Living in a world with over 4000 religions, coexistence and representation are essential to establishing diversity across the globe. The tenth largest religious group in the world is Judaism with a history spanning over 3,000 years. Originating in the Middle East, Judaism is one of the most ancient monotheistic religions that represents roughly 14.3 million people as of 2015.

Sophomores Gabby Harmoning and Ethan Less grew up Jewish and have never questioned their devotion to the religion because it has become such an integral part of their lives.

“I was very distant from being a Jew when I was younger but then I found people I enjoyed being at temple with,” Harmoning said.

Since her interest grew, she tries to get every Jewish kid involved in their community.

“I haven’t realized or thought about how much [being a Jew] affects my life at this point,” Harmoning said.

At St. Paul Academy and Summit School, there is greater Jewish representation compared to other school’s who have less cultural diversity and the minority is oftentimes only a couple students out of 500.

“I feel a sense of pride being part of a tight knit, unique group of people that makes up about 2% of the U.S., and still manages to thrive,” Less said.

“I love the fact that we have a lot of kids that are Jewish here and I think that’s an amazing thing,” Harmoning said.

Harmoning is glad that SPA is so accepting and flexible about Jewish holidays like Yom Kippur.

“The fact that we got a Jewish holiday off is amazing because now I’m not missing two days of school for going to do one thing that’s really important in my life,” she said.

Recently, a new student group was started called the Muslim Student Alliance which informs students on topics about Islam and what it’s like being Muslim. Harmoning was inspired by this and claims she has “always wanted to start a club” for Jews.

Because there’s a lesser presence of Judaism at SPA, Harmoning hopes to integrate Jewish culture into the community so they can share their experiences. the culture and everyday life.

To spread Jewish knowledge and values, Harmoning dedicates a lot of her time at temple by working with kids.

“I work in childcare on Sundays and on Wednesdays, I work in remedial Hebrew so I’m helping kids who have fallen behind or need extra help with learning their prayers,” Harmoning said.

She is also on her temple’s youth group board called the St. Paul Organization of Reform Temple Youth (SPORTY) board.

“It’s a smaller part of a larger organization for teens called NFTY,” she said.

It creates a space where reform Jewish kids have a place to come together and discuss ideas. Harmoning is the Social Action Vice President at her temple. She makes sure the kids are aware of what’s going on in the Jewish community whether it’s in the Twin Cities or the whole entire world.

“I see a lot of kids who don’t watch the news or pay attention and the way they’re learning is [through] history [lessons] and how [the material] connects to [current events] and that’s something that’s always important to me,” she said.

Less helps out as well as a member of his synagogue’s youth group board where he helps plan programs for Jewish teens. At synagogue, Less celebrates all the major Jewish holidays and participates in Shabbat evening or morning services.

“When I’m at synagogue, it’s usually for USY (synagogue youth group) or Shabbat services. At services, I participate in prayer, talk to friends, and sometimes I read Torah,” Less said.

Less used to go to Jewish Day school and learn Hebrew and studies Torah daily.

“It’s a fun thing to read Torah because there are symbols that represent musical pitches assigned to each word, but in the scroll read to the congregation, there are no symbols with the words. This requires the person who is reading to memorize the musical pitches, and when they read in front of the congregation, they have to put the musical pitches they studied  with the words.”

Less has incorporated Jewish culture into his everyday life outside of synagogue as well.

“Most Friday nights, my family lights the candles and has Shabbat dinner together… Shabbat is an amazing time where I get to take a break from school life and spend time being with my family. Often, it’s my favorite part of the week,” Less said.

Religion is a large component of identity and it shapes people’s experiences, beliefs, and values. Less and Harmoning are just two of the many students at SPA who preserve and embrace their Jewish culture.