George MacDonald’s celebrated masterpiece, Lilith, recounts the story of Mr. Vane and his sojourn through another world. In chronicling the five voyages Vane makes to this mysterious realm, MacDonald hauntingly explores the life, death, and ultimate mystery of salvation. MacDonald juxtaposes theology and fantasy using profound symbolism. I liken my own experiences with American Judaism, as experienced at The Hillel Center to this fantastic theological allegory. It has been a voyage through a fantastic land, rich in thought, beauty and symbolism. In what follows, I chronicle my own cross-cultural journey as a Christian, non-American, seminary student experiencing the American Jewish experience in an undergraduate student context.
My Experiences in Context:
Considering the fact that American culture typically includes men and women studying and working together, I was surprised to notice during the Yom Kippur service that the men and women worshiped in the same place, but with a partition separating them, following the …show more content…
Challah bread is made for donating money to the poor . Since the Hillel encourages students to spend some time in volunteer work, the making of Challah bread was a separate event altogether. This manes that students come to the Hillel to make and bake Challah and, later the Hillel sells this bread to raise money for the poor. This experience helped me get to know the students and hear some of their stories. Most of the male students were gay men, who were eager to help with the making of this bread. I remind the reader that coming from a Pakistani culture, I did not envision gay people in the Jewish culture. I observed that these students were very eager to make the bread and unconcerned about “getting credit” for the volunteer hours spent on the task. The process of making the Challah was very hygienic with everyone careful about washing hands before settling down to
My Experiences in Context:
Considering the fact that American culture typically includes men and women studying and working together, I was surprised to notice during the Yom Kippur service that the men and women worshiped in the same place, but with a partition separating them, following the …show more content…
Challah bread is made for donating money to the poor . Since the Hillel encourages students to spend some time in volunteer work, the making of Challah bread was a separate event altogether. This manes that students come to the Hillel to make and bake Challah and, later the Hillel sells this bread to raise money for the poor. This experience helped me get to know the students and hear some of their stories. Most of the male students were gay men, who were eager to help with the making of this bread. I remind the reader that coming from a Pakistani culture, I did not envision gay people in the Jewish culture. I observed that these students were very eager to make the bread and unconcerned about “getting credit” for the volunteer hours spent on the task. The process of making the Challah was very hygienic with everyone careful about washing hands before settling down to