By Talia Schmidt, Special to JTNews
I love the High
Holidays. Rosh Hashanah is among the highest of holidays in
Judaism and it is a chance for all Jews to wipe their slates
clean and begin anew. This aspect is particularly appealing
to me as a Jewish teen. It gives me the opportunity to try
and be a better person earlier in the secular calendar. I
don’t have to wait until January 1 to start following the
resolutions I have set for myself. I can encourage myself to
stop gossiping, focus more on homework, and to work on my
conversational Hebrew as much as possible before my December
visit. Yom Kippur is of equal importance. My family always
takes off school and work for these holidays to attend
temple, yet it always presents problems.
I usually let my
teachers know I will be gone a few days in advance, to give
them warning and to allow myself to grab make-up work. They
then proceed to tell me that we have a test planned for that
day, or a debate. Somehow, Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur seem
to always fall on the day of my first Physics lab or my
first math test of the year.
This can be
really frustrating, especially since my math teacher offers
extra credit on her tests only to those who are present in
class that day – none given to make-up students. I find
myself penalized for actions I cannot control. I’ve had
teachers plan one of three field trips of the year on Rosh
Hashanah and not even realize it until it is too late. I’ve
been scolded by teachers for missing two days of school
within the first month, their eyes boring into me, as if to
assume I’m just an apathetic student trying to get out of
school.
I soon prove them
wrong, but to have to defend myself in the name of Judaism
is ridiculous. It’s hard going to a high school of 1,600
students where no more than a small minority are Jewish. I
won’t even go into the time I felt so left out of my group
of friends that I begged my parents endlessly for a Hanukkah
bush. And don’t get me started on how ignorant people are,
at school, at the mall, at restaurants, when they
automatically repeat "Merry Christmas" without bothering to
care if I celebrate it or not.
But one of the
worst experiences came this year. I’m the editor-in-chief of
my high school newspaper, and my co-editor and I always look
for fun activities for our staff to participate in.
University of
Washington’s Journalism Day for high school students was
coming up and we were excited to attend. My excitement soon
faded as I frantically realized the date was set for Rosh
Hashanah. I felt a plethora of feelings at that moment, but
most of all I felt angry. How could UW do this? How could a
respected university offer a huge workshop on the first day
of the Jewish New Year? I gave up hope, for not only would
my parents refuse to let me go, but I wouldn’t want to give
them the satisfaction of taking away my holiday. I of course
ended up missing the day at UW, something that still
infuriates me weeks later.
All I ask is,
that teachers simply look at their calendars when planning
their schedules. I understand that they shouldn’t have to
re-arrange their itineraries, but Jewish holidays are
written in any calendar, so it shouldn’t be too much to ask
to at least acknowledge the religious days, or, at the very
least, appear understanding when a student has to miss
school right at the beginning. Perhaps I’ll have to wait
till college to get some respect. Until then