Religion

Jewish practices that seemed like archaic, irrational rituals to us in Jewish Day School have oddly crystallized into meaning here in Kenya.

Two examples:

1. I remember in 9th Grade Rabbi Bienenstock told us how he could never be alone in a room with a woman who was not his wife, and if he was, he had to leave the door open. This applied even during teacher-student and extra-curricular meetings. The reactions ranged from "that's sexist" (the girls) to "that's stupid" (the boys). But here in Nairobi I've come to find that that is in fact standard practice among some of the most liberal international refugee NGOs. If a male NGO-worker is meeting with a female refugee, he is by protocol required to act as if he in an Orthodox Jew.

2. When keeping Kosher, you're required to wait a certain number of hours (it varies) between eating meat and milk. The reactions in Jewish Day School ranged from "that makes total sense" (the religious kids) to "that's stupid" (everyone else). But now in the Yoga class I'm taking here in Nairobi, the teacher tells us to wait at least two hours between when we eat and when we do yoga. Rabbi Bienenstock would love it here.