Last year, I transferred from a secular school to a Jewish Day School. My reasons for deciding to transfer sophomore year actually had nothing to do with my religion. I had no intention of attending any type of religious school. I personally am not the most religious individual, so I always assumed a Jewish education after Hebrew school was not for me. When The Leffell School in Hartsdale, New York, came up as an option, I was quick to think I was not interested in Judaism enough to go there. I also was worried my lack of religious practices in my home life would isolate me from the other students. However, after visiting for the first time, it became clear to me that this was not the case.

Every Jew is welcome at Leffell regardless of the level of Judaism they practice, and no one cares if their friends are religious or not. When I entered the building, I was welcomed by a group of nice girls who quickly became friends. The administration made sure I had a group of people to show me around the halls and explain everything to me. After knowing them for only a month, I felt like I had known them forever. I was nervous that I would be known as the new girl and just be dismissed by my peers who already had set friend groups, but everyone was not only excited to meet me but also quick to include me and consider me a part of the group.

I joined Leffell a few months after October 7th, which unfortunately was a commonly ignored topic at my previous school. I would regularly overhear anti-Zionist comments and even heard that one younger Jewish student had a peer send her antisemitic messages on Instagram. I thought that even wearing a Star of David necklace to school could cause an argument or worse. Leffell works to fight against antisemitism, and almost every student can regularly be spotted showcasing a symbol of Jewish pride. My views on Israel no longer felt dangerous. The entire school regularly comes together for Israel support programs and even offers bussing to rallies. Most students at Leffell are also vocal advocates for Israel outside of school; some even take part in organizing youth-for-Israel events. Thanks to events like these, I now know so much more about our home country and how to defend it. I used to be fearful of wearing a Star of David in New York City or reposting Zionist content, but now I can do it without second-guessing. I know that I have an entire community behind me. Leffell taught me not to be afraid of my Judaism and gave me the courage to combat antisemites.

Of course, even with the diverse levels of religiousness across the school, Leffell is still a Jewish school with Jewish values. Tefilah, the morning service, is held daily after the first class period. Students are also required to take Tanakh, Talmud, and Hebrew classes. This was originally something I was worried about because a lot of my peers had been attending this type of school almost all their lives, and I was only joining in high school. This meant adding three more classes that I was not familiar with to my schedule later in my high school career. I originally thought that I would be uninterested in these classes, which would affect my performance and lower my final GPA as a result. Luckily, Leffell offers the Akiva program for students who start these classes later. This program allowed me to slowly ease into Jewish education at my own pace. To my surprise, I actually found learning about the Jewish laws and stories very interesting. Now that I take Jewish studies classes, I feel a deeper connection to my religion.

As for praying, it is definitely not my favorite because I still am not very religious. I also do not understand the translation of many of the prayers. Davening in a big organized group is, of course, an important practice in Judaism. It may feel boring for less invested people, which was what I felt at first, but then I learned more and realized that coming together for services is a huge part of Jewish communities. They definitely are not the most stimulating times, but coming together and practicing our religion makes us feel like one group. Whether we are with a group of close friends or just happen to meet other Jewish people on the street, sharing moments of prayer connects us to one another. The school is aware that having a very serious service every day can be hard for high school students, so on every non-Torah reading day, we break up into smaller groups for Tefilah. The groups range from traditional Orthodox davening to a yoga minyan. Students can choose whichever group resonates with their Jewish identity the most. Participating in more interesting ways of davening alongside a smaller group of friends showed me that there is no specific way of being Jewish. In my current group, we are able to interpret the brachot by comparing their meanings to current events and personal experiences. The text becomes easier to understand when it is explained with a real historical event. Now that I have a way of understanding the prayers that I am saying, I am so much more appreciative of them.

Attending a Jewish Day School has changed my view on Judaism for the better. I have a much better understanding of my faith and truly believe in it because I want to and not because I have been told to. I am no more religious than I was before starting to attend Leffell, but I now have a much greater spiritual understanding of my religion. I cannot say I definitely believe that there is a higher power or that the stories in the Torah truly happened, but now I know that to be Jewish, you do not need to hold the same ideas as others. There are so many different ways to interpret all Jewish texts, and each individual has their own way of Judaism. If I had never chosen to attend a Jewish Day School, I would have never been able to embrace my religion and develop the understanding I currently have. My religious level may not have changed, but my ideas behind the religion certainly have. I used to think Judaism was just something genetic I inherited from my family and not very important, but Leffell showed me how lucky I was to be born into it. Judaism is a very diverse and fun religion to learn about. Being surrounded by peers who come from all types of Jewish backgrounds is fascinating to see. We all share the fact that we are Jewish, but we are not all Jewish in the same way. No matter what our practices at home are, we all come together to embrace our religion at school. My views on Judaism have changed so much since I started at Leffell, and the only thing I regret is not joining sooner.