Over the weekend, my wife saw that a new documentary, Deaf President Now, was available to stream, and she was excited to watch it. This documentary captures the 8-day protest in 1988 by Gallaudet students following the university's board of trustees' hiring of its 7th President, someone who was not deaf, taking the same action past boards had done during the university's 124-year history. If you are not aware, Gallaudet is the only deaf university worldwide. Only deaf or hard-of-hearing students are accepted into their undergrad program, while hearing students can attend graduate school.

My wife, who is hearing, attended and graduated from Gallaudet in 1998, and I spent quite a bit of time on this campus, including attending a football game and a Shakespeare play during her time as a student. (Interestingly, the football huddle was invented in 1894 by Paul Hubbard, Gallaudet's then quarterback.) So, for our family, Gallaudet has a special place in our hearts.

As I watched the documentary, I was amazed at the pride exuded by the students for their deafness and deaf culture. While I was not surprised by this, having seen it up close, what struck me the most was articulated by one of the protest's spokespersons. He talked about how Gallaudet gave him a sense of belonging…. and a home. It was clear that in the look on his face as he described what Gallaudet was for him, being there allowed him to be the truest form of himself, surrounded by people who were just like him.

I was instantly able to connect with him because I feel the same way when I am with other Jews. Whether it's a shared pride, shared understanding, a deep, unspoken connection, or the collective shared experiences of our ancestors…. all of these give me a sense of being at peace, at one, with my fellow Jews.

This was the same feeling I had as I watched Yuval Raphael's performance of New Day Will Rise in the 2025 Eurovision Song Contest finals. (Click the link and watch her performance.) Against the backdrop of the calls for the Eurovision officials to prevent her (and Israel) from participating due to the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, Raphael was resolute and committed to sharing her song, ultimately taking second place in the competition. Her story of how she got there and what she lived through on October 7 is something I could not possibly fathom, let alone hit the stage. Her performance and the song truly capture the quintessential ideal and essence of what Israelis and Jews have been feeling and hoping for since October 7.

Whether it is the hiring of a university president that one can see themselves in and know that they "get" them, or standing on a stage, performing before millions of people, showing and feeling pride for who you are and what you feel is right provides us with a sense of belonging and connecting.