Zoie Wittenberg is one of the few orthodox teenage girls in her community in Atlanta, Georgia. She is firm in her beliefs and continues her growth on Euro ICE. Here are a few of her thoughts regarding her experience on tisha b’av and about her growth on this program:
Yesterday, being Tisha Ba’Av, we spent the day talking about the main reason behind the destruction of the Second Temple: sinat chinam or baseless hatred. People shared personal stories and opinions on the subject of hatred. I came away from the night feeling both incredibly inspired and unbelievably angry, angry that sinat chinam is still a problem. Angry that my Ohana, my brothers and sisters on this program, has to put up with constant hate. When it was my turn to speak, I told a story that pained me to recollect, then I retold what my mother told me: These are opportunities to educate the world on the truth, to advocate for G-d, and to support each other. It is our job to set an example of a hate-less nation. It is our honor to show the world the truth.
I was born in the last year of the twentieth century.
I have two Jewish parents.
I practice my religious beliefs, all my beliefs for that matter.
I love G-d and serving Him.
I am supposedly lucky to have been born when I was.
I live in “an accepting world,” one “full of lovers,” “the twenty-first century.”
Yet
I leave my town to find judgmental hateful people.
I encounter hatred towards me because I am Jewish.
I must hide who I am.
I hide my Hebrew necklace.
I pocket my siddur.
I cover my father’s kippah with a hat.
I hide myself.
Now
I am traveling Europe with a Jewish group.
I hear the boys getting snapped at to put on a hat.
I witness chaos unfold every time we practice Judaism in public.
I am a victim of baseless hatred.
Yesterday
I told my tale of being victimized by baseless, anti-Semetic hatred.
I listened to countless others tell their tales.
I was told that it was my fault for not giving back to end this.
I feel that it is quite difficult to be a savior while I am crumpled on the floor.
I was implored not to hate back.
I find it hard when they hated me first.
Although
I was told that at the end of days
I along with all of my brothers and sisters will teach G-d’s ways.
I will bring an end to baseless hatred against me, you, and every other creation made in the image of G-d.
I know that we lost G-d’s home away from home to countless acts of baseless hatred.
I also know that the only way to bring it back it to abolish it from Earth.
So
I may live in the twenty-first century.
I may be free.
I may live in an open neighborhood.
I still cannot be me.
I wait for the day to come for the day to come when I can teach the world to love.
I want to live by example.
I want to be an educator of G-d’s ways.
I want to wear my necklace proudly.
I want to hold my siddur out and pray.
I want to see my father’s kippah worn proudly.
I want to show myself.
I want an end to baseless hatred.
As a group, we have been working on defeating baseless hatred within ourselves. Between “DMC’s” including two or three people discussing our backgrounds and life stories, Rabbi Lashak’s shirim about the tikkun and purpose of each individual on this Earth, and studying various sefarim that educate about the tzelem Elokim with each of us with a chavruta we have learned to better appreciate the power and importance within every single human being. I, for one, know that I have grown drastically in the character trait of hakarat hatov, appreciation for the good, not only for the things in life, but also the people. Our focus as a group has been to discover the good within everyone to remove any baseless hatred that may have existed. We expect more of each other now, more love, more appreciation; we are each planning to bring these valuable life lessons with us back home to work to create a hate free world to hasten the coming of Mashiach.
