Jewish Women's Group discusses the meaning of home

The Jewish Women's Group is a new initiative Hillel has started in order to bring together Jewish women, particularly those in Greek life, for meaningful discussion. The group meets once a month, aligning with Rosh Chodesh, the new moon. For our first meeting, we discussed the concept of home. We focused on mezuzahs and read and discussed the prayer held inside, the Shema (Deuteronomy 6: 4-9). First, each member of the group shared what makes a place feel like a home to us personally. We agreed that a home is somewhere we feel completely comfortable to be ourselves and know that we will be just as loved on our worst days as on our best. We then analyzed the words of the Shema. 

We compared the concept of God to life and how we should love life just as we are commanded to love God. We also discussed how we must pass these traditions onto our children and spread them to each new place we enter. Each group member shared her own experiences with mezuzahs, which evolved into a conversation about our unique ways of practicing and celebrating Judaism in our daily lives.  We also compared how the Jewish concept of home is similar to the ways that sororities strive to create a home for each of its members, including the idea of reaching out to others and making them feel included and important. Participating in this discussion made me think about the role Judaism plays in my daily life and interactions with others, whether I realize it or not. I enjoyed hearing how other group members expressed their Jewish values and affirming that even if our expressions are varied, they are all still well-founded. At the end, we were given our own mezuzahs to take home and had the opportunity to write our own prayers or thoughts to place inside. I have hung mine on the door to my room and love having this constant reminder of the positive role Judaism plays in my life inside of my home. If you have the chance to attend one of these discussions, definitely do!
​-- Amy Singer
Class of 2018