2

Narrative Summary

Interview with Anisa Dawn by Jenna Kluesner

Anisa Dawn was born in n the1970s. She was temporarily raised in the Ozarks and attended many different grade schools in the area. Anisa describes her mother as having been a “spiritual wanderer,” meaning that Anisa attended a Catholic grade school in the Ozarks as well. Although Anisa has lived many different places—including Nebraska and Washington—she has always thought of Missouri as home. As Anisa describes, she realized she was truly home at age 11 when she converted to Judaism with her mother.

Anisa describes her connection with Judaism as being her link to history, the community, and the moral and ethical foundations of our society. She thinks that people cannot just bank on going to heaven, and instead they have to make where they are as good as they can to deserve it. She lives by the words, “praise as if everything depended on God; live as if everything depended on you.”

Anisa has a never-ending curiosity about her religion. She is deep in her faith but still feels that it is “not deep enough.” She adds, “I want to know more.” Anisa has been reading books and watching historical documentaries in order to find out more that she does not know. “I’m fascinated by it,” she says. She also values many sacred objects in her home, such as a beautiful menorah she and her wife received as a wedding present, and their mezuzah. Anisa explains that a mezuzah is a scroll that hangs on or near a home’s door as a reminder to take “spirituality out into the world, and a reminder as you come back in, to bring that spirituality back into your home.”

Today, Anisa attends Temple Israel in Springfield, where in May of 2007 she and her wife became the first same-sex couple to ever be married at the synagogue. Anisa is also on the board for Temple Israel, where she helps make decisions about the mundane functions of the synagogue, such as coordinating festivals, fundraisers, and concerts. She was asked to join the board about a year ago because of her youth, vitality, and diverse viewpoint.

Missouri State University Fall 2008 Religious Lives of Ozarks Women