Downtown and Brooklyn

Conviently enough, I had something of a Jewish experience last night. I was walking to the subway after going to a fundraiser for the South Asian Youth Action organization with two (Indian) girls. (That part's integral to the story.) It was a pretty classy event, so we were all wearing long-sleeved jackets and knee-length skirts. We walk by this Chabbad fellow on a bike who asks us where the subway is (it's about two feet away) and then stops us again and asks if we're Jewish. The other two girls stop and stare at me, so I tell him I am, but they're not. "Oh, you all look Jewish...It's nice," the Chabbad chap replies. (Sorta flirty for Chabbad, huh?) The other two girls are completely confused, so points to me and says, "Ask her; she'll explain," then walks off into the subway.

So whoah, here're a lot of Jewish identity issues. Why'd he think we look Jewish? The other two girls are Indian and everyone tells me I don't "look Jewish," so was it really just the long skirts that singled us out? Maybe it helped that when we passed by him, my two friends happened to be talking about their older sisters getting married (or not married) and how their parents were pushing it. OR was he enlightened enough to know that you can't really "look" like a Jew and that there're Jews in pretty much every country of the world, including India? OR did he just think they were Persian? Who knows. It reminds me about that conversation I posted about clothing choices and what they say about your observance level.

A few minutes later, I ended up waiting for the same train as the Chabbad guy, and he told me that the reason he asked us if we were Jewish is because he was asking for donations for some Jewish-visiting-hospitals charity. I gave him a dollar, and he asked if I had a mezzuzah. Some awkward conversation ensued, but I think my standard "I get creeped out by people in the subway, I should not be talking to you, are you gonna end up insane?" vibe eventually overpowered it, so he said goodbye and walked off about three feet. You know the move....just out of sight enough for you to pretend that you're not still in the same basic space so it can cease being awkward.

I hopped on the subway thinking, "Now I have something to post on my blog!"