My Jewish Experience Essay

All of my life I have labeled myself as Jewish, although I have not once ever questioned what it means to be Jewish. I have spent many years of my life in an orthodox Hebrew school and excessive hours in Synagogue simply because my parents told me I had to go. I did not understand why I spent so much time in a place that I felt had no importance to me. This was until my perspective was changed my Junior year when I took an interest in the land of Israel. It all started when I began learning about my heritage in a teen group and following traditions such as celebrating Shabbat weekly. I have been to Israel before, but did not appreciate my time there because I was younger and thought it was just another vacation. My second time there I realized that Israel is a land of learning and the homeland of the Jewish people.

My brother and I started going to a

This is where a few of the girls who were just my friends became my best friends. We had a Shabbat dinner on the rooftop of a building and then after we went down to the Kotel. I felt a strong connection here that I have felt no other place in the world. I rinsed my hands before going down to the holy wall in respect for the site. When I made my way down linked arms with my friends, we split up to find openings on the wall. I stuck my note in and let the wall dry my wet hands. I felt a powerful force drying my hands on the wall that cannot be explained. After my friends and I finished up our prayers and thanked g-d for bringing us there, we walked backwards facing the wall as respect to not turn our backs on it. We met up with our male advisor and our friends that were boys and talked about the magical experience that had just taken place. It was 11 o’clock pm in the holy city and we are experiencing Shabbat there first hand. I felt like the luckiest girl in the world. We then sang the Shema in a circle at the Kotel, which is the prayer you say before