I am a Jewish and Black woman who once found it difficult to be comfortable in Jewish spaces. Of the many things I am grateful to my parents for, one is that they never forced me into environments where I didn’t feel secure. Instead, I was guided to understand both my Jewish and Black heritage and permitted to choose the spaces that served me. As a shy youth, I wasn’t comfortable standing out and felt safer with people who looked like me. Because of this, it was easier for me to participate in African dance classes than Torah study where I felt I would stick out like a sore thumb.
