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Jewish Heritage

April 27, 2010 by Patrick Beaulier

By Amanda Myhand
I know I’m not the only Jew in the state of Alabama, but it feels that way quite often. I don’t fit in at all – an awkward, dark- and curly-haired Jewish girl (whose vocabulary is unmarred by the infamous, horrid Southern accent, I might add) in a sea of blonde Southern belles draws attention. I come from a long line of Jewish women who married either Christian or non-religious men and gave up any observance they had, which wasn’t much, in a successful effort to blend into the Bible Belt.  As a result of their compromising, I, too, grew up under my domineering Christian father’s thumb (I also have him to thank for my glaringly Irish surname). I was dimly aware of, but not really exposed to any of my Jewish heritage or culture until I reached high school – a thought that chaps my lovely Jewish ass to this day.

A while back, sick of having Bibles shaken in my face and being turned down for dates because of something about an ox and a yoke, I sought refuge in a tiny Reform synagogue here in Florence. About ten regular members make up the congregation (though during the High Holidays, attendance swelled to a whopping 50-ish!), and we have a lovely cantoress that comes in from Nashville every other Friday. I really love my synagogue; it’s one of the few things I’ll miss about Alabama when I move…

… to New York City. Next month. I recently took a trip there for the first time (feel free to laugh).
I had heard about how different Jewish culture is there compared to here, and, of course, all the “Jew York City” jokes. They were right – I was on cloud nine as I drove through Crown Heights and saw my people. The only other time I ever felt that sense of ‘I’m not alone’ was when I drove past a huge synagogue in downtown Nashville. My mother, feeling renewed by her divorce from my father, has begun to rediscover her heritage for herself, a thought that fills me with joy. But I’m also nervous. I worry I won’t be religious or knowledgeable enough to keep up with the Jewish culture in NYC. But I remember that though it’s tempting, I don’t have to “fit in” to Jewish culture in NYC. I’ve kind of got a knack for standing out.

Filed Under: Random (Feelin' Lucky?), Rants Tagged With: alabama, convert to judaism, convert to judaism online, darshan yeshiva, Jewish, Jews, Judaism, New York, online conversion, patrick "aleph" beaulier, patrick aleph, Punk, punktorah, rabbi beaulier, rabbi patrick aleph beaulier, rebel, Religion, Torah

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