Being a Jewish Ally



Being a Jewish Ally
By: Dani Gottlieb

     When I first heard about this assignment, I automatically knew which commandment I was going to write about, because it is one that I live my everyday life by.  When someone asks me to define myself and my personality with one word, I tell them that "I am an ally."  For those of you who don't know, an ally (in my own words) is someone who works with another person or group for a common cause.  To me, the common cause is love, happiness, and equality. 

     The mitzvah that I chose was "You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block in front of the blind."  I interpret this mitzvah as not only to refrain from oppressing others, but to in fact guide and guard those who need my help.  There are two ways that I do this today.  The first one is on a more personal level.  My best friend back at home has autism, but I do not let that stop our relationship.  We still go out for dinner, movies, and hang out at school as any two friends would.  I see it as my role to not only protect her from any bullying that comes her way, but to also push her to take advantage of the skills that her "disability" gives her.  For example, she is able to memorize hour long movies and television shows, and recite them word from word.  So I go to her with any and all trivia or ask her to recite something for when I need a good laugh.  The second way that I live by this commandment is that I am an ally in the social justice movement.  This includes me fighting for the Black Lives Matter movement, feminism, and for the LGBTQ+ community.  I am able to do this by going to protests and speaking my voice.  My fight for equality has gained national recognition, and I have even talked at a Smithsonian museum about challenges that I have faced during the fight for equality.  To me, this mitzvah plays a major part in my Jewish identity because of the emphasis that there is on social justice in Judaism.  The values that I learn from Torah and Midrash are the values that I live my everyday life with, and I am proud to say that I am not only an ally, but that I am a Jewish ally.  


     The picture above is me, and a few friends that you might recognize, protesting the dress code at URJ Heller High by putting on many layers.  We had on long skirts, pants under our skirts, winter jackets, hats, gloves, and anything else that would cover up our bodies in order to show the absurdness of the schools dress code.  This came to be after we were told to switch out of our shorts, even though we were simply spending the day around Tzuba.  This picture means a lot to me because it shows that no matter where you are, you can always fight for equality and what is right.

     In the end, the commandment that "You shall not insult the deaf, or place a stumbling block in front of the blind" is one that I live my everyday life with.  I would not know who I would be if I did not fight for what was just and equal.  I hope that everybody takes this commandment into heart, and will join me in becoming a Jewish ally.

Comments

  1. UnknownOctober 17, 2017 at 9:01 AM

    I really like this post Dani <3. First of all, what you said about guiding and guarding those who need your help is really fascinating. My brother was born with Apraxia, which is a severe motor speech disorder. When he was a new born, the doctors told my mom that my brother was mute. From that day on, my mom did every single thing in her power to help my brother. She did hours of research every night, trying to find the best speech therapist in the country to help my brother. My brother started going to speech every day after school for hours and this continued until my brother was in about 4th grade, then he started going a few times a week. When my brother was in fourth grade his teacher was shocked that he even had a slight speech disorder. Now my brother doesn't shut up, but that makes me so happy, hearing him go on and on when he was never supposed to speak. My mom is like my brothers hero and I was like my brothers side kick, when he was younger no one understood what he said, not even my dad! I understood my brother. I don't really know how, but I used to translate what he would say.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Dani GottliebOctober 18, 2017 at 7:21 AM

      Thank you for sharing this, I have a similar story with my brother. Would love to talk to you about it.

      Delete
  2. UnknownOctober 17, 2017 at 11:23 AM

    Dani! I absolutely love you and this picture and post. When I was in kindergarten my mom signed me up to be a peer responder and help kids with autism make friends. I continued this program throughout the rest of my elementary school years and I continue to do so in high school, just a slightly different program. My family also has spent our thanksgiving for the past 21 years serving homeless shelters in my dad's restaurant and buying the kids gifts. I believe that you should do everything in your power to help those in need when you can, and I love everything you said about its importance to you.

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