Leaving home for college helped me realize I could be Jewish and Chinese.
鈥淢y dad is Jewish, and my mom is Chinese. Growing up, I noticed I was different from others in Boulder, Colorado.鈥
Hillel Stories
What’s happening on campus? Hear from students, professionals, and Hillel community members whose lives have been impacted by Hillel and who impact the world with their voices and stories. Share your story with us!
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As I continue embracing my Blackness, I know there鈥檚 also room to embrace my Judaism.
鈥淚 am biracial. My dad is Black and Christian, and my mom is white and Jewish.鈥
Jews of Color have always been in the picture. We鈥檙e just easily overlooked and undermined.
鈥淢y freshman year, I joined Hillel Race Talks, a committee to keep conversations about diversity in the Jewish community alive on the Brandeis campus.鈥
Growing up in an interfaith family shaped my experiences as a Jewish woman.
鈥淕rowing up in an interfaith family shaped my own experiences as a Jewish woman. I learned that the more we embrace different traditions and listen to different perspectives, the more we can learn and grow.鈥
I had lost sight of how important Judaism was to me. Hillel helped me remember that.
鈥淎fter I became a bat mitzvah, I let Judaism fade into the background of my life.鈥
People always ask me what kind of Jew I am. I’m just a Mizrahi Jew, and that鈥檚 good enough.
鈥淧eople would always ask me what kind of Jew I was. Orthodox? Conservative? Reform? I always said, 鈥業鈥檓 just a Mizrahi Jew, and that鈥檚 good enough.鈥欌
I always feel the most connected with my Judaism when I’m in nature.
鈥淚 always feel the most in touch with my Judaism when I鈥檓 in nature, surrounded by trees, on the beach, taking hikes, watching the sunrise and sunset.鈥
Raised in a Persian Jewish community, I was surrounded by people who shared my culture.
鈥淚 didn’t expect to find such a vibrant Persian Jewish community at Berkeley Hillel.鈥
As a cadet in Charleston, I was worried I wouldn鈥檛 see another Jewish person.
I knew South Carolina didn鈥檛 have a big Jewish population, and I was worried I wouldn鈥檛 see another Jewish person for the next four years.
I realized I can be Jewish and queer. One identity doesn鈥檛 negate the other.
鈥淲hen I came out as nonbinary, I distanced myself from my Jewish community. I wasn鈥檛 sure how people would react.鈥
