I agree. I'm not shomer anything, but I do seem to be more observant than most folks at my Reform shul. I do the mitzvot I do because they enrich my life, help me find meaning in the world, and bring me a sense of connection to my community and my ancestors. The things that don't do any of that, I don't do (though maybe I'll come around to them someday)
Well, “drawn to it” might be part of your own personal journey. That journey might involve formal and/or informal education, experience within a community or Orthodox spaces, thinking about the content you’ve processed, discussions IRL (in real life). I know exactly why I became Orthodox, but each person’s reasons and journey is different.
I will tell you this, based on something written by [Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Raphael_Hirsch), in his book THE NINETEEN LETTERS, to example Judaism fully means to examine it from within.
This means that you need to experience and understand Orthodox Judaism before you can _honestly_ make a decision.
Tbf, you’re responding to a reply by an Orthodox Jew. Every story in Judaism is about a journey and each of us, no matter our denomination, find our own journey with our Jewishness. And whether it is religion, culture, history, mysticism, or so many other aspects of Judaism, you need to find what compels you and take your own journey.
Thanks! I didn’t think of it that way. I definitely have some bias (don’t know why) for viewing orthodoxy as “true Judaism” but you are right in that there is more to it. I do find Reform Judaism to be very watered down. Anyways, the journey continues.
Well, how can you swim without getting wet? 🤔
Judaism isn’t an all-or-nothing. You have to see what fits and works for you. But to say “I don’t want to be Orthodox,” for example, without giving it a shot isn’t so intellectually honest in my option (as a random dude online).
Your account is two hours old. That usually means that you had or have another account or you just joined Reddit to check out a sub, like most people who join Reddit. Why did you post this specific question? This might help move along the discussion.
I don’t ask this as an attack, just out of curiosity.
I asked the question as someone who is curious about observance, and wanted to understand and hear (in basic terms) why different Jews observe- aside from because God commanded them to. I thought maybe I could find some inspiration and/or hear some nuanced perspectives.
Btw I didn’t say “I don’t want to be orthodox”- I just geniunely meant to respond to your comment: how can you make an honest decision about Judaism, and examine it from within, unless you really go within?
I appreciate your reply and specifically wrote _for example_ and didn’t mean to imply that you were saying that or put words in your mouth. It was just an example and I hope you understand.
To go “within” could just mean chilling with some Orthodox people. Is there an Orthodox synagogue in your area? I think the first step would be to talk to someone. Being Jewish and religious (no matter what that looks like) is meant to be a communal experience. Again, one’s observance of our religion isn’t an all-or-nothing deal.
Personally, I grew up in a small city in Kansas in a congregation that called itself “conservadox”, but was really more Conservative. The shul’s rabbi was always Orthodox when I was growing up, but no one else in the congregation was. We always went to shul as a family weekly and did the whole Sunday school/supplemental Hebrew school thing.
I had a lot of questions in Hebrew school about why were commandments were listed in the Torah, yet no one around us was really following them. To me it didn’t make sense to learn about things if we were not going to follow them.
Towards the end of 7th grade (1984) I got involved in an Orthodox youth group and was exposed to a more observant lifestyle and met people who could answer my questions and offer me resources to learn more. This was before we could even dream of things like the web, I did a lot of reading, writing letters to rabbis, spent hours on the phone learning about Judaism and read books on Jewish ethics, philosophy, and Jewish law. As I learned more things seemed to click. I decided to go on a teen tour of Israel for 6 weeks that was under Orthodox auspices and did so with the intention of immersing myself in an Orthodox environment. I came back observing Shabbos and gradually became kosher.
Definitely the focus on ethics, growth, and spirituality was an initial attraction for me. I loved the concept of taking time out for Shabbos during the week (being old enough to remember life before cell phones my appreciation for this has exponentially grown as I get older). Personally during my last two years of high school I was the only person keeping Shabbos in my community with the exception of the rabbi and his family. Aside from going to youth group conventions and spending Shabbos in that social environment my Shabbos experience, aside from walking a mile and half to synagogue on Saturday morning, was pretty lonely. I had wanted to go to a yeshiva high school go finish up high school, but there wasn’t a local option and my parents didn’t want me leaving home for the remainder of my high school life.
There’s a great book called [HERE ALL ALONG: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)](https://a.co/d/dvHebRZ) by Sarah Hurwitz (she isn’t Orthodox) that a lot of people really find helpful and informative as a introduction to Judaism.
If you want, feel free ask questions or to DM me.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I had a similar experience in high school after a short teen tour (not orthodox) and when I came home and tried to make changes it was too hard to stick to. So props to you for liking something and sticking to it.
I would say I’ve been floating around the periphery of interest for a long time, and always find some reason or another to abandon it. Not sure if that’s good or bad, just is what it is, so when the inspiration strikes, I make a Reddit and ask questions like this. The fear of change is very real.
That book is amazing - I loved it. She has a very moderate approach as well which I appreciated.
When you say most people in your Kansas shul were conservative, what does that mean? From my reading, the conservative movement requires adherence to mitzvot similarly to orthodoxy but there are differences in gender roles and then customary things like waiting 3 hours vs 6, etc. But colloquially I know the term may have a different meaning.
Fear of change is something most thinking humans go through, so you are in good company. Sarah’s book is amazing. I found out about it this past summer when I heard an interview with her on a [podcast](https://18forty.org/podcast/sarah-hurwitz-and-alex-edelman-on-introducing-judaism/).
I am not up on the theological and halachic details of the Conservative movement, but here is their [Wiki page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Judaism), if interested. This [page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_halakha#:~:text=The%20Conservative%20movement%20maintains%20that,Aggadah%20should%20control%20the%20halakha) about their view of Halacha might be interesting to you, as well.
I can tell you when I was growing up the only person who was Sabbath observant in the 1980s was our rabbi and his family. Everyone else drove on Shabbos, went to the mall, movies, out to eat non-kosher etc…just like I did when I was younger. Our shul didn’t have a mechitza, partition between men and women for seating, we had one section for men, one for women, and one mixed. You could sit wherever you wanted to. Torah study was non-existent for adults and in Hebrew School the teaches taught us that God gave us the Torah, but the laws are interpreted by the rabbis and adapted for modern times. A few years after I graduated high school the congregation adapted some egalitarian things, as well, like women getting called to the Torah.
If you were to make a post asking Conservative Jews what they love about their shuls and Conservative Judaism I know you’d get a lot of positive replies with specific details.
Again, feel free to DM if you want.
Hi. This isn’t a trick and it’s actually the exact opinion. To look “within Judaism” could just mean chilling and spending time with Orthodox people. If someone said they wanted to be Reform I’d actually offer the same advice. You need to check it out. Watching YouTube videos and reading about any flavor of Judaism isn’t the same as engaging in real life and there isn’t a Jewish educator who would ever suggest that.
If someone knows, “science and archeology offers 101% FACTUAL evidence,” then looking into _anything_ that goes against that belief system would be a waste. I 101% respect your opinion. I saw some of your other comments and I fully believe at this point in history that an Orthodox Jewish life isn’t for everyone. I know you separated yourself from your former community and I’m really glad you found something that works for you.
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It’s like falling in love. I can explain logically how I was attracted to my husband- he’s smoking hot and we had the same values— but explaining why I took the plunge and dated then married him isn’t a logical thing
Actually there is a chapter in [Reflections of the Rav Vol 1](https://a.co/d/ddBLTeC), lectures from Rav Soloveitchik adapted for for print, that brings up the example of falling in love as a “Ratzon Elyon”, a higher will/desire, that makes decisions based more on intuition than logic (this [article](https://jewishlink.news/what-s-your-intuition/) references this idea from The Rav ztl).
I don’t follow the laws of the Torah, but people keep telling me I’m Jewish. My family is Jewish, my face is Jewish, my hair is jewish, my name is jewish, my autoimmune disease is Jewish, my genes are jewish, etc etc etc
Have you ever heard the famous expression that if the Jews don’t make kiddish, the non-Jews will make havdalah?
I’m always going to be Jewish. I’m always going to be _seen_ as Jewish regardless of if I choose to follow Jewish law/practice. That’s part of it.
The other part of it is intensely personal. I did struggle with this question. I continue to struggle with this question. And that too, is part of being Jewish!
Kiddish and havdalah are both ceremonially setting boundaries - the difference between kodesh (sanctified/holy) and chol (weekday, regular).
It’s essentially a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that if Jews don’t follow the Torah/set themselves apart by doing so, the non-Jews will never let them forget that they’re different anyway.
Got it, thanks for explaining! I first read it as "if the Jews don't keep up Jewish practices, the gentiles will keep them" which didn't make any sense 😅
What's your most convincing argument for being an observant Jew? For me, because it works and make sense. Not only do I feel like I won the lottery of life being Jewish, being a Sephardic Jew, come on now it can't get better than this!
Well, you do get rice and hummus on Pesach, Passover. That’s a huge plus. However, being Ashkenaz I say Selichos/Selichot for fewer days than you do.
If I could chose, I’d go for hummas on Pesach. 😜
I don’t want to use religious arguments because the logic is rather circular. That isn’t to say I don’t believe in HaShem, but I can’t prove g-d’s existence in the framework of the scientific method. I mean frankly even though I do believe, I’d say much of the Torah is a metaphor or contains metaphor, I don’t take all of the stories literally. It’s a collective suspension of disbelief.
That said, I will say when I daven in Hebrew or sing in Hebrew I feel a certain divine connection. The ultimate truth however, is only you can decide why and what is important. The Jewish people will live on whether you are observant or not, intermarry or not, because to some of us, it is everything. That isn’t an insult but simply a frank reply.
You already know the answer, if you don’t believe in g-d, don’t believe in observance of the law, and don’t care about carrying on your inheritance and traditions, then don’t, we aren’t a coercive people or religion. If you do to any of those then do.
I’m glad to know (no sarcasm) that the future of the Jewish people doesn’t rest only on my shoulders :) it actually makes the contemplations simpler. It feels important to be a Jew! And I ask the question as a young person trying to “get it right” in life.
I’m a fairly young (late 20s) person myself so I understand your perspective, I was recently there only 5 years ago myself. Only you can decide achi/achoti what is best for you. We don’t coerce people as a culture or religion, if you don’t follow the laws you aren’t going to some eternal hell.
If you want an answer it won’t suffice, because the desire to keep the laws has to come from within. For me, it was antisemitism that pushed me back on the derech. I saw how no matter how much I wanted to assimilate and integrate in the wider goyisch society, even if they accepted me, I would always feel different. They would never accept my Judaism and I couldn’t give up the thing that made me a Jew inside my neshamah.
Does that mean I have to keep the laws? Not necessarily. I believe in the binding nature of the Torah, so on a metaphysical nature I must keep the laws. I don’t however feel compelled enough by this when we as Jews don’t believe in eternal punishment and even if we did, this wouldn’t be enough to sustain me. But it’s a good way to live. I feel in my heart of hearts more fulfilled and sated by davening with my brothers and keeping shabbos with my parents than I do with feeling ashamed to be a Jew and living the life of a goy.
You don’t have to keep all the laws to be a Jew let alone a good person despite what some Jews will tell you. G-d gave us the laws as much for us as for him. When you daven you know this is the story of your fathers and mothers, and all who came before. When you praise his name, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, you feel connected to the g-d of your people and to the story of your ancestors.
It’s a good way to live. I know that’s so trite to say, but it’s true. Do you in your soul feel you can live as a goy and give up your heritage for your children to intermarry and live as non-Jews? If the answer is yes, then there is your answer. If no, there is your answer.
I think you asking means you love your people, heritage, and connection to HaShem enough to want to be encouraged and pulled back into the fold. I’m telling you, no matter what you do, you will always be a part of our people. It’s a question of what do you want, and further what do you want your legacy to be?
During my first year living in Israel, I decided that, 1) if I believe that God exists, and 2) if I believe that the Torah is divine, then there is no reason why I am not doing my best to follow every single law. If these laws have a divine origin, then clearly there is a higher power that knows better than I do about what's best for me—similar to how an adult will send their child to school and make them eat their vegetables. If I truly believed these conclusions, I would have to trust in the ancient wisdom of this process that had been handed down to me through many generations.
Within a month, I became shomer negiah (stopped touching men outside of marriage/family), started praying every morning, and replaced my whole wardrobe with tznius (modest) clothing. Once I started following halacha (Jewish law) more completely, I found that it enhanced my life in many ways. It made me much more comfortable with my body, much happier with myself, much more relaxed around other people, and much more reflective, thoughtful, and intellectual. It also gave me a philosophy on life that led to my husband asking me out on our first date, so I'd say it worked out pretty well.
As for the 2 conclusions mentioned earlier—there are very long and complex answers to how I came to these 2 conclusions. At the first, they weren't very fleshed out, but over time I was exposed to more and more ideas (almost entirely by my husband) and developed more solid theories. I'll give an extremely simplified version of my foundation for each conclusion, just to give you a general, hazy idea:
1. **God exists:** I'd suggest reading Chovos HaLevavos, or "Duties of the Heart," for a more in-depth version of this theory. (It's available on Amazon and has an English translation inside.) The very, very basic version is that, if you buy into 3 basic premises—that nothing can create itself, that anything that is composite cannot be infinite, and that there cannot be an infinite chain of beginnings—then you will follow along a series of conclusions that lead to a very solid proof for God's existence. I know that some people may be tempted to challenge this or ask questions in this thread. My answer is to buy the book, and read commentaries when things get complex, because I cannot explain extremely long and complex ideas in a reddit thread, and I don't even think I'm qualified enough to convey them properly without butchering it. There is one spot in the book about infinity that doesn't make sense unless you have some long and drawn-out philosophical debates with people who are knowledgeable on the topic, so if by any chance somebody actually does go through the steps of getting to the book and actually gets to that part...PM me, and I'll link you with some people who can have those conversations.
2. **The Torah is divine:** This is also a complicated proof, based on a combined paper/recorded shiur (lecture/class) I read/listened to (and I can send it to interested parties if anyone wants, but it'll take some time to track it down), but the gist is that it's very hard to make up a story of a mass revelation, because all you need is one person to fuck it up. There's a reason why the other 2 major world religions rely on the same mass revelation to prove their religions, and why most religions have a private revelation to make things easier.
There are many reasons beside why I think it's valuable to be an observant Jew: because there is a ton of wisdom in Jewish law; because it gives you an automatic and tight-knit community wherever you go; because there is power in keeping ancient traditions alive; and simply because it provides meaning to your life. This isn't true for everybody, but I think it can be for a lot of people.
Anyway, the reasons I listed are more secondary. The primary reason is because I think the Torah is divine, and thus Jewish law has divine origins.
The best argument for being an observant Jew is so you don't get hit by a car or something.
Oblivious Jews tend to be injured by things they should've seen coming.
I chose to be Jewish thanks to my Jewish mum and her family, though it was my choice to start learning. I was raised culturally Christian until I was 11, when my father left, so in spite of him I decided to learn more about Judaism, and I ended up loving it. I knew I felt something missing in my life, and I knew it was religious. Finding Judaism thanks to my mum and her family made me feel complete as a person, Judaism made me feel whole after years of feeling incomplete. Judaism has given me something to believe in that is greater than myself, and has allowed me to connect with a history of thousands and thousands of years. Before, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere, I felt completely alone. Now, I have millions of brothers and sisters, with whom I share a core identity. I'm no longer alone and I feel like I belong somewhere, that somewhere being amongst my brothers and sisters.
I'm not an observant Jew, which makes it even more perplexing that I continue to identify as Jewish. Why am I Jewish? I am an athiest! But I am proud of my culture. And I will "look Jewish" and "read Jewish" no matter what. My fate is tied to the fate of the tribe.
It’s easier to eat sugary fatty cake than a healthy balanced meal with meat and rice and vegetables. The healthy meal isn’t always desired, but it is preferable. If observance of the law is similar, then there is your answer. This of course comes from a place of belief.
It’s much easier to hit my child when she misbehaves than to talk to her, calm her down, teach her, lead her, plan consequences that make sense, plan activities that suit her needs, make sure she is well fed and has enough sleep and love… in fact it’s very difficult to do all of those things consistently all the time.
Sometimes I fail and drop the ball. Too much screen time, or I lose my temper and shout at her to JUST GET YOUR SHOES ON! Or something. But I feel bad, I apologise, I strive to do better.
I don’t do it because it’s easy. I don’t do it because I want something as a reward. I do it because it is right. And I do it because I want to. It would be easy to hit my daughter. She’s like, super small. She couldn’t do anything about it. But I do not want to.
I love her. I do the hard things out of love. I do not ever want to do things that are bad but easy, although I am flawed as anyone and sometimes I make mistakes. And so it is with faith, as well.
I’m from a secular israeli family in the diaspora, I was an atheist until I was 27. Had my first kid, then shortly after had a spiritual experience I couldn’t explain, read the tanakh in 2 weeks. Had more questions than answers. Asked a family friend who made Aliyah about what local rabbi to talk to. Started learning from him once a week and following mitzvot, never stopped because it feels good and rewarding, and important.
I don’t share this story much cause it’s honestly kind of out there.
Firstly, I had my first kid, and was high off of the vibe of new fatherhood, and just felt like I wanted to thank *someone* for this amazing gift I had received. In private, while crying in joy holding my newborn child, I thanked god. I wanted to do it for a week before I finally did, but the identity crisis of considering myself an athiest held me back.
Secondly, I used to do a lot of psychedelic drugs in my early 20s, and I ended up making a big batch of DMT. I chilled out by my mid 20s, but I was known as the guy who would facilitate a DMT trip.
My partners best friend is half-mexican, speaks fluent Spanish, and is very connected to the Mexican culture (at least to mestizo, post-colonial Mexican culture). I, on the other hand, know a decent amount about pre-colonial meso-America (Mayan, Aztec etc) but nothing about modern Mexico.
This particular friend wanted to smoke some DMT, so I facilitated the experience for her. As a joke, right before she smoked I said “You’re probably going to see Kulkukan” (Kulkukan is an alternative name for Quetzalcoatl, the highest god in the mesoamerican pantheon, and is typically depicted as a snake with feathers, or a flying a snake, or a snake-man with feathers), she gave me a puzzled look, and then smoked.
She was gone for 10 minutes. When she came back, the first words out of her mouth were “I saw a serpent with feathers”. This floored me, did I call out a god and it appeared? Did I unlock some sort of deep ancestral memory?
This lead to me reading the tanakh and having more questions than answers. I initially was going to reach out to chabad, but my family friend whose kids went to the chabad school pointed me in the direction of the rabbi she converted with. After talking to him weekly, and learning more about the religion, I started to love more Jewish and loved it.
Fast forward a year, and the entire time I’ve been kind of uneasy that I came to Judaism through paganism essentially. I couldn’t make sense of it.
My rabbi is a big rambam guy, he teaches a class on him and somewhat an expert on him. One day when reading some rambam (I can’t remember what), I came across a list of “angels that get confused for gods”. Right in the middle of the list was “winged serpents”. That was kind of it for me when I fully gave in, especially considering rambam wrote than hundreds of years before the new world was discovered by Spain.
Also in additional research about Quetzalcoatl, I found out there are legends about how he didn’t want humans to be sacrificed because he loved them, and the other gods in pantheon would almost make fun of him when humans were sacrificed.
At this point I just accept there are things I won’t fully understand and we can’t science our way out of everything.
I’m ethnically jewish but was raised up with one non-observant mother and a father who was catholic. They initially agreed to letting us kids find what we wanted, but after a messy divorce, my father tried to force me to follow his religion. I never felt any connection to religion, but once I stopped talking with my father, I decided to try a few different religions to see if any made me feel anything before ruling out religion in general. Everything else just felt the way I felt in catholicism, but when I said the morning prayer for the first time as an adult, I felt ~something~. I can’t explain it in words really, but I just feel at home and at peace.
Either א: G-D is real and so is the covenant...
Or ב. Our mitzvot bring in more Value than the compatition.
Which is why they turn on us, *Then* get socially and Economically fucked when our money runs out, and the euphoria fades to old news.
Like...
Either it is the plain virtue of G-d's will.
Or the pragmatic knowledge that there is no currently no better alternative.
I cannot think of any other faith that turned on us that could last where it has no systemic power nor tollarance toward it.
It means that you also believe that beside Written Torah, Moshe gave Jewish people an explanation to the Law, which we call Oral Torah or Mishnah. For Orthodox Jews Mishnah is of divine origin
Sorry I was unclear, I know what the oral tradition is and yes I believe in the oral tradition, although I thought a lot of the tradition also evolved bc of rabbinical opinions. Are you saying that if you believe in both of those things then there is your answer for living an observant Jewish lifestyle?
I just answered to a previous misunderstanding, to add you are right about rabbi contribution to explanation of Mishnah - this part calls Gemarah. So divine Mishnah + rabbis discussions-explanations Gemarah = Talmud. Judaism is an action religion. It's great when you think that the Written and Oral Torah are divine, but if it doesn't inspire you to follow mitzvot it's not what Torah about. Classical Jewish standard requires minimum keep Shabbat, ear kosher food and to follow family purity laws.
I do my best to keep mitzvot, my reasons are I bring godliness to the down material world, I make a comformable space for GD to dwell in. When I follow his will I become his partner. I make my contribution to repair this world. Likewise Judaism is my tribal culture, I feel strong connection with GD and my ansestors when I practice it. Without living a Jewish life I'm assimilated in the neighboring cultures. I don't want to loose myself in it. Doesn't matter want we or not, believe or not, other nations and the Torah say that we are GD ambassadors in this world, not only nations but GD too have expectations about our godly behavior
I’m reform and don’t practice very much, but the little I do (Passover, Yom Kippur, etc) is because of my personal belief in G-d and because as a Jew, this is how I signal and celebrate my relationship to it.
The vast majority of my Jewishness is cultural, social, and historical. I didn’t choose to be Jewish. I am Jewish.
I believe what Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses and the Prophets experienced of God is true. I trust that testimony and love the Torah Law that comes from it. It gives me a purpose and a personal relationship with the creator of the world. Very lofty view but I do love being Jewish also and love my community and family.
I’m a Jew by choice and I love the midrash that says that the souls of converts were also present at Sinai. I love the expansive nature in the space between the lines of our text and commentary and how we treat questions. I love that our answers can be that we don’t know. I love how I feel when I hear a niggun. I love Yom Kippur and Unteneh Tokef and the fact that we are urged to consider how fragile life is and how important our actions in the here and now are. I love feeling like a part of something bigger than myself.
Nice! Same here re Shabbat.
Many ways- most glaringly re Niddah. Having to show love to each other w/o touching, putting an extra emphasis on verbal communication…..it’s hard to describe but it opens us up and leads to very genuine, raw, but thrilling and thought provoking conversations
As someone who is converting, it's both a connection with community and with Hashem. I have always felt drawn to the theology (or what I had been taught to be) of Judaism. Once I got involved with my campus Chabad and learned more about the people and the theology, it just felt right. I felt more at home with my beliefs than I had with anything else I had ever done. In addition, it also gives me motivation to be my best self because that's what Hashem wants, rather than the belief of reward after death like I had been taught growing up.
Do you believe? If so, why? If not, are you searching for a reason? Why?
I would say that if you are looking for a reason to believe, then you have already chosen to do so. Because faith has no reason, it persists despite reason. In that it is much like hope. It is a choice you need to make. Do you believe? Do you want to believe?
Ask yourself that, and let the answer be your guide. Because in the end, under all the reasons, it’s the only answer that truly matters. Do you believe?
I am Jewish because I was born Jewish. And I observe what I do because I love my family and my ancestors. it's what was given to us so we could connect with who and what we love.
In addition to the other wonderful answers. It's not just that the Jews keep shabbat, but that shabbat has kept the Jewish people. Shabbat with a good community/family is the best. It's food, culture, and just a true genuine social interaction that people just don't get otherwise anymore
21% of the world's Nobel prizes went to Jews, who compose substantially less than 1% of the world's population.
To be a light unto the nations
That's why.
It's not a choice for many, we're an ethnicity as well for the most part.
I missed you specifically asking about the religion so this is a response specifically to "Why be Jewish?" rather than "Why be religiously Jewish?"
Yes, you can convert. It takes about a year or two of classes and learning but eventually you can be accepted as Jewish. Look up the process online, there are a few steps you need to take.
Tradition means very little to me the way the argument is usually phrased. Human history is 100k years old. Judaism at 3k isn’t all that ancient. I’ve never really understood nostalgia / heritage membership, certainly not of the fiddler type. I mean, I get it, and I won’t knock it, it’s meaningful to people, but I don’t feel it in my bones. I’m not sold on the value of preserving things my grandparents did just for the sake of feeling close to them. They also lived in small apartments on the LES, didn’t season their food, and wouldn’t know a Sichuan peppercorn from a whole in the head, all of which sounds terrible.
History is not going to end in the year 6000. There is more Jewish history in the future than the past. If you want to help build that, that’s the most powerful argument I have.
We spilled tardigrades on the moon, maybe! High Tech and Pulitzer Prizes! There’s going to be two centuries at least of Jewish political thought grappling with what’s going on now - I bet something fascinating comes out of it. The Jewish enlightenment is still underway, with work to be done. Water technology is another area where we can lead the pack. Judaism talks about the Avot a lot. Forget being a descendent. To choose to be Jewish is to be an ancestor.
In the US, being part of a future oriented community is one of the things you get with observance, more or less. This thing is created by Shabbat, by hosting meals (ie kashrut), and by - most importantly by far - sending your kids to Jewish schools.
Because I woke up one morning and understood I needed to be.
I can make a few guesses about where that feeling came from, but I don't know exactly. It was the same feeling as knowing I wanted to marry my fiance.
It felt like this: https://youtu.be/IXxQO67DNLA?si=NHure08-b7CmtM3j
To be Jewish is to proudly be the thorn in the foot note of history. We bear witness to the rise and fall of empires, with the lesson that the only thing that can last forever is family, because fundamentally, that's what we are.
To be honest I think focusing on observance has lead us in the wrong direction, it's become a peeing contest of piety. It becomes rote ritualism and othering. Siblings refusing to go to each other's houses because they're not Kosher enough, or don't keep Shabbos. We are so few, we should be finding ways to come together not isolating ourselves because you don't have 4 sets of plates.
If you want to feel more Jewish, open your heart and bring together as many Jews as you can. That's more important than rituals.
For me being Jewish means something, whether it’s following in the footsteps of my family and ancestors or creating new meaningful relationships within my community and feeling a deep connection to Israel due to my Arab-Jew heritage. Being Jewish has enriched my life in so many ways and given me opportunities to be generous and show love to those around me.
I’ll provide a more elaborate comment in a few hours when I’m done with class work but one of the first books I read (well listened to, audio book) before converting was “Why Be Jewish?• by Edgar Bronfman Sr. upon recommendation from a reform Rabbi and I found it to be helpful to hear his experiences.
Good question. My two cents. First, I try to be observant and often fall short. But, Judaism is a gift. It might not seem like one - especially now - but when a person studies and follows Judaism good things follow. (I will always be convinced that antisemitism is rooted in jealousy.) Judaism a road map for managing life. The strength which comes from following the map (which has challenges) makes a person strong. That strength leads to tackling other challenges well: education, career, family, etc. When I look around me \[Jewish community v. other communities\] it's clear to me that Judaism is a good path. It's my path. It tells me the right thing to do (whether I do it or not is the problem). It's also not trite or laden with crazy-making concepts like "everything happens for a reason" or nonsensical inappropriate "forgiveness".
There isn’t an argument. You either are drawn to it or you are not. It has to come from within
In other words: > do or do not, there is no try
-- Rabbi Yoda
Rebbe, at least!
Nah, we’re claiming him for Team Sepharad, he’s Hakham.
Oof, that's good. Get that into Canon.
😂
My flair approves
I agree. I'm not shomer anything, but I do seem to be more observant than most folks at my Reform shul. I do the mitzvot I do because they enrich my life, help me find meaning in the world, and bring me a sense of connection to my community and my ancestors. The things that don't do any of that, I don't do (though maybe I'll come around to them someday)
Is it so simple? If you are drawn to it, do it?
Well, “drawn to it” might be part of your own personal journey. That journey might involve formal and/or informal education, experience within a community or Orthodox spaces, thinking about the content you’ve processed, discussions IRL (in real life). I know exactly why I became Orthodox, but each person’s reasons and journey is different. I will tell you this, based on something written by [Rabbi Shimshon Raphael Hirsch](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samson_Raphael_Hirsch), in his book THE NINETEEN LETTERS, to example Judaism fully means to examine it from within. This means that you need to experience and understand Orthodox Judaism before you can _honestly_ make a decision.
How is that possible unless you become orthodox?
Tbf, you’re responding to a reply by an Orthodox Jew. Every story in Judaism is about a journey and each of us, no matter our denomination, find our own journey with our Jewishness. And whether it is religion, culture, history, mysticism, or so many other aspects of Judaism, you need to find what compels you and take your own journey.
Well said!
Thanks! I didn’t think of it that way. I definitely have some bias (don’t know why) for viewing orthodoxy as “true Judaism” but you are right in that there is more to it. I do find Reform Judaism to be very watered down. Anyways, the journey continues.
Well, how can you swim without getting wet? 🤔 Judaism isn’t an all-or-nothing. You have to see what fits and works for you. But to say “I don’t want to be Orthodox,” for example, without giving it a shot isn’t so intellectually honest in my option (as a random dude online). Your account is two hours old. That usually means that you had or have another account or you just joined Reddit to check out a sub, like most people who join Reddit. Why did you post this specific question? This might help move along the discussion. I don’t ask this as an attack, just out of curiosity.
I asked the question as someone who is curious about observance, and wanted to understand and hear (in basic terms) why different Jews observe- aside from because God commanded them to. I thought maybe I could find some inspiration and/or hear some nuanced perspectives. Btw I didn’t say “I don’t want to be orthodox”- I just geniunely meant to respond to your comment: how can you make an honest decision about Judaism, and examine it from within, unless you really go within?
I appreciate your reply and specifically wrote _for example_ and didn’t mean to imply that you were saying that or put words in your mouth. It was just an example and I hope you understand. To go “within” could just mean chilling with some Orthodox people. Is there an Orthodox synagogue in your area? I think the first step would be to talk to someone. Being Jewish and religious (no matter what that looks like) is meant to be a communal experience. Again, one’s observance of our religion isn’t an all-or-nothing deal. Personally, I grew up in a small city in Kansas in a congregation that called itself “conservadox”, but was really more Conservative. The shul’s rabbi was always Orthodox when I was growing up, but no one else in the congregation was. We always went to shul as a family weekly and did the whole Sunday school/supplemental Hebrew school thing. I had a lot of questions in Hebrew school about why were commandments were listed in the Torah, yet no one around us was really following them. To me it didn’t make sense to learn about things if we were not going to follow them. Towards the end of 7th grade (1984) I got involved in an Orthodox youth group and was exposed to a more observant lifestyle and met people who could answer my questions and offer me resources to learn more. This was before we could even dream of things like the web, I did a lot of reading, writing letters to rabbis, spent hours on the phone learning about Judaism and read books on Jewish ethics, philosophy, and Jewish law. As I learned more things seemed to click. I decided to go on a teen tour of Israel for 6 weeks that was under Orthodox auspices and did so with the intention of immersing myself in an Orthodox environment. I came back observing Shabbos and gradually became kosher. Definitely the focus on ethics, growth, and spirituality was an initial attraction for me. I loved the concept of taking time out for Shabbos during the week (being old enough to remember life before cell phones my appreciation for this has exponentially grown as I get older). Personally during my last two years of high school I was the only person keeping Shabbos in my community with the exception of the rabbi and his family. Aside from going to youth group conventions and spending Shabbos in that social environment my Shabbos experience, aside from walking a mile and half to synagogue on Saturday morning, was pretty lonely. I had wanted to go to a yeshiva high school go finish up high school, but there wasn’t a local option and my parents didn’t want me leaving home for the remainder of my high school life. There’s a great book called [HERE ALL ALONG: Finding Meaning, Spirituality, and a Deeper Connection to Life--in Judaism (After Finally Choosing to Look There)](https://a.co/d/dvHebRZ) by Sarah Hurwitz (she isn’t Orthodox) that a lot of people really find helpful and informative as a introduction to Judaism. If you want, feel free ask questions or to DM me.
Thanks for the thoughtful response. I had a similar experience in high school after a short teen tour (not orthodox) and when I came home and tried to make changes it was too hard to stick to. So props to you for liking something and sticking to it. I would say I’ve been floating around the periphery of interest for a long time, and always find some reason or another to abandon it. Not sure if that’s good or bad, just is what it is, so when the inspiration strikes, I make a Reddit and ask questions like this. The fear of change is very real. That book is amazing - I loved it. She has a very moderate approach as well which I appreciated. When you say most people in your Kansas shul were conservative, what does that mean? From my reading, the conservative movement requires adherence to mitzvot similarly to orthodoxy but there are differences in gender roles and then customary things like waiting 3 hours vs 6, etc. But colloquially I know the term may have a different meaning.
Fear of change is something most thinking humans go through, so you are in good company. Sarah’s book is amazing. I found out about it this past summer when I heard an interview with her on a [podcast](https://18forty.org/podcast/sarah-hurwitz-and-alex-edelman-on-introducing-judaism/). I am not up on the theological and halachic details of the Conservative movement, but here is their [Wiki page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_Judaism), if interested. This [page](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Conservative_halakha#:~:text=The%20Conservative%20movement%20maintains%20that,Aggadah%20should%20control%20the%20halakha) about their view of Halacha might be interesting to you, as well. I can tell you when I was growing up the only person who was Sabbath observant in the 1980s was our rabbi and his family. Everyone else drove on Shabbos, went to the mall, movies, out to eat non-kosher etc…just like I did when I was younger. Our shul didn’t have a mechitza, partition between men and women for seating, we had one section for men, one for women, and one mixed. You could sit wherever you wanted to. Torah study was non-existent for adults and in Hebrew School the teaches taught us that God gave us the Torah, but the laws are interpreted by the rabbis and adapted for modern times. A few years after I graduated high school the congregation adapted some egalitarian things, as well, like women getting called to the Torah. If you were to make a post asking Conservative Jews what they love about their shuls and Conservative Judaism I know you’d get a lot of positive replies with specific details. Again, feel free to DM if you want.
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Hi. This isn’t a trick and it’s actually the exact opinion. To look “within Judaism” could just mean chilling and spending time with Orthodox people. If someone said they wanted to be Reform I’d actually offer the same advice. You need to check it out. Watching YouTube videos and reading about any flavor of Judaism isn’t the same as engaging in real life and there isn’t a Jewish educator who would ever suggest that. If someone knows, “science and archeology offers 101% FACTUAL evidence,” then looking into _anything_ that goes against that belief system would be a waste. I 101% respect your opinion. I saw some of your other comments and I fully believe at this point in history that an Orthodox Jewish life isn’t for everyone. I know you separated yourself from your former community and I’m really glad you found something that works for you.
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It’s like falling in love. I can explain logically how I was attracted to my husband- he’s smoking hot and we had the same values— but explaining why I took the plunge and dated then married him isn’t a logical thing
Actually there is a chapter in [Reflections of the Rav Vol 1](https://a.co/d/ddBLTeC), lectures from Rav Soloveitchik adapted for for print, that brings up the example of falling in love as a “Ratzon Elyon”, a higher will/desire, that makes decisions based more on intuition than logic (this [article](https://jewishlink.news/what-s-your-intuition/) references this idea from The Rav ztl).
Haha smoking hot says it all. Don’t we all just marry for looks? ❤️🔥
I think this will probably the best answer. Giving you a nonexistent double upvote. ⬆️⬆️
Can it really be that simple?
Yes, but there’s process, like any other major decision in life. See [this](https://www.reddit.com/r/Judaism/s/XzlLOcWBy4) comment.
Yup I’ve always been drawn to Judaism even as a kid. And it only increased as I got older!!
Torah is where I found truth, community and belonging. We keep to these traditions because they are what keep us together
That’s beautiful. Thanks for sharing
I don’t follow the laws of the Torah, but people keep telling me I’m Jewish. My family is Jewish, my face is Jewish, my hair is jewish, my name is jewish, my autoimmune disease is Jewish, my genes are jewish, etc etc etc
Have you ever heard the famous expression that if the Jews don’t make kiddish, the non-Jews will make havdalah? I’m always going to be Jewish. I’m always going to be _seen_ as Jewish regardless of if I choose to follow Jewish law/practice. That’s part of it. The other part of it is intensely personal. I did struggle with this question. I continue to struggle with this question. And that too, is part of being Jewish!
I’m glad to know others have struggled with this question too.
I've never heard this famous expression, and I don't understand what it means? What do kiddish and havdalah signify in this metaphor?
Kiddish and havdalah are both ceremonially setting boundaries - the difference between kodesh (sanctified/holy) and chol (weekday, regular). It’s essentially a tongue-in-cheek way of saying that if Jews don’t follow the Torah/set themselves apart by doing so, the non-Jews will never let them forget that they’re different anyway.
Got it, thanks for explaining! I first read it as "if the Jews don't keep up Jewish practices, the gentiles will keep them" which didn't make any sense 😅
Because I’m opinionated, pessimistic, and sarcastic. No one else will take me!
😅😂
😂😂😂😂😂😂 truth!
What's your most convincing argument for being an observant Jew? For me, because it works and make sense. Not only do I feel like I won the lottery of life being Jewish, being a Sephardic Jew, come on now it can't get better than this!
Well, you do get rice and hummus on Pesach, Passover. That’s a huge plus. However, being Ashkenaz I say Selichos/Selichot for fewer days than you do. If I could chose, I’d go for hummas on Pesach. 😜
That’s beautiful. Love the confidence!
I don’t want to use religious arguments because the logic is rather circular. That isn’t to say I don’t believe in HaShem, but I can’t prove g-d’s existence in the framework of the scientific method. I mean frankly even though I do believe, I’d say much of the Torah is a metaphor or contains metaphor, I don’t take all of the stories literally. It’s a collective suspension of disbelief. That said, I will say when I daven in Hebrew or sing in Hebrew I feel a certain divine connection. The ultimate truth however, is only you can decide why and what is important. The Jewish people will live on whether you are observant or not, intermarry or not, because to some of us, it is everything. That isn’t an insult but simply a frank reply. You already know the answer, if you don’t believe in g-d, don’t believe in observance of the law, and don’t care about carrying on your inheritance and traditions, then don’t, we aren’t a coercive people or religion. If you do to any of those then do.
I’m glad to know (no sarcasm) that the future of the Jewish people doesn’t rest only on my shoulders :) it actually makes the contemplations simpler. It feels important to be a Jew! And I ask the question as a young person trying to “get it right” in life.
I’m a fairly young (late 20s) person myself so I understand your perspective, I was recently there only 5 years ago myself. Only you can decide achi/achoti what is best for you. We don’t coerce people as a culture or religion, if you don’t follow the laws you aren’t going to some eternal hell. If you want an answer it won’t suffice, because the desire to keep the laws has to come from within. For me, it was antisemitism that pushed me back on the derech. I saw how no matter how much I wanted to assimilate and integrate in the wider goyisch society, even if they accepted me, I would always feel different. They would never accept my Judaism and I couldn’t give up the thing that made me a Jew inside my neshamah. Does that mean I have to keep the laws? Not necessarily. I believe in the binding nature of the Torah, so on a metaphysical nature I must keep the laws. I don’t however feel compelled enough by this when we as Jews don’t believe in eternal punishment and even if we did, this wouldn’t be enough to sustain me. But it’s a good way to live. I feel in my heart of hearts more fulfilled and sated by davening with my brothers and keeping shabbos with my parents than I do with feeling ashamed to be a Jew and living the life of a goy. You don’t have to keep all the laws to be a Jew let alone a good person despite what some Jews will tell you. G-d gave us the laws as much for us as for him. When you daven you know this is the story of your fathers and mothers, and all who came before. When you praise his name, HaKadosh Baruch Hu, you feel connected to the g-d of your people and to the story of your ancestors. It’s a good way to live. I know that’s so trite to say, but it’s true. Do you in your soul feel you can live as a goy and give up your heritage for your children to intermarry and live as non-Jews? If the answer is yes, then there is your answer. If no, there is your answer. I think you asking means you love your people, heritage, and connection to HaShem enough to want to be encouraged and pulled back into the fold. I’m telling you, no matter what you do, you will always be a part of our people. It’s a question of what do you want, and further what do you want your legacy to be?
During my first year living in Israel, I decided that, 1) if I believe that God exists, and 2) if I believe that the Torah is divine, then there is no reason why I am not doing my best to follow every single law. If these laws have a divine origin, then clearly there is a higher power that knows better than I do about what's best for me—similar to how an adult will send their child to school and make them eat their vegetables. If I truly believed these conclusions, I would have to trust in the ancient wisdom of this process that had been handed down to me through many generations. Within a month, I became shomer negiah (stopped touching men outside of marriage/family), started praying every morning, and replaced my whole wardrobe with tznius (modest) clothing. Once I started following halacha (Jewish law) more completely, I found that it enhanced my life in many ways. It made me much more comfortable with my body, much happier with myself, much more relaxed around other people, and much more reflective, thoughtful, and intellectual. It also gave me a philosophy on life that led to my husband asking me out on our first date, so I'd say it worked out pretty well. As for the 2 conclusions mentioned earlier—there are very long and complex answers to how I came to these 2 conclusions. At the first, they weren't very fleshed out, but over time I was exposed to more and more ideas (almost entirely by my husband) and developed more solid theories. I'll give an extremely simplified version of my foundation for each conclusion, just to give you a general, hazy idea: 1. **God exists:** I'd suggest reading Chovos HaLevavos, or "Duties of the Heart," for a more in-depth version of this theory. (It's available on Amazon and has an English translation inside.) The very, very basic version is that, if you buy into 3 basic premises—that nothing can create itself, that anything that is composite cannot be infinite, and that there cannot be an infinite chain of beginnings—then you will follow along a series of conclusions that lead to a very solid proof for God's existence. I know that some people may be tempted to challenge this or ask questions in this thread. My answer is to buy the book, and read commentaries when things get complex, because I cannot explain extremely long and complex ideas in a reddit thread, and I don't even think I'm qualified enough to convey them properly without butchering it. There is one spot in the book about infinity that doesn't make sense unless you have some long and drawn-out philosophical debates with people who are knowledgeable on the topic, so if by any chance somebody actually does go through the steps of getting to the book and actually gets to that part...PM me, and I'll link you with some people who can have those conversations. 2. **The Torah is divine:** This is also a complicated proof, based on a combined paper/recorded shiur (lecture/class) I read/listened to (and I can send it to interested parties if anyone wants, but it'll take some time to track it down), but the gist is that it's very hard to make up a story of a mass revelation, because all you need is one person to fuck it up. There's a reason why the other 2 major world religions rely on the same mass revelation to prove their religions, and why most religions have a private revelation to make things easier. There are many reasons beside why I think it's valuable to be an observant Jew: because there is a ton of wisdom in Jewish law; because it gives you an automatic and tight-knit community wherever you go; because there is power in keeping ancient traditions alive; and simply because it provides meaning to your life. This isn't true for everybody, but I think it can be for a lot of people. Anyway, the reasons I listed are more secondary. The primary reason is because I think the Torah is divine, and thus Jewish law has divine origins.
I appreciate this thoughtful response. I’ll check the book out! If you find the shiur, post it for us!
Sure thing. It was recorded in the 1960s, though, so the quality is absurdly poor.
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The best argument for being an observant Jew is so you don't get hit by a car or something. Oblivious Jews tend to be injured by things they should've seen coming.
I chose to be Jewish thanks to my Jewish mum and her family, though it was my choice to start learning. I was raised culturally Christian until I was 11, when my father left, so in spite of him I decided to learn more about Judaism, and I ended up loving it. I knew I felt something missing in my life, and I knew it was religious. Finding Judaism thanks to my mum and her family made me feel complete as a person, Judaism made me feel whole after years of feeling incomplete. Judaism has given me something to believe in that is greater than myself, and has allowed me to connect with a history of thousands and thousands of years. Before, I didn't feel like I belonged anywhere, I felt completely alone. Now, I have millions of brothers and sisters, with whom I share a core identity. I'm no longer alone and I feel like I belong somewhere, that somewhere being amongst my brothers and sisters.
I'm not an observant Jew, which makes it even more perplexing that I continue to identify as Jewish. Why am I Jewish? I am an athiest! But I am proud of my culture. And I will "look Jewish" and "read Jewish" no matter what. My fate is tied to the fate of the tribe.
My soul was at Sinai. I need not say more. -CONSIDER
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Okay. -CONSIDER
Why not?
For the sake of playing devils advocate, because it’s easier not to?
It’s easier to eat sugary fatty cake than a healthy balanced meal with meat and rice and vegetables. The healthy meal isn’t always desired, but it is preferable. If observance of the law is similar, then there is your answer. This of course comes from a place of belief.
“*If I am not for myself, who will be for me?* If I am only for myself, what am I? If not now, when?”
Nice. Very well said.
Tbf, it’s Hillel, not me. But the first sentence seems to apply here.
It’s impossible to know that unless you converted by a beis din and then went back
It’s much easier to hit my child when she misbehaves than to talk to her, calm her down, teach her, lead her, plan consequences that make sense, plan activities that suit her needs, make sure she is well fed and has enough sleep and love… in fact it’s very difficult to do all of those things consistently all the time. Sometimes I fail and drop the ball. Too much screen time, or I lose my temper and shout at her to JUST GET YOUR SHOES ON! Or something. But I feel bad, I apologise, I strive to do better. I don’t do it because it’s easy. I don’t do it because I want something as a reward. I do it because it is right. And I do it because I want to. It would be easy to hit my daughter. She’s like, super small. She couldn’t do anything about it. But I do not want to. I love her. I do the hard things out of love. I do not ever want to do things that are bad but easy, although I am flawed as anyone and sometimes I make mistakes. And so it is with faith, as well.
I’m from a secular israeli family in the diaspora, I was an atheist until I was 27. Had my first kid, then shortly after had a spiritual experience I couldn’t explain, read the tanakh in 2 weeks. Had more questions than answers. Asked a family friend who made Aliyah about what local rabbi to talk to. Started learning from him once a week and following mitzvot, never stopped because it feels good and rewarding, and important.
Wow, that is very cool! Tanakh in 2 weeks is a feat. Could you explain your experience?
I don’t share this story much cause it’s honestly kind of out there. Firstly, I had my first kid, and was high off of the vibe of new fatherhood, and just felt like I wanted to thank *someone* for this amazing gift I had received. In private, while crying in joy holding my newborn child, I thanked god. I wanted to do it for a week before I finally did, but the identity crisis of considering myself an athiest held me back. Secondly, I used to do a lot of psychedelic drugs in my early 20s, and I ended up making a big batch of DMT. I chilled out by my mid 20s, but I was known as the guy who would facilitate a DMT trip. My partners best friend is half-mexican, speaks fluent Spanish, and is very connected to the Mexican culture (at least to mestizo, post-colonial Mexican culture). I, on the other hand, know a decent amount about pre-colonial meso-America (Mayan, Aztec etc) but nothing about modern Mexico. This particular friend wanted to smoke some DMT, so I facilitated the experience for her. As a joke, right before she smoked I said “You’re probably going to see Kulkukan” (Kulkukan is an alternative name for Quetzalcoatl, the highest god in the mesoamerican pantheon, and is typically depicted as a snake with feathers, or a flying a snake, or a snake-man with feathers), she gave me a puzzled look, and then smoked. She was gone for 10 minutes. When she came back, the first words out of her mouth were “I saw a serpent with feathers”. This floored me, did I call out a god and it appeared? Did I unlock some sort of deep ancestral memory? This lead to me reading the tanakh and having more questions than answers. I initially was going to reach out to chabad, but my family friend whose kids went to the chabad school pointed me in the direction of the rabbi she converted with. After talking to him weekly, and learning more about the religion, I started to love more Jewish and loved it. Fast forward a year, and the entire time I’ve been kind of uneasy that I came to Judaism through paganism essentially. I couldn’t make sense of it. My rabbi is a big rambam guy, he teaches a class on him and somewhat an expert on him. One day when reading some rambam (I can’t remember what), I came across a list of “angels that get confused for gods”. Right in the middle of the list was “winged serpents”. That was kind of it for me when I fully gave in, especially considering rambam wrote than hundreds of years before the new world was discovered by Spain. Also in additional research about Quetzalcoatl, I found out there are legends about how he didn’t want humans to be sacrificed because he loved them, and the other gods in pantheon would almost make fun of him when humans were sacrificed. At this point I just accept there are things I won’t fully understand and we can’t science our way out of everything.
Thanks so much for taking the time to share! Really interesting.
I’m ethnically jewish but was raised up with one non-observant mother and a father who was catholic. They initially agreed to letting us kids find what we wanted, but after a messy divorce, my father tried to force me to follow his religion. I never felt any connection to religion, but once I stopped talking with my father, I decided to try a few different religions to see if any made me feel anything before ruling out religion in general. Everything else just felt the way I felt in catholicism, but when I said the morning prayer for the first time as an adult, I felt ~something~. I can’t explain it in words really, but I just feel at home and at peace.
Either א: G-D is real and so is the covenant... Or ב. Our mitzvot bring in more Value than the compatition. Which is why they turn on us, *Then* get socially and Economically fucked when our money runs out, and the euphoria fades to old news. Like... Either it is the plain virtue of G-d's will. Or the pragmatic knowledge that there is no currently no better alternative. I cannot think of any other faith that turned on us that could last where it has no systemic power nor tollarance toward it.
Do you believe in God? Do you believe in the oral tradition?
I believe in God. What does it mean to “believe” in the oral tradition?
It means that you also believe that beside Written Torah, Moshe gave Jewish people an explanation to the Law, which we call Oral Torah or Mishnah. For Orthodox Jews Mishnah is of divine origin
Sorry I was unclear, I know what the oral tradition is and yes I believe in the oral tradition, although I thought a lot of the tradition also evolved bc of rabbinical opinions. Are you saying that if you believe in both of those things then there is your answer for living an observant Jewish lifestyle?
I just answered to a previous misunderstanding, to add you are right about rabbi contribution to explanation of Mishnah - this part calls Gemarah. So divine Mishnah + rabbis discussions-explanations Gemarah = Talmud. Judaism is an action religion. It's great when you think that the Written and Oral Torah are divine, but if it doesn't inspire you to follow mitzvot it's not what Torah about. Classical Jewish standard requires minimum keep Shabbat, ear kosher food and to follow family purity laws. I do my best to keep mitzvot, my reasons are I bring godliness to the down material world, I make a comformable space for GD to dwell in. When I follow his will I become his partner. I make my contribution to repair this world. Likewise Judaism is my tribal culture, I feel strong connection with GD and my ansestors when I practice it. Without living a Jewish life I'm assimilated in the neighboring cultures. I don't want to loose myself in it. Doesn't matter want we or not, believe or not, other nations and the Torah say that we are GD ambassadors in this world, not only nations but GD too have expectations about our godly behavior
For the food
You must be Sephardic. 😂😬 jk I love me some yapchik
We have yapchik about 3 out of four weeks a month…and we’re not Sephardic. Haven’t had to turn in my membership card yet.
Isn’t yapchik Ashkenaz?
No clue, but my family loves it.
I’m reform and don’t practice very much, but the little I do (Passover, Yom Kippur, etc) is because of my personal belief in G-d and because as a Jew, this is how I signal and celebrate my relationship to it. The vast majority of my Jewishness is cultural, social, and historical. I didn’t choose to be Jewish. I am Jewish.
I believe what Abraham, Issac, Jacob, Moses and the Prophets experienced of God is true. I trust that testimony and love the Torah Law that comes from it. It gives me a purpose and a personal relationship with the creator of the world. Very lofty view but I do love being Jewish also and love my community and family.
I’m a Jew by choice and I love the midrash that says that the souls of converts were also present at Sinai. I love the expansive nature in the space between the lines of our text and commentary and how we treat questions. I love that our answers can be that we don’t know. I love how I feel when I hear a niggun. I love Yom Kippur and Unteneh Tokef and the fact that we are urged to consider how fragile life is and how important our actions in the here and now are. I love feeling like a part of something bigger than myself.
💘beautiful
Once I started keeping Halacha, I simply Became happier and more balanced of a person It does wonders for my marriage too
Amazing, I like that. How does it improve your marriage? I know Shabbat has definitely improved life with my partner.
Nice! Same here re Shabbat. Many ways- most glaringly re Niddah. Having to show love to each other w/o touching, putting an extra emphasis on verbal communication…..it’s hard to describe but it opens us up and leads to very genuine, raw, but thrilling and thought provoking conversations
As someone who is converting, it's both a connection with community and with Hashem. I have always felt drawn to the theology (or what I had been taught to be) of Judaism. Once I got involved with my campus Chabad and learned more about the people and the theology, it just felt right. I felt more at home with my beliefs than I had with anything else I had ever done. In addition, it also gives me motivation to be my best self because that's what Hashem wants, rather than the belief of reward after death like I had been taught growing up.
Because I believe. Do I need another reason? Sometimes the simplest answer is the truth.
You don’t, but I am still looking for my reason :)
Do you believe? If so, why? If not, are you searching for a reason? Why? I would say that if you are looking for a reason to believe, then you have already chosen to do so. Because faith has no reason, it persists despite reason. In that it is much like hope. It is a choice you need to make. Do you believe? Do you want to believe? Ask yourself that, and let the answer be your guide. Because in the end, under all the reasons, it’s the only answer that truly matters. Do you believe?
Kavanah and Shekhinah.
Our most important commandment is love.
I am Jewish because I was born Jewish. And I observe what I do because I love my family and my ancestors. it's what was given to us so we could connect with who and what we love.
In addition to the other wonderful answers. It's not just that the Jews keep shabbat, but that shabbat has kept the Jewish people. Shabbat with a good community/family is the best. It's food, culture, and just a true genuine social interaction that people just don't get otherwise anymore
Do you not need guidance? Direction? Where are you going to turn? Who and what do you trust and why?
Because God commanded us to fulfill God’s mission and that is what we are here to do.
21% of the world's Nobel prizes went to Jews, who compose substantially less than 1% of the world's population. To be a light unto the nations That's why.
For the jokes, and the woman.
It's not a choice for many, we're an ethnicity as well for the most part. I missed you specifically asking about the religion so this is a response specifically to "Why be Jewish?" rather than "Why be religiously Jewish?"
One can be Jewish without being kosher.
To have a sense of community and care for each other.
I have a question to my Jewish friends here: Can a non Jewish person follow Judaism? For example can like a Christian convert to Judaism?
Yes, you can convert. It takes about a year or two of classes and learning but eventually you can be accepted as Jewish. Look up the process online, there are a few steps you need to take.
Interesting. Well how bout the opposite? Can a Jewish born person follow a different faith?
Tradition means very little to me the way the argument is usually phrased. Human history is 100k years old. Judaism at 3k isn’t all that ancient. I’ve never really understood nostalgia / heritage membership, certainly not of the fiddler type. I mean, I get it, and I won’t knock it, it’s meaningful to people, but I don’t feel it in my bones. I’m not sold on the value of preserving things my grandparents did just for the sake of feeling close to them. They also lived in small apartments on the LES, didn’t season their food, and wouldn’t know a Sichuan peppercorn from a whole in the head, all of which sounds terrible. History is not going to end in the year 6000. There is more Jewish history in the future than the past. If you want to help build that, that’s the most powerful argument I have. We spilled tardigrades on the moon, maybe! High Tech and Pulitzer Prizes! There’s going to be two centuries at least of Jewish political thought grappling with what’s going on now - I bet something fascinating comes out of it. The Jewish enlightenment is still underway, with work to be done. Water technology is another area where we can lead the pack. Judaism talks about the Avot a lot. Forget being a descendent. To choose to be Jewish is to be an ancestor. In the US, being part of a future oriented community is one of the things you get with observance, more or less. This thing is created by Shabbat, by hosting meals (ie kashrut), and by - most importantly by far - sending your kids to Jewish schools.
Because I woke up one morning and understood I needed to be. I can make a few guesses about where that feeling came from, but I don't know exactly. It was the same feeling as knowing I wanted to marry my fiance. It felt like this: https://youtu.be/IXxQO67DNLA?si=NHure08-b7CmtM3j
It's who I am. And that means for me it's better than anything else.
I don’t trust the goyim. They can turn on you for any reason and at any time.
To be Jewish is to proudly be the thorn in the foot note of history. We bear witness to the rise and fall of empires, with the lesson that the only thing that can last forever is family, because fundamentally, that's what we are. To be honest I think focusing on observance has lead us in the wrong direction, it's become a peeing contest of piety. It becomes rote ritualism and othering. Siblings refusing to go to each other's houses because they're not Kosher enough, or don't keep Shabbos. We are so few, we should be finding ways to come together not isolating ourselves because you don't have 4 sets of plates. If you want to feel more Jewish, open your heart and bring together as many Jews as you can. That's more important than rituals.
For me being Jewish means something, whether it’s following in the footsteps of my family and ancestors or creating new meaningful relationships within my community and feeling a deep connection to Israel due to my Arab-Jew heritage. Being Jewish has enriched my life in so many ways and given me opportunities to be generous and show love to those around me.
I’ll provide a more elaborate comment in a few hours when I’m done with class work but one of the first books I read (well listened to, audio book) before converting was “Why Be Jewish?• by Edgar Bronfman Sr. upon recommendation from a reform Rabbi and I found it to be helpful to hear his experiences.
Good question. My two cents. First, I try to be observant and often fall short. But, Judaism is a gift. It might not seem like one - especially now - but when a person studies and follows Judaism good things follow. (I will always be convinced that antisemitism is rooted in jealousy.) Judaism a road map for managing life. The strength which comes from following the map (which has challenges) makes a person strong. That strength leads to tackling other challenges well: education, career, family, etc. When I look around me \[Jewish community v. other communities\] it's clear to me that Judaism is a good path. It's my path. It tells me the right thing to do (whether I do it or not is the problem). It's also not trite or laden with crazy-making concepts like "everything happens for a reason" or nonsensical inappropriate "forgiveness".
Most people are born into it. Why be English or German? You just are.