Confirmation Pride

Here is a guest post from Laura, one of my amazing confirmation students I mentioned a few posts back:

Sitting on the steps of the Jefferson Memorial with the melodious prayers of the Havdalah service and the gentle playing of the guitar in the warm glow of our candle light, CBI’s Confirmation students came together with other Jewish teens in this beautiful separation from the Sabbath. I could not feel but an overwhelming sense of pride.


I had pride for our Confirmation class who revisited the tragedies displayed in the Washington D.C. Holocaust museum, and then made our voices heard so that congressional representatives understood that we were not going to tolerate injustice. We lobbied our representatives for economic justice, LGBT equality in the workplace, comprehensive immigration reform, reproductive rights, and for a greener America. I was proud to be among my friends, expressing our concerns so that “never again” would the Jewish voice be silenced.

I had pride for Reform Judaism. I was overwhelmed to be part of a religion that incorporates teachings from the Torah with political activism charged with the assurance of the safety of the oppressed. Pride for a religion that teaches acceptance and rejection, accepting those who are different and rejecting conformity and apathy. A religion that is spiritually individual and communal, where we have our own private prayers but there is always a network of support ready to celebrate and grieve as a whole loving unit. Pride for a religion that teaches the importance of knowledge and the importance of questioning, arguing, and disagreeing with the Torah, Rabbis, and other Jews.

On those stairs, all the years of Sunday religious school and Bat Mitzvah training started to make sense. I realized I was part of a community that is capable of being the voice of the silenced and leaders in making the necessary changes in our world today. We are supporters of fair, honest, and tolerant government and religion. I had pride for the Rabbi Michael Namath in charge of the L’Takein trip, expressing his great respect for Thomas Jefferson as a secular leader who upheld a value very important in Reform Judaism, separation of church and state. I am proud to be part of a religious movement that praises God and at the same time rationality and fair government. That night, it just ‘clicked’, from lobbying, to praying, from listening to homeless speakers pleading for change, to immersing in knowledge and vital controversial topics for the entire weekend. For me, at the memorial, I understood that perhaps Judaism is not just about God, the Ten Commandments, and bagels and shmear, but rather a lifestyle that motivates you to work hard, learn as much as you can, treat everyone with respect, favor the oppressed, and advocate for crucial change and protection of rights. That is when the true meaning (for me) of Reform Judaism was revealed, my friends around me with their singing voices giving thanks, and praising for a good week, underneath the colossal statue of President Jefferson, with the gentle playing of the guitar in the warm glow of our candle light.