Adam Rosenblatt, a first-year from Northern Virginia, is a highly observant Jew, and he wears the outward trappings of his deep faith with resolve and pride. On the Guilford campus he stands out. In Greensboro and in North Carolina, his appearance makes him the object of questioning looks and confusion from the outside world.Every day Rosenblatt puts a yarmulke (also known as a skullcap) upon his head and he wears tzitzis under his clothing, which is quite similar to wearing a prayer shawl with the ends sticking out under your clothes. Rosenblatt prays three times a day and walks to synagogue at nearby Temple Beth David every Saturday morning.

Adam Rosenblatt also likes to write poetry, read about philosophy, and is a huge fan of The Doors.

Right there is the apparent dichotomy, for many people. Someone that is so religious, yet holds within them deep secular interests seems a contradiction for outsiders.

Why does Rosenblatt take to the path of a highly observant Jew? This is a fair enough question, especially upon a campus like Guilford’s, which seems to be populated by a large number of nonreligious individuals, unless you consider Bryan Quad dances a religious experience.

For Rosenblatt, the epiphany came to him between his junior and senior years of high school. He and other Jewish high school students from his area visited the Nazi death camps in Poland and Israel for eight weeks. Rosenblatt said, “I had not even planned upon making the trip until a few days before the deadline to apply. It was more of a spur of the moment thing.”

Despite it being a quick decision on his part, the trip provided Rosenblatt a true connection to his past and a connection to his faith, which he had never experienced before. “My family was not that observant, but, when I went to Poland and Israel, I just felt a change inside me,” stated Rosenblatt.

While in Israel, he began to pray three times a day, and also, for the first time, adorned the trappings of an observant Jew. “I didn’t really think much about my decision, nor the impact it might have on my friends and family. It seemed to be the right thing to do,” Rosenblatt said regarding his decision.

“It was as if I almost felt a calling. If I wanted to become observant, I wanted to do it correctly,” he said. After his trip, coming home was a definite challenge for Rosenblatt. “In Israel it was easy to be observant. No one looked at yourdifferently. In fact, in some cases, you were almost in the majority, but I knew coming home would be a challenge.”

After he finished his trip and returned back home, he received a variety of mixed reactions to his new religious fervor and lifestyle. “My family was pretty supporting, but some of my friends just thought that it was a fad that I had picked up in Israel.”

To some of his friends’ surprise, it was more than a fad for Rosenblatt; it was a life-affirming decision.

He explains this combination of the secular and non-secular, by stating that, “In terms of Judaism, I consider myself ‘Conservodox,’ which means that I say prayers that Orthodox Jews say. However, my moral belief systems in terms of religion are based much more upon the Conservative movement of Judaism.”

When it came down to college choices, the Jewish population on campus and prevalence of Jewish services and support was a major concern to Rosenblatt; however class size, access to faculty, and the overall academic environment were just as important in his concerns for selecting a college.

Guilford fit the bill for Rosenblatt’s requirements, despite not having a large Jewish population as only about 5% of the college is Jewish. However, services and support were readily available. Guilford seemed to fit into the aforementioned categories of academic excellence and small classes.

So far, Rosenblatt has been very pleased with his experience at Guilford in terms of the overall experience.

“I can truly have a chance to explore my spirituality and religion at my own pace while at the same time having a Jewish community on campus to provide support for me. The overall experience is just great, I feel very comfortable here.”