Stop Fighting Your Jewish Pride

You know that feeling when you walk into a room and it’s clear everyone was just talking about you? That’s how it’s felt to be Jewish these past few weeks: on social media, where it seems like every friend of a friend or cut-rate influencer is a newly minted Middle East expert unfurling a slide-by-slide dissertation on how evil Israel is; at work, where colleagues who don’t know the Levant from Liev Schreiber are signing self-righteous open letters and calling for a cease-fire; at parties and on group texts where being horrified about beheaded babies and mutilated grandparents makes you some kind of colonialist oppressor.

It’s been a rude awakening for a lot of us.

So what should we do?

It’s simple: Double down on the thing that is setting us apart in this moment, the thing that marks us as different, that seems to be making people so mad.

Double down on being Jewish—and being proudly Jewish.

Instead of feeling like your Judaism is a target on your back, treat it like a badge of honor. Our Jewishness is something we should celebrate, a universe filled with beauty and meaning, an identity that can sustain us just as it sustained our ancestors for millennia.

You can start by learning a bit more: I like this book, or this book, and especially this book. You can also try to pick up a Jewish practice. Shabbat is a great place to start: It’s easy, delicious, and comes around every week. At the very least, you’ll thank me for the social media break.

But the one I really want people to consider is embracing the beauty of Judaism. Go out and get the most beautiful menorah, or challah cover, or mezuzah you can find: It will not only enhance your Jewish experience, it will make it more specific to you. If you’re lucky enough to have bubbe’s kiddush cup or your great-grandfather’s tallis to add to the mix, that’s amazing. There’s no more powerful way to take ownership of your Jewish identity than through the objects required for our most important rituals.

And if you think responding to anti-Jewish sentiment by buying or making Judaica is frivolous or beside the point, take it up with the Torah. There’s a concept known as hiddur mitzvah, which calls on us to beautify our Jewish rituals. We are literally charged with adding aesthetic value and meaning to our religious world.

These are our sacred objects, touchstones of a rich and deep history, tradition, and heritage. We are heirs to a magnificent legacy. Make it last, and make it yours.