Tekiah Magazine

By Talia Ridi, October 2025

The Jewish community is a tight-knit, intertwined community. Many of us like to classify it as a second family. No matter what area you live in, in many cases the Jews in town are familiar with one another and also may possibly share family. What most people fail to talk about is the division within the Jewish community that leaves many, including myself, feeling like an outcast within their already small network. 

Being Jewish is not just a religion, but an ethnicity. Judaism traces back thousands of years with a cultural and ethnic heritage. Along with this, there is a geographic division specifying the regional Jewish identity that you are. For example, I have Middle Eastern and Northern African roots, making me a Sephardic Jew. 

Those with European roots are known as Ashkenazi Jews. There are then different subcategories and divisions that many people identify with. I usually lead by saying I am a Sephardic Jew; however, I more closely identify as being a Yemenite Jew with a different cultural background in terms of food and traditions. Yemenite Jews are specifically from Yemen ancestrally and as such absorb more traditions from that country itself.

The list can continue going on and on about the different divisions within Judaism. What is important to note is that according to Pew Research, 2/3 of Jews living in America are Ashkenazi Jews, meaning Jews from Eastern Europe. Another subdivision is Mizrahi or Middle Eastern Jews. As a group that is already considered a minority, being the minority within an already small group has always made me feel like an outcast, no matter where I am. Many of my Jewish friends (which is already a small number of people) don’t know how to speak Hebrew, have never heard a prayer in the Yemen dialect of Arabic, or know what jachnun (a Yemenite Jewish pastry) is. 

When I’m asked, “Well, what type of Jew are you?” I always begin to feel my skin crawl. I’ve never been one for labels within the Jewish community, as we are already seen as a group separate from the majority, so why divide us even further? As an Israeli-American, I’ve never once considered myself one or the other, the same way I’ve never looked at myself as Sephardic or Yemenite. 

I choose to practice my religion freely in the way that makes most sense to me. Personally, this means keeping Friday nights, celebrating the high holidays, and connecting to God in my own ways while prioritizing myself and my wellbeing. Whatever that means for you, you should be proud of it. The type of Jew you are defines the culture you were brought up in and the ethnicity you represent. It should never make you feel like an outcast in your community or force the need to “fit in” amongst your peers. 

Although I will always feel a bit weird in a room full of Ashkenazi Jews who don’t always understand my culture, these are, first and foremost, members of my beloved community who relate to my beliefs, values, and religious experiences. So even though there are different “types” of Jews across the world, above all else we are all still Jewish with our own overarching culture and faith. I am forever grateful to be a Jew and appreciate all of my life experiences, whether they be religious, ethnic, or cultural.