Cherubs practice religion away from home

By Nikki Friedman

When Justin Schecker, a cherub from Silver Spring, Md., realized the cherub schedule did not allow time for him to attend a full-length Friday night Shabbat service, he decided to take matters into his own hands.

Cherubs read Schmooze, Northwestern's Jewish magazine, while waiting for a Friday night Shabbat service to begin.

“It became pretty obvious, pretty soon, how many Jews were here,” said Schecker, who organized and led his own Friday evening get-togethers in the dorm. “I thought it would be nice since we couldn’t have a full service to gather together to celebrate Shabbat.”

Schecker was one of many journalism cherubs to continue practicing religion while at the program.

“Usually our classes conflicted with times we’re supposed to pray,” said cherub Anisah Nanlawala of Chicago, who follows the Muslim practice of praying five times a day. “When I had time, I prayed in my dorm. I usually prayed at least three times a day.”

Schecker invited all journalism cherubs to attend Shabbat and said around 20 kids came each week.

“All these people showed up and everyone knew all the songs,” cherub Jessica Friedman of New York said. “These kids who I only associated with being here for journalism turned out to have this other wealth of knowledge and experience. I think the non-Jews who came had fun as well.”

Eryn Rogers, a cherub from Alpharetta, Ga., who attends a Catholic school, had never been to a Jewish service before attending Shabbat at cherubs.

“I haven’t really been exposed to that culture,” she said. “So I thought, ‘While I’m here, why not make the best of my time?’ I loved it, so I went back every single Friday. I felt really welcome.”

Cherub Jim Santel of St. Louis, a self-described “good Catholic boy,” attended Mass twice during his five weeks at cherubs.

“I should have gone every week, but sometimes I decided I would rather sleep,” he said. “I try and pray every day. St. Louis, where I live, is really Catholic, so it was a good experience being in the religious minority.”

Being able to observe and share his religion “added to the cherub experience,” Schecker said.

“I’m glad it turned out as successfully as it did,” he said. “I picked up the nickname 'Rabbi.' We had a dedicated crowd that came every week. People seemed to get pretty excited.”