With the high holy holidays coming up, I started thinking about why I love being Jewish. Growing up I was very involved in my religion and going to college has given me a better sense of who I am as a Jewish woman and what it means to be Jewish.

The Pride

The Jewish religion has been around for more than three thousand years. Being Jewish is like being in a big family that is bigger than your own. We are apart of a history that has defined the odds and will always survive. The Jewish people have been killed, thrown out of countries and have been made of as a joke for years. But the Jewish people always come out strong in the end, we have survived for thousands of years and will always survive.

The Food

Food represents a culture, food in the Jewish religion is very important. With Rosh Hashana we have apples and honey to have a sweet New Year or matzo during Passover because the Jews didn't have enough time for the bread to leaven so now we eat a giant unsalted cracker for eight days, When people in the Jewish religion get together, there is always food! Matzoball soup to your uncles dry brisket that always brings jokes to the table. The food is a mix of the different cultures from eastern European to middle eastern food.

Family

Growing up I was taught family comes first. There's always that saying, "Blood is thicker than water," and that's true. The Jewish people have been through so much over the thousands of years and I think that is why everyone is so close. I love hanging out with my family and look forward to being around them for the holidays. My family like others I know is big, loud and nosy but I couldn't ask for a better family.

The Holidays

The Jewish holidays make up our religion. We have our own New Year, holidays for nature and even Hanukkah which lasts six days. Each holiday has a meaning and purpose. Like Passover, which we celebrate our liberation from slavery in Egypt. The holidays are about praying, eating and being with your family.

To always keep a positive attitude

Over thousands of years, the Jewish people have been through so much yet we always have a positive attitude. After the Holocaust, six million Jews were murdered and because of the Holocaust we have Israel. The Jewish people are a people who no matter what hardships they face, will always have a positive attitude about life. Having a positive attitude coincides with the pride the Jews have. We as a religion will always have pride and will always have a positive