As a jblogger and very much part of the Jewish blogging community, I've been wondering about something. I grew up in a Jewish but non-observant home. My parents always considered themselves "good Jews." Maybe that's one of the reasons they reacted so badly (angrily) when I became more religious, after seeing a "different Judaism" at the OU's NCSY events. I became an Orthodox Jew. After over forty years in Israel, I now reject that label, because Orthodoxy is an American term and means nothing to Jews in other parts of the world. Now I call myself a Torah-observant Jew.
My question is mostly to Jews like my parents, or the Jew I was raised to be.
What's your red line? Which Jewish Laws or customs are most important to you? What wouldn't you stop doing? And why?
If you're a blogger, please blog about it and send me your link and summary in the comments here. Please share this post around. Thanks
3 comments:
I believe, as someone who subscribes to "Torah-True Judaism" (probably just another way of saying a "Torah-observant Jew"), that the constant striving to actively perfect our observance of the laws between man-and-his-fellow-man and the laws between man-and-G-d and recognize that for the most part they are equal and need to be observed in that manner is the underlying 'custom' that is most important to me. Though we may always not be doing everything we can/should, we must always be working towards being who we can/should be. To me the 'red-line' is the striving. Once we stop striving, we've lost.I could never give up on the striving.
Thanks, Akiva, I guess the what you refer to as "striving" is another way to say תשובה, gaining a spriritual Torah perfection?
Just passing buy, I am not actually a jew. But when it comes to religion. I guess to be one you really need to have faith in what you believe in.
Bianca from chaise longue pliante
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