I wish people didn’t view being a Jew as the most relevant thing about me.

Sorry for this weirdly sentimental rant, but I didn’t really know where else to talk about it.

I’m visibly Jewish. I wear a kippah and tzitzis (which I usually don’t tuck in, unless I’m wearing a suit), and I have a beard.

When I make non-Jewish friends, I feel like this is something we have to “get past,” before we can just…talk? It’s like it’s always in the back of their minds. My opinions on pop culture, or philosophy, or politics aren’t “the Jewish perspective,” or “the Orthodox perspective.”

I understand people are curious. I get that it’s weird. Importantly: I also don’t blame anyone, nor am I angry at anyone, for thinking this way. It just makes me sad.