For me, faith and trust go together because if you meet a person and you get to know them and start to want to be friends with them, then you start to gain trust in them as you learn more about each other. And if they’re a good friend, they won’t share your secrets or talk about you to other people. And that continues to build trust.
Like my friend, Lucy. I’ve known her since Pre-K, and I absolutely trust her and tell her all kinds of things. Even if I tell her something that may not be a secret, she still keeps it to herself. Since I trust her so much, I also have faith in her that she’ll always look out for me. For example, if I get hurt, she’ll be the first one to find an adult (or be my crutch).
Faith and trust are also part of being Jewish because they are building blocks of our community. You can always count on your community to get stuff done and help make the world a better place. Our community also helps us fight racism and sexism and homophobia because we as Jews have faced those kinds of problems ourselves. Our past makes us nicer to each other and other groups of people. And Jewish people have faith in each other and our one God.
This summer I was in Peter Pan at the JCC. Being in a play also takes a lot of trust –you have to trust the other actors and have faith your director. In Peter Pan, you need faith, trust and pixie dust in order to fly. In real life, I think the pixie dust is the patience you need to have faith – to let things happen and trust that they’ll turn out for the best.
Nora Yesowitch is 9 years old and in 4th grade at Chantilly Montessori School. She has been a member of Temple Beth El since she was born.
