Open the Door to OpenDor Media & Unpacked for Educators
Posted on 07/08/2022 @ 06:00 AM
Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash
“Keeping in touch with my Jewish identity
while on campus was something
that I struggled with…”
Do you worry about young people keeping in touch with their Judaism at college?
My name is Aviva Edrich and I am the Teen Department Associate at the Center for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE).
As a 22-year-old that graduated college a year ago, keeping in touch with my Jewish identity while on campus was something that I struggled with.
I often found it hard to make friends with other Jewish students at the small private university in the middle of rural Florida that I attended. The few Jewish students that went to my school made more of an effort to blend in and not stand out as Jews.
Living a traditional Jewish life at home and having attended Hebrew school, I was confident in my Judaism and proud to show it off. That confidence waned a little when I attended college and I found that I had to defend or explain my Judaism on a daily basis.
For example, one Friday night I was walking to Hillel when a group of my (non-Jewish) friends stopped me and asked where I was going. When I told them I was going to Hillel for Shabbat, they looked very puzzled and asked, “What is Shabbat?”
At the time, I answered them to the best of my ability, but I really wish I had known about this video from Unpacked for Educators called, Jewish Ritual: the Secret to Community?
I would have shared this video with them because it very clearly explains:
- What Shabbat is and why it’s important to the Jews
- That keeping Shabbat is one of the most important parts about being Jewish
- Lastly, because it’s in the Ten Commandments, it’s something we share with Christians, even if many of them don’t celebrate it the same way we do.
Unpacked for Educators boasts a multitude of great online resources for teens and adults, including Jewish educational and informational videos, articles and more.
And best of all, they are free and easy to share!
That’s why I want to introduce you to Unpacked for Educators, a leading creator of Jewish film content since 2009.
CAJE and the Greater Miami Jewish Federation financially contribute to Unpacked for Educators, because it produces high quality, relevant, and engaging films, podcasts, TikTok's, Instagram posts and more all about Judaism and Israel.
Over the next few weeks, CAJE will be exploring the resources that you can find on this amazing website for yourself and for others.
For more information about Open Dor Media / Unpacked for Educators or anything about fighting antisemitism on campus, contact Aviva Edrich Avivaedrich@caje-miami.org
