I am more than religion requires

Hannah Drillings,
Chester, NY

I am ethically an Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jew, but have always felt disconnected from my religion. growing up in an orthodox synagogue, the women were separated from the men, and shunted to the back of the room. I never felt seen or heard as a person. as an adult, I want to be understood as only myself, culturally and ethnically Jewish, but not religious.