Why Search for Noon at 2 PM?

I openly identify as a Jew despite my lack of engagement with Judaism and even Jewish cultural life. I have not attended synagogue in at least six years (possibly closer to a decade – I am 28 years old), I am agnostic, [1] skeptical of religiosity in general, and well socialized into modern secular American society, complete with Christmas and a long weekend for Easter. I do not understand Hebrew, and I am not well versed in Israel’s history nor in the Israeli-Arab conflicts nor the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When my girlfriend asked about what she should expect when she attends my family’s Passover Seder this Saturday, her first ever Seder, I relied on Google results to support my atrophied knowledge. All these markers for my lack of engagement with Judaism raise the question, a very personal one, about what it means to be a Jew, to openly self-identify as a Jew, while also living an otherwise secular and non-affiliated life. An initial answer, and one that is probably alrea...

Early in 5 th grade, having recently survived Y2K, my class held a mock presidential vote. I do not remember exactly how our class split between George W. Bush and Al Gore, but I distinctly remember that I was the only person to vote for Ralph Nader. I also do not remember what deciding issues swung my vote. It must have been my early and unshakeable commitment to progressive policies, espoused by Nader’s Green Party, like environmental protection, nonviolence, social justice, gender equality, and LGBT rights. I am confident my views were rational and well founded. Now in 2018, my formal education still unfinished, I live in a Harvard Law School dorm. Strewn across tables in our common rooms are copies of a small paper packet with a bold-letter cover page: Please read these articles before the Harvard Law School curriculum culture envelops you. Thank you. – Ralph Nader . Of course I pick it up. For some context, at this point I am in my seventh semester of law school. Law school...