Photo by Rachel Olefson ’25.
Recently, as conflicts in Israel have made celebrating my Jewish faith more dangerous, my Hebrew name necklace has served as a reminder to keep my religious values close to my heart.
Ever since I was little, my dad has instilled in me that if I don’t respect my own religion, no one will. I went to Hebrew school every Tuesday from kindergarten to seventh grade, became a b’nai mitzvah alongside my sister and cousin and continue to participate in BBYO, a Jewish group for teens, to this day. But until recently, I had taken for granted how easily I was able to observe Judaism.
At the start of this school year, I came home to find a little black box with my name on it sitting on my kitchen island. I quickly and excitedly unwrapped the ribbon and shook the lid off the box as I hadn’t ordered anything in the mail and had no idea what was inside. What I found was a thin gold chain on either side of the three characters that spell out my Hebrew name. I immediately put the necklace on and thanked my mom for the surprise, going about my day as usual.
As I am a person of debilitatingly consistent habit and had worn the same butterfly necklace every single day for two years before receiving my new prized possession, the change in my routine sparked immediate interest from those around me. I found people asking, “what does your necklace mean?”, and would quickly respond that it was my Hebrew name, which happens to be the same as my English name, that the letters have vowels underneath them instead of within the word so my normally six-letter name has three in Hebrew, and that the letters are read right to left.
However, after the recent conflict in Israel, I’ve begun to wonder; what does my necklace really mean? Other than its direct translation, I think it has become a constant reminder to quite literally hold my faith close to my heart. I still wear my necklace every day, but have noticed myself becoming mindful at times. Should I tuck it into my shirt when I take the train to New York for the day? Is it even safe to wear it at school and around my own community?
But then I remember what my dad always told me. No matter how worried I might be for the Jews in Israel or even in America, if I don’t continue to respect and stand up for what I believe, I can’t trust that anyone else will, and it all starts with telling people what the chain around my neck means.