With many people, there is one big reason, one big event, which let them know that being Jewish was for them. Some people came upon Judaism after a long period of spiritual questioning and searching, and others had their interest kindled after falling in love. I am not one of those people. Rather than having any one burst of insight, jewishness has always been a sort of ambient flavor in my life, whether I picked up on it at the time or not.
The area I lived in had a fairly large jewish minority. The grocery store where I got my first job had an in-store kosher bakery, and for passover an entire 2 aisles and several endcaps were converted into KLP items of every sort. There was a kosher butcher, bakery, a judaica store, a “kosher style” deli (which did offer bacon though) - my elementary school was across the street from and dwarfed by a Jewish Community Center. One of the few memories I have of my elementary school days is actually us going on a “field trip” across the street to play in their playground. I very distinctly remember a Star of David sandbox which had …show more content…
It was just before Hanukkah, and yet the grocery stores didn’t have any gelt. It was then that I first noticed that the Judaism that had always been just on the periphery of my life was actually absent. And I missed it. Therefore, I would just have to start actively seeking it myself. Really, this is the experience that caused the spark of jewishness that I had always carried, even if sometimes it was almost too dim to make out, to start growing into a full flame. 3 months later, I read Anita Diamant’s Choosing a Jewish Life. 2 months after that I started regularly going to Temple Emanu-El in Reno, NV. 1 month after that I found out about the nascent Jewish Student Association at MSU, and through them that there actually was a Jewish community in Springfield, and even though it was difficult to get to, once that I could become a member
The area I lived in had a fairly large jewish minority. The grocery store where I got my first job had an in-store kosher bakery, and for passover an entire 2 aisles and several endcaps were converted into KLP items of every sort. There was a kosher butcher, bakery, a judaica store, a “kosher style” deli (which did offer bacon though) - my elementary school was across the street from and dwarfed by a Jewish Community Center. One of the few memories I have of my elementary school days is actually us going on a “field trip” across the street to play in their playground. I very distinctly remember a Star of David sandbox which had …show more content…
It was just before Hanukkah, and yet the grocery stores didn’t have any gelt. It was then that I first noticed that the Judaism that had always been just on the periphery of my life was actually absent. And I missed it. Therefore, I would just have to start actively seeking it myself. Really, this is the experience that caused the spark of jewishness that I had always carried, even if sometimes it was almost too dim to make out, to start growing into a full flame. 3 months later, I read Anita Diamant’s Choosing a Jewish Life. 2 months after that I started regularly going to Temple Emanu-El in Reno, NV. 1 month after that I found out about the nascent Jewish Student Association at MSU, and through them that there actually was a Jewish community in Springfield, and even though it was difficult to get to, once that I could become a member