We were at shul the other night baking fresh pita. (Yum - if you have never done this you should try - it is AWESOME!) Since we spend loads of time there, it is like a second home to us and there really is no need for LO to be at my side every moment. She usually plays in the school playground which is right outside the kitchen or she reads in the library. She is always sure to check in every now and then.
On this night, she apparently needed to use to the restroom. She ran by telling me she was going to the restroom and moments later she came back to the kitchen and had a very frightened look on her face. She said, "Mama, there were some ladies in the bathroom and they talked to me but they didn't look Jewish, so I didn't talk to them." Imagine my surprise after have just posted this when I heard coming out of my own child's mouth "they didn't look Jewish".
All the women in the kitchen stopped to listen to what would happen next. I asked her, "What do you mean they didn't look Jewish?" She replied, "I have never seen them in the synagogue before, so they must not be Jewish."
I explained that it was better to say that she didn't recognize them as people from the synagogue or as people that she knew. And I was certainly relieved that her explanation didn't include some form of stereotyping. I can only hope it will always be this way.
6 comments:
That is a good story.
Classic!
In light of your post a few days ago, that's a great one!
What a cute story -- you just never know how kids are going to phrase things, I guess.
Ha! Cute story.
Cute and instructive.
Once while riding a city bus in San Francisco's Chinatown I noticed a woman, clearly was Chinese-American, who wore a magen david pendant prominently. A quick double-take, then long moments of wonder and appreciation.
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