Judaism: Growing Up In The Conservative Movement

Growing up as a Jew enmeshed in the conservative movement, I knew very little of actual practical Judaism; practical in the sense of what a Jew actually practices in daily and yearly observances, such as the Sabbath- otherwise known as Shabbat, praying three times a day- morning services, called Shacharit, afternoon services, Mincha, and night services, Maariv, as well as keeping kosher; specifically, not mixing milk and meat and waiting one hour after eating dairy before eating meat, and six hours after eating meat before eating dairy. Additionally, kosher laws relating to how the meat is slaughtered, as well as how dairy products are farmed and produced. Furthermore, I lacked an awareness of the rich knowledge offered by Jewish texts such …show more content…
I craved a religion that was less materialistic and bureaucratic; one in which learning and spirituality, as well as spiritual growth was encouraged. Thus, upon my falling out with Judaism, I began a fascination with comparative religion which led me to nearly every religion. Of note, I visited virtually every denomination of Christianity for services, holidays, and even participated in youth group with friends to explore what was offered via their theology. Also, I visited a mosque and had an enlightening conversation with their imam- a Muslim religious leader, about how similar Islam is to Judaism; a correlation which dates back to the patriarch Abraham and his two sons, Isaac and Ishmael, of whom Judaism and the Muslim religion are attributed to deriving from according to not only the Judaic approach, but their own Muslim approach. During this conversation, as well as when I was living in Israel, I learned that they keep a less stringent form of kosher in halal. Though, Christianity and Islam didn’t satisfy my thirst for that perfect combination of philosophic intellectualization with mystic substance and meaningful ritual, as well as prayer that was not only sacred, but intimately …show more content…
Learning about Rastafarianism, I immensely enjoyed the emphasis on positivity, love for all humanity, and respect for all created things; then again, who wouldn’t? Also, I didn’t realize that these fundamental ideologies were cornerstones of Judaism, nor did I realize that it was an outgrowth of Judaism. In addition to ideology, I found is essentially Rastafarian gospel music; the ever present Jah figure being the Rastafari name for G-d and Selassie being the Rastafari prophet calling for all Africans to return to Africa. Additionally, fundamental to Rastafarianism is an emphasis on veganism, called ital, and practitioners, depending on level of stringency, commonly grow their hair out in dreadlocks as the body is supposed to remain natural. Though, not all was idealistic; as it turns out Selassie, also referred to as Selassie I- not Roman numeral 1, but the word I, didn’t care for white people much. King Haile Selassie was king of Ethiopia from 1930-1975, during this timeframe, he staunchly opposed European colonization in Africa, as well as foreign interference, including technological advances, only eventually letting influences into the country due to necessity to maintain economic progress. Due to this, many Rastafarians, who claim Selassie to be Jesus reincarnate, are weary, if not resentful towards white