for college students by college students
Lively Discussion
Weekly J-Talk sessions bring topics into focus.
Nisim Nesimov } jewish@edu writer
T
hey say there are three things
you should never talk about
at the dinner table: money,
religion and politics. At J-Talk, a
weekly meeting of young Jewish
college students from Metro
Detroit, this adage is thrown out
the door.
Led by Rabbi Michele Faudem,
the 22 students come together
for 10 weeks to discuss a diverse
range of topics centered around
Judaism, all while enjoying a meal.
Oh, and the students are also given
$500 upon completion of the pro-
gram, an enticing proposition for
any college student.
The program is funded by the
Irwin and Bethea Green College
Life Fund through the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit.
At the onset of the program,
Rabbi Faudem asked each one
of us, “Why are you here?” After
throwing in “besides the $500,”
she had each of us explain what
made us take time out of our busy
college schedules to talk about
ancient scripture and related com-
mentary.
This question, simple as it was,
made me think. I attended Jewish
day school for 13 years at Hillel
Day School and the Frankel Jewish
Academy, so religious education is
nothing new to me. Yet, regardless
of how much I know about particu-
lar Jewish ideals or topics, I always
find a discussion inevitably leads
me to learn more. My answer was
that I wanted to learn more about
Judaism through a productive dia-
logue with others. So far, that is
exactly what has happened.
On the first day of discussion, I
was immediately intrigued by our
topic at hand, the stories of cre-
ation. Analyzing creation with ques-
tions such as why there are two
stories, what the stories symbolize,
and whether the stories conflict or
are in harmony with one another
Students partic-
ipate in a J-Talk
discussion session.
made for an exciting discussion.
Aside from the biblical text,
Rabbi Faudem brings in supporting
texts from various Jewish sources
to shed new light and perspective
on the discussion. Inevitably, the
discourse leads to disagreement,
yet the disagreement is consistent-
ly thoughtful and respectful, with
everyone contributing something.
Beyond the content of the dis-
cussions, J-Talk represents to me
a break from everyday life. For 90
minutes on Wednesday nights, all I
think about are the fascinating sto-
ries we are discussing, analyzing
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and grappling with. However, my
thoughts on the topics do not end
as soon as I leave. They carry with
me the rest of the week, as I try to
find ways to apply my new-found
knowledge in my everyday life.
In this sense, I have discovered
a utilitarian purpose to reflection.
It’s less about studying to abide
by any religious requirement, but
more about studying to find a piece
of tranquility which, while brief, is
something we could all use. @
Nisim Nesimov of West Bloomfield is a soph-
omore at Wayne State University studying
finance.
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November 22 • 2018
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