Blog: From Harlem to Jerusalem

As a young woman who decided in her early 20s to become Orthodox, my life has been anything but boring. I grew up with a tight knit family, went to a reform synagogue, attended inner city schools and learned how to interact with all walks of life at a young age. Those friendships I still hold onto dearly. After my high school graduation I was accepted to a college in NYC and soon enough I was living in the city that never sleeps. I found a cute apartment in Spanish Harlem where many people are too afraid to walk even in broad daylight.

Ironically, living in Harlem taught me a lot about myself. I was well respected in the area for being a Jewish woman and the Muslim community would remind me daily that we are brothers and sisters whenever I would walk into their corner stores. They even offered to hold my keys on Shabbat for me because there was no erev in Harlem

I had a special connection with the Chabad of Harlem and every Shabbat I would walk 1.5 miles to Shul each way. People thought I was insane for walking at night but not a single soul bothered me. I would certainly see from time to time crime scenes, drug trafficking and other forms of activity that I wish my eyes didn’t have to witness but nonetheless I was kept perfectly safe by the Almighty G-d.

B’H, recently I became a married woman and made Aliyah from NYC with my husband. I am going to share with you one of my first encounters with Anti-Semitism in Israel and how I handled it.

It was a gorgeous night for a walk through the Jewish quarter of the Old City with my husband and dear friends. The Kotel was hustling and bustling with people of all walks of life singing, dancing and taking in the beauty of Motzei Shabbat in the Old City. One thing that I truly admire about Jerusalem’s Old City is the diversity everywhere you look. From Belz, to Dati Leumi, to the secular Israeli soldier davening at the Kotel with an M16… it is quite an amazing site to see. It definitely feels like a place where a Jew can be a Jew.

As we made our way through the Jewish quarter I saw a disturbing site. I couldn’t believe my eyes. There was a guy marching right towards us like a Nazi, literally with his arm out hail Hitler style…I never came across someone so cold in my life! I was shocked. This was only a few days after 4 Jewish people were brutally killed in France. My heart sunk into my chest and that’s when I reacted boldly. I forgot for a split moment I was religious woman wearing a sheital and right then and there told him off. I censored my language which I probably wouldn’t have if I wasn’t representing the beautiful Jewish people. Frankly, I wanted to punch him but that wasn’t the answer either. Instead my friends and I asked him do you know where you are? Do you have any idea what that symbol represents? The man looked at us with silence and was shocked that we said anything. It seemed he was intimidated just how outnumbered he was and he kept on his way.

I thankfully kept my composure and walked away too BH not in hand cuffs for pummeling him (It’s the Harlem girl in me)! I prayed for him that he should have a Refuah Shlema! I felt the need to get this story out there for one main reason and that is the lesson we learn from the Holocaust, that it should never happen again. Anti-Semitism is clearly on the rise and we must rally together as Klal Yisael to show zero tolerance.