NPR

Black, Jewish And Avoiding The Synagogue On The High Holy Days

It's one thing when outsiders don't recognize my faith. It's a different kind of sadness when I'm made to feel like a stranger in the synagogue.
Last time I worshipped in a synagogue was Sept. 5, 2014. And I won't be going today. / KeithBishop / Getty Images

Last time I worshipped in a synagogue was Sept. 5, 2014. And I won't be going today.

That might surprise my friends, who put up with my bragging ad nauseam about how Jewish I am.

You got a great deal on plane tickets? Reminds me of the time I took a free Birthright trip to Israel. Going skating? I haven't been on skates since my bat mitzvah reception, held at the roller skating rink in Villanova, Pa. You say you love the musicals of George Gershwin? Ha, that sounds just like Gershenfeld, my mother's maiden name, which is also

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