Often I am asked what makes me a religious Jew. Does being it mean keeping the laws of Kashrut? (Jewish dietary laws) Does it mean keeping the Sabbath and the holidays?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Traditionally, we are taught that a ‘frum’ person is someone who keeps the Big 3: Shabbat, Kashrut, and Mikvah and if you’re single that you intend on following the laws of family purity upon marriage.
I grew up in a Modern Orthodox, Zionistic home. My mother’s family has rabbis in our ancestry. My maternal grandmother has two ' grandfathers who were rabbis and her father was born in the Old City. My maternal grandfather grew up with a father who was a shochet. (A ritual slaughterer) My father’s family was not religiously observant. My father has told me that his paternal grandfather, his namesake was a Communist. There …show more content…
I tried to fit the mold that I was told that I needed to fit for a very long time and was unhappy and always felt like I was putting on an act.
To those who say that certain behaviors and actions make one ‘frum’, please read the short story below as it proves to me that some of the things that make a person “frum” doesn’t make them religious.
When I was taking a Jewish Medical Ethics class in College, the rabbi said that he visited “frum” (religious) men in jail. He said that there were men in the jail who were guilty of lying, cheating, stealing and even murder, but that they prayed three times a day so they felt that it absolved them of their crimes. Praying three times a day does not absolve one of committing acts that are not only prohibited by Jewish law but by moral ethics. If someone lacks these moral ethics, then I frankly don’t understand how one can call him/herself
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
Traditionally, we are taught that a ‘frum’ person is someone who keeps the Big 3: Shabbat, Kashrut, and Mikvah and if you’re single that you intend on following the laws of family purity upon marriage.
I grew up in a Modern Orthodox, Zionistic home. My mother’s family has rabbis in our ancestry. My maternal grandmother has two ' grandfathers who were rabbis and her father was born in the Old City. My maternal grandfather grew up with a father who was a shochet. (A ritual slaughterer) My father’s family was not religiously observant. My father has told me that his paternal grandfather, his namesake was a Communist. There …show more content…
I tried to fit the mold that I was told that I needed to fit for a very long time and was unhappy and always felt like I was putting on an act.
To those who say that certain behaviors and actions make one ‘frum’, please read the short story below as it proves to me that some of the things that make a person “frum” doesn’t make them religious.
When I was taking a Jewish Medical Ethics class in College, the rabbi said that he visited “frum” (religious) men in jail. He said that there were men in the jail who were guilty of lying, cheating, stealing and even murder, but that they prayed three times a day so they felt that it absolved them of their crimes. Praying three times a day does not absolve one of committing acts that are not only prohibited by Jewish law but by moral ethics. If someone lacks these moral ethics, then I frankly don’t understand how one can call him/herself