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| | Hi, everyone! | |
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+3searchinmyroots Bee LineyLu 7 posters | Author | Message |
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LineyLu
Posts : 33 Join date : 2011-12-30 Age : 29 Location : USA
| Subject: Hi, everyone! Sun Jan 08, 2012 2:59 am | |
| Shalom, everyone! I suppose I should write my intro post now... I go to an all-girls Catholic high school (currently a senior so I'm graduating in a few months), and I've been seriously looking at Judaism for close to a year now. I'm not planning on broaching the subject of conversion with my parents until after I get to college, but I'm still trying to learn as much as I can. Anyway, here's a summary of my story so far. I'm not sure exactly when my recent interest in Judaism started...I think it began a little bit when I went to a Latin convention in North Dakota (yes, I'm a nerd who takes Latin) in summer 2010 and got a minor crush on a guy. Went home, Facebook stalked him (who doesn't?), found out he was Jewish (culturally more than religiously, from what I gathered). We chatted (and still occasionally do) on Facebook a bit, but it never grew into anything else. But I think what really began this was a series of events at my own school/community at home. In October of my junior year, our entire grade watched Schindler's List (it's something my school does every year). The one Jewish teacher at my school said a few words beforehand, and then she chanted the Shema (though of course I didn't know what it was at the time.) (I should also mention that this was less than a week before my Confirmation. For those unfamiliar, it's basically this church thing where I say that I want to be Catholic for the rest of my life. I was already apathetic about my Confirmation, and I think on a subconscious level, this may have made me even more so. ) A few months later, I was at an extracurricular function with the same teacher. "Come on, girls, let's pray," she said. We all joined hands, and she looked expectantly at me because I was the president of this club, and I (very) awkwardly managed an Our Father. I then thought about what Jewish prayers I knew...none...except for that one I heard her say back in October. I had to find out what that was...so I started learning Hebrew when I got home. So it went...and here I am. Somewhere along the way, I abandoned Christianity without looking back. It wasn't hard at all, though it is becoming increasingly annoying to keep up appearances with my parents. In March, I got an e-mail from the campus minister at my high school asking for volunteers at the Passover Seder for the synagogue across the street. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity. I've been to Shabbat services -- once -- after months of mustering up the courage to ask the same Jewish teacher if I could go to synagogue with her. She made me get permission from my parents -- for obvious political reasons ("I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to convert students" -- I responded to that one with an awkward laugh!), which I totally understand. It was during Sukkot, everything was amazing, and I'm still looking for an excuse to go back (any help with that? ) Well, that's a good summary for now...I've sort of been keeping this in for a while. I could definitely write a good bit more about my background (especially my evangelical Christian grandmother and my parents), but it's getting late. Nice to meet all of you! I didn't want to start posting on this without writing one of these. | |
| | | Bee
Posts : 314 Join date : 2011-09-12
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:38 am | |
| Hi there welcome! | |
| | | searchinmyroots
Posts : 152 Join date : 2011-12-01 Location : New York
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Mon Jan 09, 2012 10:56 am | |
| Welcome LineLu!
Thanks for sharing your fascinating journey!
Although it may sometimes seem difficult now, as time goes on you will grow and most likely things will slowly start to open up for you.
You had asked how to "go back" to the synagogue. I would suggest you get in touch with the same Jewish teacher and tell her the truth. That you have a deep inner feeling to study and learn about Judaism. You might also want to mention you have seperated yourself from Christianity.
Maybe some of the others here can provide some advice as well, even if it is different from what I have provided being they probably have more experience.
So what's the story with your evangelical grandmother and your parents? | |
| | | Rocky_girl
Posts : 22 Join date : 2012-01-02 Age : 44 Location : Montana
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Mon Jan 09, 2012 11:26 am | |
| One of my professors, who also now happens to be a good friend of mine, is Jewish and when I started asking questions she didn't want to appear to be converting students so she put me in touch with the Rabbi, who introduced me to others I could visit with.
Maybe your teacher, out her Rabbi, knows a young woman in the congregation that she can introduce you to | |
| | | LineyLu
Posts : 33 Join date : 2011-12-30 Age : 29 Location : USA
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Mon Jan 09, 2012 2:17 pm | |
| Thanks, for the advice, everyone! I'm taking a World Religions class at school this semester and my teacher said that we might have to go to another religion's worship services for an assignment...maybe that'll be a foot in the door? Ah, yes, my (maternal) grandmother. That brings me to more of my religious background. My mom was raised Baptist. When she married my dad, he was a not-so-observant Catholic. My parents decided that they would pick a religion for the sake of having a unified household, and so in order to choose, they began alternating going to the Baptist church one Sunday, the Catholic one the next. At this point, it looked more like my dad would convert and be Baptist since at the time he wasn't as religious as my mom. But one fateful morning, my dad was with my mom at the Baptist church. The preacher was doing his sermon, and he started talking about a mission trip he took to Mexico once. He said, "Our car was broken down late one night and we didn't know anyone who could help us. We waited and we prayed, and we eventually saw some headlights on the road. And guess what -- it was a nice Christian man! And you know, there aren't too many Christians in Mexico. It's mostly Catholic." Yeah, my dad was pretty livid. All of this is a second-hand account that I found out from my parents just last year, but I'm pretty sure my dad stormed out of that church. The deal was sealed -- his kids would be raised Catholic. A few years later, my mom converted to Catholicism. She sort of became dead to my grandmother for a period of time (how long exactly I'm not sure). Growing up, I remember my grandmother pointing out things that were "better" about being Baptist, or pointing out the shortcomings (in her eyes) of Catholicism. It was nothing so blatant as, "Your religion is ridiculous." It was always little things. I remember her telling me, "Mary was not perfect. She was a normal human who made mistakes like everyone else." (Okay, gotta agree with her there!) Also, another thing that comes to mind is her saying while singing the unfamiliar hymns at a Catholic Mass, "I still don't see what's wrong with 'Amazing Grace.'" But yep -- it's interesting, seeing as my mom "left Christianity" years before I did, | |
| | | Samantha
Posts : 66 Join date : 2011-09-18 Location : London, England
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:22 pm | |
| Hello and welcome - what an inspiring story! | |
| | | tamar
Posts : 181 Join date : 2012-01-01 Location : Northern Virginia
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Mon Jan 23, 2012 1:53 pm | |
| - LineyLu wrote:
- Shalom, everyone! I suppose I should write my intro post now...
I go to an all-girls Catholic high school (currently a senior so I'm graduating in a few months), and I've been seriously looking at Judaism for close to a year now. I'm not planning on broaching the subject of conversion with my parents until after I get to college, but I'm still trying to learn as much as I can. Anyway, here's a summary of my story so far.
I'm not sure exactly when my recent interest in Judaism started...I think it began a little bit when I went to a Latin convention in North Dakota (yes, I'm a nerd who takes Latin) in summer 2010 and got a minor crush on a guy. Went home, Facebook stalked him (who doesn't?), found out he was Jewish (culturally more than religiously, from what I gathered). We chatted (and still occasionally do) on Facebook a bit, but it never grew into anything else.
But I think what really began this was a series of events at my own school/community at home. In October of my junior year, our entire grade watched Schindler's List (it's something my school does every year). The one Jewish teacher at my school said a few words beforehand, and then she chanted the Shema (though of course I didn't know what it was at the time.) (I should also mention that this was less than a week before my Confirmation. For those unfamiliar, it's basically this church thing where I say that I want to be Catholic for the rest of my life. I was already apathetic about my Confirmation, and I think on a subconscious level, this may have made me even more so. )
A few months later, I was at an extracurricular function with the same teacher. "Come on, girls, let's pray," she said. We all joined hands, and she looked expectantly at me because I was the president of this club, and I (very) awkwardly managed an Our Father. I then thought about what Jewish prayers I knew...none...except for that one I heard her say back in October. I had to find out what that was...so I started learning Hebrew when I got home. So it went...and here I am. Somewhere along the way, I abandoned Christianity without looking back. It wasn't hard at all, though it is becoming increasingly annoying to keep up appearances with my parents.
In March, I got an e-mail from the campus minister at my high school asking for volunteers at the Passover Seder for the synagogue across the street. Obviously, I jumped at the opportunity.
I've been to Shabbat services -- once -- after months of mustering up the courage to ask the same Jewish teacher if I could go to synagogue with her. She made me get permission from my parents -- for obvious political reasons ("I don't want anyone to think that I'm trying to convert students" -- I responded to that one with an awkward laugh!), which I totally understand. It was during Sukkot, everything was amazing, and I'm still looking for an excuse to go back (any help with that? )
Well, that's a good summary for now...I've sort of been keeping this in for a while. I could definitely write a good bit more about my background (especially my evangelical Christian grandmother and my parents), but it's getting late. Nice to meet all of you! I didn't want to start posting on this without writing one of these.
Welcome! | |
| | | MarieDeLucy
Posts : 18 Join date : 2012-02-21 Age : 34 Location : New York
| Subject: Re: Hi, everyone! Tue Feb 21, 2012 9:15 pm | |
| Hello! Im new too. Nice to meet you! | |
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