication increases and our understanding of differences becomes more clear.My interest in interfaith was prompted by many positive experiences as I watched my family chuckle with our Christian neighbors and ask questions of their international collegues. I was told stories about the beauty of collaboration and wanted to be a part of it. My involvement with IF work was not out of desperation from a single traumatic event. My involvement with IF work was because I wanted to share the excitement I felt from the phenomenal positive efforts that colored my childhood in so many ways.
November 8, 2007...2:49 pm
sensationalized stories
Jump to Comments
