I’ve been converting to Judaism for a while, and it’s felt really natural for me, but as Christmas ends without much nostalgia on my end, soon comes Easter. Christmas has never felt particularly religious; Easter has. It is the crux of the whole difference of course, but I hadn’t quite faced it. I can tell you how many stars have to be in the sky to signify that Shabbat (the day of rest) is over; that Shammai actually made some great points over Hillel; that Mizrahi and Sephardic food is simply much better than Ashkenazi food. But I haven’t reckoned with Jesus.
I am interested in following you on your journey. I must ask because this kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Why did you say "Judaism’s a great program". I was raised as a reformed Jew and I have very little Judaism in my life now because it was all culture and little actual religion. I am in my 50s and I am now wishing I had more Judaism in my life. I think if I did seek more I would become a conservative because why dabble in it? You can't be Jewish just when you feel like it or just for the culture and community. Or can you? Just seems shallow.
Rome fell? Is that really accurate? You’re a journalist -- does this hold up, factually speaking? Because there are plenty of Romans left in the world -- they’re called Italians, Corsicans, Mallorcas, Sicilians, among multitudes of other ethnicities and tribes, cultures that were assimilated into the Roman Republic Nation Empire, stretching from the tips of Albion to the shores of Constantinople. The religions of Rome, specifically Christianity, after the conversion of Constantine, are still very much with us. They haven’t only endured, they have conquered and extinguished countless others.
The Eastern Orthodox version you grew up with formed after the schisms at the First Council of Nicaea couldn’t be reconciled, akin to the evolution of political parties, and obviously remains a force. Christianity is on the rise in Asia. It’s egregious and obviously a shame that the pagan religions/traditions of Rome and Greece are no longer with us in their sacred form, as they’ve been secularized and anesthetized into what we now call “mythology”; yet, that’s the legacy of Christianity when it comes to pagan religions -- assimilation and syncretization and stamping the competition out, whether you’re talking about the Aztecs, the Maya, our Native Americans... but that’s a tangent for a whole other topic.
Back to Judaism -- my fiancee is Jewish, and they obviously wants me to convert, but I resist even though I’ve given in to certain things: a mezuzah in the doorway, Judaica on the shelf, lighting the candles of the Menorah, not putting up Christmas decorations, etc. I was raised, like you, in the Christian tradition (Catholicism not Orthodox); I have a real hard time, with the lack of belief part. And you mention it in your post here, your re-imagining of Christ as a radical rabbi instead of the Messiah, the Son of God, for me is a real problem; or more explicity, the lack of belief it entails. Christians are amazed when I tell them that you don’t need BELIEF to be a Jew -- to me that doesn’t sound like religion at all... it sounds, like your other commentor, Terri noted, that Judaism is a set of customs... without those metaphysical underpinnings, have hollow footing. Why is it important for you to adopt your partner Barri’s rather than create your own?
There’s even a deeper obstacle for me -- I don’t believe in religion anymore. Not for a long time. I’m what’s commonly referred to as an agnostic or a secular humanist, or some ever-evolving term that denotes theistic evolution that rejects the corporate masthead of Abrahamic religion stamped on it.
So my fiancee have this debate often: she embraces her Judaism as a tradition, something she was raised with, as I assume your partner, Barri does. So why do we -- you, me -- have to subsume ourselves to that paternalistic “program” as you call it, when it doesn’t swing that metaphysical weight?
It’s like the Jehovah Witnesses that come around the neighborhood knocking during the holidays... they say things like, “Did you know that your neighbors’ Christmas tree and decorations are pagans tradition? They have nothing to do with Christ, the Lord.”
Oh geez! Shock! Of course they are... that’s not a surprise if you don’t confuse customs and religion. However, in my fiancee’s and her family’s brand of Conservative-Reform Judaism that line is way too blurred for comfort... so then why? Is it novelty? Dreidel spinning, lighting the menorah, eating latkes, hamantaschen, and sufganiyot, they all have stories behind them; so do Christmas trees, stockings over the fireplace, Christ in the manger. If they’re not holy or sacrosanct then really, aren't you just swapping one set of customs for another, one program for another... ? I think one of the reasons Jews who were raised in it sometimes raise eyes at converts is because they've had to struggle on behalf of their identities in some facet that it's natural to be suspicious of one that would so easily relinquish their own.
Love this! I like Rabbi Soloveichick too. You should check Rabbi Viñas. He has classes on Facebook every week but in Spanish, nevertheless he has in English too and he knows a lot about conversion. I know you will like him because he studied with Soloveichick, Rabbi Boomzer, etc.
Seeing as how this was posted five months ago, I am apparently a little late to the party I suppose but I wanted to weigh in regardless. I was raised somewhat non-practicing in christianity until my parents started dragging us to the United Pentecostal church and decided we would all be holy rollers as I entered my teenage years. Needless to say, as a 30-something adult, I am still working through the religious scars associated with that experience. I chose to begin my conversion journey about a month ago, and I strongly relate to the issue of trying to reconcile Jesus as I embrace Judaism. It's very hard to put your finger on - but it's definitely a line in the sand that I don't know quite how to step over. It's as if my mouth can testify that I do not believe Jesus is the Messiah, but at the same time, my heart is looking heavenward and waiting to be struck down by lightning. I think much of these knee-jerk reactions stem from the way it is so deeply engrained in us that we are not to question what we are force-fed spiritually, and it's hard to undo that thought process. On the other hand, the encouragement to seek answers and question everything is one of the key tenants that draws me to Judaism. I know, in time, this will no longer take up space rent-free in my brain; so for now, I'm just accepting that I am slowly but surely walking the Jew path.
To elaborate on Nellie's comments on belief vs community: Our country is in a crisis of belief. The very truth is challenged. I think this is because we have a deeper crisis of community. As much as we East coast liberals like to say the we "believe the science" we do what everyone else does: we believe what our community believes and what the experts our community recognize believe. So not science articles in the present crisis, but Dr. Fauci, my neighbors and your employer, Nellie.
Sadly, more and more people find themselves without a community, so they join virtual ones with predetermined opinions. There is no vitality, adaptation or learning as in real communities. Nor a basis for beliefs that truly reflect how you live. Mostly we find ourselves rigid and thus fragile and defensive in our beliefs.
I am going too far off on a tangent. But you see my point. To get back to Nellie's conversion. It is indeed about community, not belief. Just as belief itself should be.
To give an example from a religion which stresses individual searching: the Buddha was asked by his chief disciple Ananda, "What is the importance of the sangha? (sangha is the religious community, usually a monastery). The Buddha replied, "The sangha is everything."
I am interested in following you on your journey. I must ask because this kinda rubbed me the wrong way. Why did you say "Judaism’s a great program". I was raised as a reformed Jew and I have very little Judaism in my life now because it was all culture and little actual religion. I am in my 50s and I am now wishing I had more Judaism in my life. I think if I did seek more I would become a conservative because why dabble in it? You can't be Jewish just when you feel like it or just for the culture and community. Or can you? Just seems shallow.
Rome fell? Is that really accurate? You’re a journalist -- does this hold up, factually speaking? Because there are plenty of Romans left in the world -- they’re called Italians, Corsicans, Mallorcas, Sicilians, among multitudes of other ethnicities and tribes, cultures that were assimilated into the Roman Republic Nation Empire, stretching from the tips of Albion to the shores of Constantinople. The religions of Rome, specifically Christianity, after the conversion of Constantine, are still very much with us. They haven’t only endured, they have conquered and extinguished countless others.
The Eastern Orthodox version you grew up with formed after the schisms at the First Council of Nicaea couldn’t be reconciled, akin to the evolution of political parties, and obviously remains a force. Christianity is on the rise in Asia. It’s egregious and obviously a shame that the pagan religions/traditions of Rome and Greece are no longer with us in their sacred form, as they’ve been secularized and anesthetized into what we now call “mythology”; yet, that’s the legacy of Christianity when it comes to pagan religions -- assimilation and syncretization and stamping the competition out, whether you’re talking about the Aztecs, the Maya, our Native Americans... but that’s a tangent for a whole other topic.
Back to Judaism -- my fiancee is Jewish, and they obviously wants me to convert, but I resist even though I’ve given in to certain things: a mezuzah in the doorway, Judaica on the shelf, lighting the candles of the Menorah, not putting up Christmas decorations, etc. I was raised, like you, in the Christian tradition (Catholicism not Orthodox); I have a real hard time, with the lack of belief part. And you mention it in your post here, your re-imagining of Christ as a radical rabbi instead of the Messiah, the Son of God, for me is a real problem; or more explicity, the lack of belief it entails. Christians are amazed when I tell them that you don’t need BELIEF to be a Jew -- to me that doesn’t sound like religion at all... it sounds, like your other commentor, Terri noted, that Judaism is a set of customs... without those metaphysical underpinnings, have hollow footing. Why is it important for you to adopt your partner Barri’s rather than create your own?
There’s even a deeper obstacle for me -- I don’t believe in religion anymore. Not for a long time. I’m what’s commonly referred to as an agnostic or a secular humanist, or some ever-evolving term that denotes theistic evolution that rejects the corporate masthead of Abrahamic religion stamped on it.
So my fiancee have this debate often: she embraces her Judaism as a tradition, something she was raised with, as I assume your partner, Barri does. So why do we -- you, me -- have to subsume ourselves to that paternalistic “program” as you call it, when it doesn’t swing that metaphysical weight?
It’s like the Jehovah Witnesses that come around the neighborhood knocking during the holidays... they say things like, “Did you know that your neighbors’ Christmas tree and decorations are pagans tradition? They have nothing to do with Christ, the Lord.”
Oh geez! Shock! Of course they are... that’s not a surprise if you don’t confuse customs and religion. However, in my fiancee’s and her family’s brand of Conservative-Reform Judaism that line is way too blurred for comfort... so then why? Is it novelty? Dreidel spinning, lighting the menorah, eating latkes, hamantaschen, and sufganiyot, they all have stories behind them; so do Christmas trees, stockings over the fireplace, Christ in the manger. If they’re not holy or sacrosanct then really, aren't you just swapping one set of customs for another, one program for another... ? I think one of the reasons Jews who were raised in it sometimes raise eyes at converts is because they've had to struggle on behalf of their identities in some facet that it's natural to be suspicious of one that would so easily relinquish their own.
Love this! I like Rabbi Soloveichick too. You should check Rabbi Viñas. He has classes on Facebook every week but in Spanish, nevertheless he has in English too and he knows a lot about conversion. I know you will like him because he studied with Soloveichick, Rabbi Boomzer, etc.
Seeing as how this was posted five months ago, I am apparently a little late to the party I suppose but I wanted to weigh in regardless. I was raised somewhat non-practicing in christianity until my parents started dragging us to the United Pentecostal church and decided we would all be holy rollers as I entered my teenage years. Needless to say, as a 30-something adult, I am still working through the religious scars associated with that experience. I chose to begin my conversion journey about a month ago, and I strongly relate to the issue of trying to reconcile Jesus as I embrace Judaism. It's very hard to put your finger on - but it's definitely a line in the sand that I don't know quite how to step over. It's as if my mouth can testify that I do not believe Jesus is the Messiah, but at the same time, my heart is looking heavenward and waiting to be struck down by lightning. I think much of these knee-jerk reactions stem from the way it is so deeply engrained in us that we are not to question what we are force-fed spiritually, and it's hard to undo that thought process. On the other hand, the encouragement to seek answers and question everything is one of the key tenants that draws me to Judaism. I know, in time, this will no longer take up space rent-free in my brain; so for now, I'm just accepting that I am slowly but surely walking the Jew path.
To elaborate on Nellie's comments on belief vs community: Our country is in a crisis of belief. The very truth is challenged. I think this is because we have a deeper crisis of community. As much as we East coast liberals like to say the we "believe the science" we do what everyone else does: we believe what our community believes and what the experts our community recognize believe. So not science articles in the present crisis, but Dr. Fauci, my neighbors and your employer, Nellie.
Sadly, more and more people find themselves without a community, so they join virtual ones with predetermined opinions. There is no vitality, adaptation or learning as in real communities. Nor a basis for beliefs that truly reflect how you live. Mostly we find ourselves rigid and thus fragile and defensive in our beliefs.
I am going too far off on a tangent. But you see my point. To get back to Nellie's conversion. It is indeed about community, not belief. Just as belief itself should be.
To give an example from a religion which stresses individual searching: the Buddha was asked by his chief disciple Ananda, "What is the importance of the sangha? (sangha is the religious community, usually a monastery). The Buddha replied, "The sangha is everything."