What Does Being Jewish Mean To Me?

The photo above is a picture of my synagogue, Central Synagogue

Judaism is more than knowing who Adam and Eve were. Judaism is more than keeping meat and dairy separate. Judaism is more than celebrating Shabbat every Friday. For a long time I struggled to understand why I am Jewish and why I believe in God and the many other practices that the Jewish Community follows. But through the past year I have been able to understand that being Jewish can mean whatever I want it to mean because being Jewish is to be many things all at once.

I grew up with a Jewish Israeli father and a Christian mother. While my mother's family were all Christian she decided to raise her two kids Jewish for the sake of the small group of people who make up Judaism. Because of my parents' religious backgrounds we had to join the Reform movement and Synagogue, where they would accept my sister and I as Jewish. The Reform movement is a rapidly growing denomination of Judaism that emphasizes the evolving nature of the faith. It is closely intertwined with human reason and is not limited to the theophany at Mount Sinai.

While my mother was not Jewish for most of my youth, she eventually converted to Judaism in 2020. Through my life I think it was hard to understand the importance of my Jewish Identity, but through holidays, traditions, and the people surrounding me I was able to uncover a greater meaning to it. I was able to become connected with my religion and understand how important it is to my family and to the Jewish people as a whole.

There are only 15.2 million Jews in the world and if we do not stay faithful to our religion and regenerate the population that we have lost through the past centuries we cannot survive as a whole. The Jewish community has always been so strong when we are together, every time I am with people of my religion I feel this higher power that we carry by spreading our love for each other and our religion. Judaism has brought my family closer together and also given me a greater purpose in my life by always allowing me to have a community.