My Jewish Journey: Irene Pollin

Let me begin this blog by saying, “I have never separated my Judaism from me.” I love being Jewish and everything that it means.

I am proud of my religion and my culture and what it has given me and continues to give me. I love the fact that you can be a “good Jew” whether it’s once a year or once a week.

It was the image I remember of my tiny Baba (barely five feet tall) sitting every day at her kitchen table, her head buried in the huge Torah, and the funny, a little off color, stories she told me when I was in bed with chicken pox. The pride I felt holding her hand as we walked into the synagogue on the High Holy Days and her four white-haired bearded brothers greeting us.

I am experiencing the joy of being Jewish participating in the joyful Sabbath celebrations of my granddaughter and her daughters. As they hold hands and sing the prayers, I feel again the beauty being Jewish can give you and what my Baba Shifra gave me.

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