Sometimes people ask what kind of Jew I am. I know what they mean— Reform, Conservative, Just Jewish, etc. But I’ve taken to answering with the only answer that makes sense— “My Judaism is political.”
This was inevitable. Shabbat dinners in my home were accompanied by discussions of local elections, presidential candidates, and what bills were in the legislature. Occasionally, my parents would tell stories of their activism in college and beyond—anti-war protests, protecting Black students as they occupied administration buildings. Passover was political—liberation at the center meant poetry about freedom and breaking bondage.
My politics and my Judaism have never been separated, and I believe that to be an intentional choice from my mother and father. Why divide these things that are so deeply informed by one another? Even when the world has made it seem gauche to link the two, my parents continue to remind me that at the center of my Jewish upbringing is justice, and that my political fire is fueled by my Jewish heritage. Any attempt to divide the two is dishonest to my family tradition.
So, they raised a political Jew, one who takes seriously my parents’ messages of liberation in the center of our faith tradition. I am so grateful for that gift, among many.
Emilia Diamant, LCSW, is an educator, facilitator, and justice seeker.
www.emiliadiamant.com
