Divine sparks in the classroom
By Sheila Pratt
Growing up in a small community in northern Ontario, I found that being Jewish was difficult.
Sheila Pratt
It did mean that I was part of a close-knit group of people. However, it was quite a challenge being the only Jew in the school — particularly at the secondary level where I was the only one among 1,500 Christian students.
Not only did Hanukkah not measure up to Santa Claus, but at the tender age of six, I was accused of killing Jesus! Even after reassuring my classmate that I was not present at Christ's death, I could tell he did not believe me.
The burden of being different
At the time, it seemed that nothing could be as terrible as being so different from the others.
To make matters worse, I stayed home from school every Tuesday and Thursday morning while the rest of the class had a lesson in Christianity. When I returned to the classroom, the teacher would often ask me a question about Judaism.
As an eight-year-old, I was certainly not an appropriate spokesperson for my faith. I mumbled that I did not know the answer, quickly took my seat, turning red as a beet. I did not realize then how things would change for me as I grew older.
The delight in mentoring
As an adult Jewish woman, faith is the cornerstone of my life. It has helped me significantly, as a parent and as an educator with experience with special needs students.
Each day, I practise my faith, looking for divine sparks in each of my students. I always find them.
What a joy it is to see those individual sparks released as they discover, and engage in, their life's passions.
I continue to find great delight in mentoring young people. The chaos and anxiety in this world overwhelm our young people and they need the support of people of faith.
Remembering the Golden Rule
As a Jew, I learned from Passover to reach my hand out to the stranger. I am learning to decode and live by the Golden Rule, the principal doctrine of Judaism: "Do unto others as one would do unto thyself." All the rest is commentary.
The Golden Rule is the basis of all of the world's religions, and each of us must learn to practise it more fully.
Oneness is the theme of my faith and my life. I want to help as many students as possible to find their inner strengths.
I want to be part of the solution by being a political and educational activist, helping to repair and transform this world. As I tell others so very often, it's too late for separation where everyone is worrying about getting their little piece of the pie.
When souls collide
We must see each person as our sister, brother, father, mother or child. We all must rise together. Faith, to me as a Jewish Kabbalistic woman, means that each person is a unique and divine aspect of one precious gem — the world, le chaim, life.
Each time we meet another person, our souls (which Jews see as individual universes) collide, and lives change — more than we can ever know.
If we keep in mind that even the smallest of interactions with others is of huge importance, as life-changing a moment as the first moment of creation, then we will truly live the Golden Rule as people of faith.
I have no separation in religion. I love Jesus as a prophet of my tribe. I am here to include you, to welcome you, to support you, to see myself in you and to love you.
That is what being a Jewish woman of faith means to me.
Sheila Pratt, B.A., B. Ed., is an educator with over 33 years experience with special needs students. She is also and political and educational activist, living in North Bay, Ont.
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