How do you two know each other?

There’s something very special about being and having grown up Jewish. I don’t always realize it until other people are so surprised by things. My whole life I have been teaching my peers about our customs. All through elementary and junior high school I would do mini-workshops teaching about Hanukkah or Rosh Hashanah. We have great holidays. They are mostly very interactive and there are a LOT of them throughout the year. In high school I was super-involved in Jewish youth movements and camps, and in college I was involved in a few of the ones designed for that stage of life. Everyone knows about Jewish geography. It’s a fun little game, and a nice way to feel comfortable with people you don’t know very well. Also, it’s a useful tool for making friends in a new setting. And I think most of us will find that, if all parties are Jewish, there is never more than 3 degrees of separation (contrary to the secular 6 degrees of separation). So you meet someone and you find out where they are from, and you say, “do you know Plony Alony? I went to Israel with him” and BAM! You have a new friend. Because you already have a friend in common. But somehow our Jewish connections go beyond that.

I started my new job about 6 weeks ago. In that time I’ve gotten to know a few people around the office. And once in a while my eyes hurt from staring at the monitor too long, and I’ll make a couple social rounds. Every time I talk to this one IT guy, someone walking by will say “How do you two know each other?” I guess we have a familiarity with one another that isn’t present in most new friendships. But it comes from a shared history. This guy and I had very similar childhoods, live in the same part of town, and often have similar plans on the weekends. We are both somewhat observant, and we have some friends in common (of course!) And I am always so taken aback when people ask us how we met. But given that this is the third or fourth time, I must confess there is something there. And it goes beyond our Jewish Geography. We both come from a rich tradition that teaches us to take care of our own and stick together. I would not be a bit surprised if we end up sharing a Shabbat meal in the near future.