Dear all,
I met Dakotta a few weeks ago at an event. He was the only person in the room wearing a yarmulka. By itself, that didn't intrigue me.
The fact that he appeared to be from the Indian subcontinent – that intrigued me.
It's not everyday you see someone from India wearing a kippa!
So we talked.
Dakotta comes from the Jewish community of Cochin, India. Records show that Jews first arrived there following the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE.
At one point in the conversation, he asked me, “Are you Jewish?”
I laughed for a long time! And it really made me think… Here I was wondering who he was. But at the end of the day, the deeper question is “Who am I?”
What is my place in the world?
How will my actions shape the future?
What can I do to make the world better?
Am I Jewish? …. Am I living Jewishly?
We often spend time trying to understand others. But we should remember to take a moment in time to understand ourselves.
With love and shalom,
Rabbi Zach Shapiro
