Göttingen, 2005
“I come from Estonia, from the capital Talin and I’ve only been here in Germany for half a year. I came to study here and I didn’t start here until the summer semester. My mother is Jewish and according to Jewish laws the children are also Jews, if the mother is Jewish, it always follows the maternal line. I have been participating in Jewish life for a long time. We also have a Jewish community in Talin. And there, too, I visit the church almost every Friday, on Shabbat. And that’s why here too. When I arrived in Göttingen, I immediately contacted the community and I was here on the first Friday.
That is a very difficult question. I can compare that to Shabbat, for example. It is very important for me to have some peace and quiet here on Friday. And I light candles, also because it’s a tradition. On Friday - when Shabbat comes - candles have to be lighted. Shabbat is also a very important holiday for Jews. And here in Göttingen I can continue to live my Jewish life by coming here every Friday.
Yes, it’s very interesting that you get to know a lot of students here in Göttingen. And of course I have already said several times that I am of Jewish faith because there have been several festivals that I’ve celebrated and then I was happy to explain what the festivals are exactly, why we celebrate them and of course I also said that I want to be alone every Friday so that I can’t go to a party, for example. And now my friends are okay with that too.”