Do Jewish people eat lunch, Miss?
Or: What two months at the Jewish Museum taught me
by Natasha Isaac, Learning Team Intern
Natasha joined the Learning Team on our internship placement scheme in September 2014. Volunteering 4/5 days a week for 2 months, Natasha was a key part of our team from working with over 3700 students in our school workshops to helping to create learning resources. Natasha volunteered over 170 hours during her internship, which is an amazing achievement, and the Learning Team thoroughly enjoyed having her with us for 2 months. Below is Natasha’s own blog about her experiences here at the museum. – Frances Jeens (London Links Learning Programme Manager)
As I come to the end of my two months at the Jewish Museum I feel extraordinarily sad not to be able to work in such a bright, vibrant, and exciting place anymore. My internship here has been fantastic for many reasons, and I’d therefore like to explain why this institution needs your love and support.
I spent my time working in the Learning Team who are responsible for all the schools visits to the museum. No day was the same, even though we ran some workshops numerous times, the children, teachers and parents who barrel through the museum on a daily basis brought new questions and challenges every day. Whilst some of the enquiring minds produced rather bizarre queries I was asked some equally insightful and intelligent questions too. I think the way that I can best explain my experience is by answering some of the questions here.
Warning: questions are all 100% genuine but range from the sublime to the ridiculous.
1. Are we the only non-Jewish school who has visited the Museum?
Many students and teachers were surprised by the fact that the majority of visitors to the museum are not Jewish, as I was. Whilst I’ve been at the museum there have been schools who have schlepped from Cardiff just to do workshops with us and it has been a privilege to work with such engaging and enthusiastic students with a genuine interest in Jewish people. For most of the children, and even the teachers and parents, we will be the first Jewish people that they encounter, making their visit an experience which will hopefully make a bigger impact on their lives than they realise.
2. Do you use matza when you do Holy communion?
This, and the following question, were asked fairly frequently. Some of the educational sessions the museum runs involve food (no surprises there). I have never seen anyone as excited to taste matza as these school children before! Throughout the session ‘Journey Through the Jewish Year’ children are taken on a whirlwind tour through Passover, Rosh Hashannah, Chanukah and Shabbat, accompanied with all the appropriate stories and foods in the best traditions of Jewish teaching. Unsurprisingly, the food really makes an impact. When on an outreach programme to a school in Whitechapel one of the Year 8 students remembered visiting the Museum – what did they remember about the trip? Eating challah bread. This is brilliant. If a child in a predominantly Muslim environment has visited the Museum and remembered eating challah and how nice it was, at least a year on, the Learning Team must be getting it right. Drawing communities together through food is a time honoured tradition and it’s happening daily when we take school children on their ‘Journey Through The Jewish Year’. I’d love to know if other faith groups run similar programmes for school children, as these seem to really make an impact.
3. Is Jesus in the Torah?
Children regularly asked us about why we weren’t discussing stories about Jesus and told us various delightful versions of the Exodus and the Flood which featured Jesus pretty heavily. This really is the least of our worries, but it was interesting for me, as a Jewish person who went to a Church of England school, to see the prominent part that religion, God and Jesus play in the lives of some of these children. Many were visibly pleased to learn that the Jewish God is the same as the Christian God, even if understanding the fact that the Old Testament supposedly happened before Jesus proved challenging for them. When the museum teaches children about the Torah there is a heavy focus on the scribe or sofer (or even ‘sofa’ as most of the children preferred). One of the highlights of this workshop for me was hearing a Year 5 student tell me that he would like to be a scribe, but for his religion, when he grows up. Again, this workshop helped the students to learn about similarities between Judaism and their own religions, whether it be through comparison of the Arabic and Hebrew alphabets or via thinking about an illuminated Bible. It was a touching and meaningful experience for all.
4. Did Hitler like Jewish people?
No, your eyes do not deceive you, I was asked this by a student (I think a Year 6 girl), during a Holocaust and Kindertransport related workshop. At numerous points throughout my two months I have been impressed by students’ knowledge of Judaism and the Second World War but I have equally been incredibly surprised at their ignorance. I think it shows us that although many people seem to have a wide range of knowledge about the Holocaust and the persecution of Jewish people we still have to put in the effort. Many of us have made pledges to ‘keep the memory alive’ (incidentally the excellent theme of this year’s HMDT event) and by teaching even a few school children, and their teachers, about the Holocaust the Jewish Museum is making good on a promise that many British Jews have made to their émigré ancestors, and long may they continue.
5. Are you Jewish?
Unmistakably and irreverently yes. Working at the Jewish Museum has made me prouder than ever before to be Jewish, I have worn my Star of David prominently and I have thoroughly enjoyed explaining, and sometimes justifying, my background and history to Museum visitors.
And finally:
6. Do Jewish people eat lunch, Miss?
Yes, and then some.
