Humans of the Bronfman Center — Shoshana Ehrenkranz
I had an idea of what my freshman year would look like. I would watch a lot of films, discover downtown Manhattan, try to make friends, drink coffee, and also be apart of a Jewish community. I was pretty good at predicting my future. But I was also pretty good at predicting a vague, generic future for many Jews at NYU or any downtown university.
The reason I wasn’t too nervous about my first year at NYU was because I had my NYU senior brother guiding me around the city the first few weeks. I knew I would seek out a Jewish community because I already relied on the same type of community coming from a Jewish day school and religious gap year program.
My brother introduced me to the Bronfman Center and, of course, I felt at home and blah di blah dah. Nothing is surprising here. Anyone who walks into a building of food varying in style via floor level will embrace the building which holds the people who planned this Welcome Week brunch. The food was the least important part of that first day of NYU. It was, however, an accurate depiction of how most Bronfman events happened (food, pleasant people, more food, good shtick).
Quickly, I became involved in Bronfman events. Yoga, running, Tel-Aviv grill all sounded good to me. These programs weren’t daunting to a college freshie. After going to many Bronfman Center social events, I discovered JLF. And so I joined the learning fellowship. Amazing teachers and insightful student peers inspired me to become a JLF intern spring semester. I really felt comfortable entering the doors of Bronfman at any time, knowing there would be someone there to listen, share advice, or answer a question about Judaism or life or where I could find a bagel.
Alas, siblings sometimes don’t follow in the same exact footstep as each other. Sometimes they don’t share the same foot size. I started paving my own path. I started working as a tutor in a middle school located in Chinatown.
While this middle school was not unwelcoming, it definitely didn’t offer a variety of food on each floor. I was nervous at first. Why would these kids ever want to talk to a weird Jewish girl who came in two to three times a week only to run out on Fridays to get ready for “Shabbat”? And why was the Jewish girl put in charge of the 6th grade Christmas dance and song? And why does she beat all the 6th grade boys in basketball, can’t she let them win once in a while? She’s a foot taller than everyone!
These were all questions I thought were running through the students’ heads. Apparently, I was wrong.
These kids asked many questions about Judaism that stemmed from pure curiosity. Many had never met a Jew besides a couple of teachers. I had an opportunity to explain my religion and my love for it at the same time.
As for basketball, no one complained about me playing with 100% effort against the boys. They thought it was cool (cool? Me? Probably the only time someone called me cool in a middle school was as an adult). I was able to teach these boys that girls are just as able, and sometimes more qualified, on the court as well as in the classroom.
Lastly, I don’t know why I was put in charge of choreographing the Christmas dance and picking out the song. I think it had something to do with me being in art school and a teacher believing I am talented in all fields of art (I am not). I can tell you a good Christmas movie like “It’s a Wonderful Life” but I have an awful voice and have no coordination when it comes to dancing.
I am lucky to live somewhere where I can learn and lead in a Jewish community — but also where I can work a mile away in a completely different world where my teaching and learning skills are being used at every moment.
Shoshana Ehrenkranz is a sophomore in Tisch School of the Arts studying Film and Television.
