journey home to judaism

This is part 2 of the 11 part series on the writer’s journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. Fast forward . . . It was finally Bat Mitzvah day!  Like every Long Island girl of the 80’s I styled my hair in a three-inch fan that would that would make Aqua net proud.  Words of Torah were read, the family celebrated and tears were shed, of how this little girl was now becoming a woman. We played limbo and danced, danced, danced at the local restaurant that proudly displayed a lob

This is part 3 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. Maybe I should go to Cuba and help the workers’ cause, I wondered aloud to my father?  Now, my parents were starting to worry.  It is one thing for their daughter to participate in a few protests, they could humor me here and there, but joining Fidel Castro on the front lines was a little too much!  My father suggested if you like socialism so much, why don’t I go to Israel and experien

This is part 4 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. Coming back to America was hard.  I was no longer a little girl and had to find my own way.  I picked a college with lots of farmland, so I would feel like I was on my beloved kibbutz.  I had a newfound love and loyalty for Israel and became quite an Israel defender. In college, I visited a local Reform Temple.  The teaching, I will never forget.  I can’t tell you the parsha that week

This is part 5 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. Following my big sister, who I idolized, I moved to the south, or as they call it down here “The Bible Belt.”  She was going to school to be a chiropractor, and not knowing what to do with myself I tagged along! In the south, I first went back to my liberal ways, perhaps responding to the conservatives around me.  I fought for rights for all while serving up lattes at the local coffee s

This is part 6 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. Now that I had found the “truth” I jumped with both feet.  My parents were not very happy at first.  I think my dad would have preferred he had let me go to Cuba all those years ago when I was in my activist stage;) But now I was a full fledged “messianic jew” as I called myself.  More Jewish than ever, I started celebrating the “feasts” and reading the bible. I bought a messianic bibl

This is part 7 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the otherparts, read this. Shabbat candles, Davidic Dance, we swirled around in our new lives of worshiping the Father, and yes, Yeshua of Nazareth as well. We saw no contradiction.  He was one.  We sang Shema with messianic siddurs, prayer books, and added messianic new testament significance to heighten the worship experience. An experience it was! Everything was celebratory and highly spiritual.  No mechitza,

This is part 8 of the 11 part series on the writer's journey back to Judaism. For the other parts, read this. We seemed to do the impossible.  We brought together people from every kind of church background and of a couple of messianic Jews, people who were Jews by birth into one united community.  I taught beginners’ Hebrew and we began to wear that tzitzit, tassels.  Everyone, even the girls, were encouraged to wear them.  Without the rabbinical understanding to glean from, we took everything