Jew Next...

By Lauren Belcher
Weekly Blog
Word Count: 217

There was this guy back in West Palm Beach, Fla. that ran karaoke night at McKenna's Place. He was clearly not from the United States, and had a very strong accent. He would repeatedly point his finger and say "Jew Next!" when the next singer was approaching the stage. My family and I found it hilarious...every time.

This is the extent of my background with Judaism.

But, thanks to a wonderful course at Flagler College taught by Professor Sarkio, by the end of the semester, I will be quite familiar with the faith.

The class is Advanced Reporting, and the assignment? 2,000 word literary journal. Basically, we need to go completely outside of our comfort zone for an extended period of time and create a compelling story out of our discomfort.

My discomfort? Religion. Especially ones that are really, really strong-willed.
My assignment? What is it like to be Jewish in a predominately Christian community?

So, in order to fulfill my assignment, I am submerging myself in the Jewish faith.

Despite being a devout agnostic turned atheist, I need to ignore all of my 'beliefs' and find out what theirs are.

I went to the synagogue, I rented books about Judaism from the library, and I talked to some Rabbis. Consider me, out of my comfort zone.

Image from Google Images