Everyone has their own Jewish Story.  It’s unique, deeply personal and is not always an easy journey.  Some people’s paths are linear, from the time they were born they were raised Jewish, followed certain values, ate traditional food and surrounding themselves with a Jewish community.  For others it may be more difficult, whether it’s finding their own Jewish identity in an interfaith family, searching for Jewish traditions in a Russian family or experiencing Judaism for the first time on Birthright Israel trip.

CJP welcomes a very broad community of Jews from different backgrounds and highly values being inclusive of everyone.  Whether you went to a Jewish summer camp or dropped out of Hebrew school, it’s important to know where you came from and what your place is in the Jewish community.  No matter what your Jewish background or identity, CJP values your diverse #JewishStory.

Last week during the final session of CJP LEADS, Barry Shrage, President of CJP, posed the question “what’s your story?” in reference to your Jewish story and asked young adults to share their unique journeys. Over the past weekend, we decided to pose the question to the 140 character Twitter community and raised the challenge to summarize your #JewishStory in a quick blurb.  It has since gone viral with individuals sharing their own stories from around the world and from various backgrounds.

In the spirit of Hanukkah, where we celebrate the story of the victorious Maccabees, we are reminded to be proud of our Judaism and to embrace our own Jewish story.  That is why CJP is proud to offer up a special Hanukkah prize for one lucky #JewishStory entered during the eight days of Hanukkah.

Rules: To enter your twitter handle into the contest for some Hanukkah gelt (aka an Amazon $10 gift card):
1)    Tweet your 140 character story and include the hashtag #JewishStory  somewhere in the message before 5pm on Wed, 12/28 (note: if you’ve already tweeted your story, you’ll still be included in this!)
2)    Follow @GesherCityBos
3)    Stay tuned for a randomly selected winner to be drawn on the last night of Hanukkah
4)    Winner will be sent a direct message with instructions on claiming your prize

Good luck to everyone and have a Happy Hanukkah!