Last year I went to an orthodox Jewish school. There were varying levels of observance, but all the kids and half the teachers were Jewish. We had a dual curriculum: mornings in Judaic studies, afternoons in secular subjects. The school day was 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. with ten periods a day.

My favorite Judaic class was Gemara, a study of ancient scholars’ logic and their  dialogue over the traditional laws. But lordy, it was hard. The main skill I acquired was how to spend some quality time with the shelf of dictionaries.

To study Gemara, we had to translate ancient Aramaic (a dead language) into English. Problem: I do not speak Aramaic. Hence, my dictionary became a close companion. The hard part was then translating the English we came up with into English that makes sense, then understanding the importance of our results. Despite the struggle, the challenge was exciting.

Now, at U Prep, I am constantly in shock at the difference of worlds. At the start of the year, I missed five days of school for Jewish holidays and spent some quality time explaining why I do, pretty pretty please, need an extension on just about everything, thank you very much.

Everyone has been more than nice, but it doesn’t make it easier to accept things I cannot do. The Sabbath is a day of ‘rest’ every Saturday that for some includes prayer at synagogue. The day has many restrictions, including limitations on technology usage, driving, and work (defined to include a wide series of things including writing).

Sports at U Prep are not an option. I keep the Sabbath and live too far away to walk to Saturday practices and games. No biggie, sports are not really my thing.

Homework isn’t really my thing either, but seeing as just about anyone could say that, I suffer through it just like the next person. Unfortunately, while the greater U Prep community has the whole weekend to finish those hours of labor, I am stuck doing it all day Sunday.

It is all good and fun though! My previous school had weekend homework too. The difference was that all the teachers were aware that most of the students would not work on Saturday, and assignments were planned accordingly.

I knew it would be a challenge for myself to stay sane while respecting my own Jewish beliefs here, what I did not know was how little other people would comprehend. No need to go out of your way to accommodate me, just know that I will not eat your food because of the laws of Kosher that I hold. Know that going to prom the last night of passover (April 30) may be next to impossible for me. Know that I am different.

By: Yoela Zimberoff