meowzician
Newbie
- MBTI
- INFJ
- Enneagram
- 4
Newbie here. I have so many interests, from music to writing. But after looking these forums over, I can tell that this religion subforum will be my main area, so I wanted to introduce myself.
The Pirkei Avot, meaning Sayings of the Fathers, says:
"Who is wise? He who learns from everyone."
I myself am a religious Jew, very involved in my Reform congregation, where I sing in the choir and serve on the Caring Community Committee. But I have found wisdom in all religions. Indeed, my thoughts have even been shaped by the atheists I've come to know and love. Judaism is not exclusivist--we do not have the "one, true, religion. We have OUR religion, and we are perfectly fine with you having yours.
Sooner or later it inevitably happens that someone will ask, Who are the Jews? Are you a religion? A race? A nationality? Jews pre-existed the formation of all those concepts, and we just don't fit into those boxes. So here it is. We are an "am" (the word in Hebrew). There is no English equivalent, so I will use a sentence. We are a joinable tribe with a shared history, culture, and religion. If you truly need to shorten it to one word, the closest would be Tribe. Yes, like the Lakota or Zulu or Kurds.
I'm so excited to be here! New people mean new ideas, and new ideas mean learning and growth. I have spent my entire life studying different religions, and am always hungry for new things. If I question you and push you, it is not because I am not listening. It is to see how well your ideas hold up under scrutiny. In fact, if I argue with you, that is the best sign that I *am* listening to you. In Jewish culture, we debate everything because we believe that in the process of debate the truth will rise to the surface.
One last thing: although you can expect posts from me on all sorts of different topics, it is inevitable that the rise in antisemitism will come up. It's something that I lose sleep over, and hope that I will be able to share a bit of what is on my heart. We live in troubled times in so many different ways--Jews are far from the only people who have very, very real concerns, and I deeply care about all who are being marginalized and pushed down. But this is my own tsurris. Synagogues are being burned down. Jewish preschools are being bombed. Jewish families celebrating at the beach are being shot. We've seen all this before, and it is impossible for it not to be a major worry on the heart of every Jew.
Oh, and I am crazy about cats. Meow!
Anyhow, I do look forward to getting to know all of you! This is my official invitation for you to introduce yourselves, now.
The Pirkei Avot, meaning Sayings of the Fathers, says:
"Who is wise? He who learns from everyone."
I myself am a religious Jew, very involved in my Reform congregation, where I sing in the choir and serve on the Caring Community Committee. But I have found wisdom in all religions. Indeed, my thoughts have even been shaped by the atheists I've come to know and love. Judaism is not exclusivist--we do not have the "one, true, religion. We have OUR religion, and we are perfectly fine with you having yours.
Sooner or later it inevitably happens that someone will ask, Who are the Jews? Are you a religion? A race? A nationality? Jews pre-existed the formation of all those concepts, and we just don't fit into those boxes. So here it is. We are an "am" (the word in Hebrew). There is no English equivalent, so I will use a sentence. We are a joinable tribe with a shared history, culture, and religion. If you truly need to shorten it to one word, the closest would be Tribe. Yes, like the Lakota or Zulu or Kurds.
I'm so excited to be here! New people mean new ideas, and new ideas mean learning and growth. I have spent my entire life studying different religions, and am always hungry for new things. If I question you and push you, it is not because I am not listening. It is to see how well your ideas hold up under scrutiny. In fact, if I argue with you, that is the best sign that I *am* listening to you. In Jewish culture, we debate everything because we believe that in the process of debate the truth will rise to the surface.
One last thing: although you can expect posts from me on all sorts of different topics, it is inevitable that the rise in antisemitism will come up. It's something that I lose sleep over, and hope that I will be able to share a bit of what is on my heart. We live in troubled times in so many different ways--Jews are far from the only people who have very, very real concerns, and I deeply care about all who are being marginalized and pushed down. But this is my own tsurris. Synagogues are being burned down. Jewish preschools are being bombed. Jewish families celebrating at the beach are being shot. We've seen all this before, and it is impossible for it not to be a major worry on the heart of every Jew.
Oh, and I am crazy about cats. Meow!
Anyhow, I do look forward to getting to know all of you! This is my official invitation for you to introduce yourselves, now.
