leopardprint Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 Hey LoveShack Jews, speak up! I see so many threads in here about Catholicism and Christianity, but I haven't seen many about Judaism. I'm a born-again-Jew, I guess you can call it?! :lmao: :lmao: When I was growing up, neither one of my parents were that religious. My mother is pretty religious, on her own and to herself. I was brought up getting presents on Hanukkah, and going to my Aunts on Passover (for diner, not even for a seder). I really never learned ANYTHING about my religion. I never went to Herbrew school or got Bat Mitzvahed because my mother took me out when I was small because the only Hebrew school near us was almost an hour and a half away and according to my mother, the teachers and people who ran it were really nasty, rude people. When I got into high school, I started calling myself Atheist only because I really didn't feel like I had a religion, and to be honest, I had this strong fear of death and a lack of an afterlife. But then we moved, and moved into a community where Judaism was very common. My brother started Hebrew school, and soon got my parents into celebrating holidays and doing seders for Passover, Yum Kippur, etc. During the year when he was getting ready to get Bar Mitzvahed, I started going to temple with him on Friday nights, and started learning SO much about the religion. I instantly found a connection, and a faith I wanted to continue to grow and learn about. Ever since then, I've been proud of my religion, heritage, and have been planning on getting Bat Mitzvahed after college! Link to post Share on other sites
quankanne Posted April 24, 2006 Share Posted April 24, 2006 congratulations on the upcoming mitzvah! I think that being able to find your faith direction is priceless gift when are so many things working against you (pretty much getting caught up in mere day-to-day life). I think a lot of our faith journeys include falling away from that faith, but in a way I think it's almost necessary so that we can come full circle. I grew up Catholic, and my mom was the one who made sure we knew our faith and went to Mass, while my dad pretty much let her "have the faith" for the both of them. I've gone through periods where I've not been diligent about attending Sunday Mass (which is a must for Catholics), I've back-slidden and I've come 'round, but never have I not thought of myself as Catholic ... as I've gotten older, I've been surprised to see just how much it means to me. At this point, my husband and I are trying to get things in line so that we can have our marriage blessed by the church, which means a lot to me even as I backslide .... my work is with a Catholic publication, and I've learned a lot about my faith. Interestingly enough (well, to me!), there are very strong ties between Catholicism and Judaism – it Benedict or John Paul who called the Jews our elder brother in faith because our traditions are so grounded in y'alls. Link to post Share on other sites
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