Who is the first Jew? Are you Jewish? Why would you want to be Jewish?
These are some of the questions that I get asked by visitors to the Jewish Museum Milwaukee. The majority of our group visitors are not Jewish and this is their first exposure to Jews and Jewish life.
For many students, the only thing that they have learned about Jews and Judaism is the Holocaust. For them, being Jewish means being harassed and killed, so the question about “why would you want to be Jewish” is key.
I am here at the museum to help students not only understand the horror of the Holocaust, but to provide them with a sense of the totality of the Jewish experience. Through their tour experience, we strive to engage visitors in the joy of holidays, the reasons for immigration and the development of community.
In presenting this broad view of Jewish history, we are able to show our visitors the complexity of Jewish life and the diversity of Jewish people. And students get this.
One teacher remarked that his students wondered before their visit if there were any Jews in the world; and after they came, they left with a sense of Jewish joy and excitement.
As Janessa, a Milwaukee Public School student, said, “The Jewish religion is very interesting. The celebrations sound so exciting to see. Although, the Hebrew was different, a little confusing, but now I want to learn more about it.”
We are one face of the Jewish community and we are here to translate the Jewish experience for children and adults, for African Americans, Latinos and Asians, for the Jewish and general community.
If you would like to say hineni, “I am here,” let me know. We will be starting a new docent class in October.
Ellie Gettinger is education director of the Jewish Museum Milwaukee, a program of the Milwaukee Jewish Federation.
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