The Justice

Throughout American history, Jews have contributed a great deal to the nation. Polish immigrant Haym Solomon, for example, financed George Washington's troops and was a loyal member of the Sons of Liberty. Yet due to the small number of Jews in the country, many Americans have never met a Jew. This situation, which still remains largely unchanged, generates a huge amount of ignorance about Judaism.

In high school, I witnessed the effects of ignorance about Judaism many times. Fellow students often asked about things like Jews' supposed ruthlessness in business or putting blood in matzah, a ritual food eaten on the holiday of Passover. None of these people were genuine anti-Semites, but their total ignorance led them to ask rather offensive questions.

Considering the above examples of ignorance, it is clear that a lack of knowledge about Jewish values can have rather negative results in society.

What makes Brandeis a remarkable place is its ability to promote an understanding of Jewish values that combats this ignorance. Although these values stem from Jewish teachings, it is hard not to see how morals such as charity, justice and equality can apply to all peoples. Furthermore, these Jewish values are at the core of the University's principles, so students can still appreciate them even without any knowledge of the religion. In this way, Brandeis is able to fight ignorance by cultivating these values in its students, Jews and non-Jews alike.

Of course, most non-Jewish students at Brandeis would never even consider many of the stereotypes about Jews to be true. However, many students admit that a general lack of knowledge about Jewish values was commonplace before coming here. In an interview with the Justice, Brandeis alumnus Paul Regan '73 said that before Brandeis, he didn't know any Jews personally and "had no knowledge of Jewish practices."

Although Regan had no particular opinion on Judaism before coming to Brandeis, his experience with Jews and Jewish values certainly informed his views on morality and justice. Referring to his time here, Regan said: "At Brandeis … I was given a scholarship … by people who were not of my religion. I was particularly unqualified. I hadn't even taken the SATs. But someone who was Jewish thought I had enough potential, and someone else who was also Jewish thought they should give me a chance. So I thought, based on my experience, that if I ever had the opportunity to help anyone like [me], I would."

Continued...

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