By Ariella Gottfried

The Spanish Inquisition- 1478

Judaism was forbidden in Spain. Jews were either banished, executed, or were hidden as Christians. If they were hidden, most of the time they were betrayed by their neighbors, individuals in the community, or even people that they may have considered their friends.

Communist Russia- 1922

Anyone who failed to obey the Communist law was either put in prison, exiled to labor camps, or killed. Families were torn apart, and more often than not, were never reunited. Fathers could be arrested on the spot for practicing Judaism, and his children would likely never see him again.

The Holocaust- 1941

At first, Jews were segregated from society. Shortly after, they were being thrown into concentration camps and murdered. Children were starved to death. People were killed by the millions in gas chambers. Over six million Jews were slaughtered to death by Nazi Germany.

It just does not end. History is getting repetitive of all the pain, sorrow, and torture we have been through. Our ancestors were persecuted just for being Jewish. They wished they could take pride and celebrate their religion openly. Their only longing was to practice Judaism with joy, but they were not able to.

However, in the 21^st century, we no longer have the harsh laws and restrictions as there were then. We are free to practice our religion with no regulations and without being persecuted for it. In the times of our ancestors, their only wish was to just be Jewish. That is all they were asking for. Now, when we have the freedom to be Jewish, we should have the longing to practice it openly with celebration. We should use this freedom as an opportunity to express to the world how we, the Jewish people, are the chosen nation and that no matter how hard anyone tries to destroy us, Hashem is on our side.

We live in a world full of good and bad. There are millions of different cultures and societies all across the globe. We are so different in every way, shape, and form. We have our values, standards, and morals. The phrase "you're unique, you're different from everyone else, you're special" is a phrase that we quite often hear parents telling their children and teachers telling their students. But at home and in school, I was always taught "our nation is unique, our nation is different from all the other nations in the world, our nation is special." That is something that I continue to remember every single day.

Growing up and learning about my ancestors, I was always explained that the freedom of religion that we have nowadays is a privilege and that I needed to use that privilege and show the rest of the world how Jewish people behave. While I have always kept this in mind, I never thought that I would one day have a chance to encounter it myself. Little did I know that this opportunity was waiting for me.

I was once shopping with my friends, and we saw a group of non-Jewish teenagers acting disorderly and making a big scene at the store. I thought to myself, "how lucky I am that I live by the laws of the Torah and that I do not have the same standards. I am so proud that I do not act as they do." After they were done causing a scene, one of them noticed the Magen Dovid that I was wearing around my neck. They saw how mature and modest we acted. The teenagers looked a little ashamed and quite embarrassed at how they were acting, and they silently left the store. I took away so much from that experience and I truly felt grateful for the opportunity to feel different and special, even if it was just at a store.

My ancestors were not able to wave their flags and proclaim in the streets, "I'm a Jew and I'm proud." They did not have that overflowing feeling of happiness and joy that I do when I act differently and make a kiddish HaShem. My ancestors and I have the same Torah values, standards, and morals, but I have something they don't have: the ability to show how proud I am to be Jewish.