By Sandra Apfelroth ’22 News Reporter
Hi, my name is Sandra Apfelroth. I’m a Lower-middler and I’m Jewish. However, I’m not your typical Jewish girl with straightened brown hair and an interestingly shaped nose, with too many siblings, who wears jean skirts. I’m an Asian Jew, with straight black hair, an Asian nose, and no siblings. Being Jewish at Mercersburg Academy isn’t different from being Jewish where I’m from, although for some people being at the Academy while being Jewish could be a gamechanger.
Over the course of their history, Jewish people have been scattered into different corners of the world. In every community, there are always a few Jewish people. Those few Jewish people then create a community, and though it may not be large, it’s filled with beautiful traditions. There has been and will always be a Jew Crew, no matter where I go. The Jew Crews always vary in numbers and levels of participation in Judaic tradition, but we still find ways to relate to each other. Despite the possibility that you might not have a lot in common with other Jews, being Jewish, in and of itself, gives you an unbreakable and unique bond.
No matter where I go, Jews are not the majority in one school, that is unless it’s a Jewish school. If you ask someone, “What does being Jewish mean to you?” each respondent will have a different answer. To some, it may mean having faith or having someone or something to believe in – a reasoning for certain situations or outcomes. For me, it means community. Being Jewish for me is more about the community than the faith. Before my Bat-mitzvah I went to Hebrew school every Sunday and Tuesday night. And every few weeks my mom and I would go to services so I could prepare. After the week of my Bat-mitzvah, my family and I only went to services on high holidays. Other Jews might go to every Shabbat service, Friday night, and Saturday morning, no matter if they’re Bat-mitzvahed or Bar-mitzvahed. And, there are Jews who don’t go to services, ever. There are some who aren’t Bar-Mitzvahed or Bat-Mitzvahed. Despite that, they aren’t left out of the Jew Crew; not having had one doesn’t make someone less Jewish.
One stereotypical joke that Jewish people always encounter is “How do you make a Jew bend down?” the punchline is “Drop a quarter.” Don’t doubt the value of that. During a football game, Finn Sipes ’22 conducted a social experiment. Finn went around asking for quarters, requesting just one quarter from each person. Everyone she asked gave her a quarter because they didn’t understand the value in one quarter. At the end of the football game, Finn had six dollars worth of change and later went to buy food.
Our generation will be the last generation to be able to listen to Holocaust survivors. With time their voices will fade; we cannot let them be forgotten and lose all the progress that has been made. The community that comes with being Jewish is all about protecting each other. We have to protect each other, despite our differences as individuals. We have to respect each other, even if we don’t agree. We have to remember our roots and our history because that will always be a part of who we are. We are strong, and our strength means community.