It's definitely not short enough to PM, but I threw it up on the web
here. Please keep in mind that it's not an academic essay... I really should go in and rewrite it with more sources at some point.
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| Will you share more about your spiritual journey? What kind of Jewish upbringing did you have that either pushed you away or let you fall away (or was it not related to your upbringing that you got distracted?) When you came back, how did you change--or not--your daily expression of your Judaism? |
I don't think my upbringing is at fault, really, though it was a catalyst. I was raised 'conservadox' - sort of a blend of Conservative and Modern Orthodox. We did many of the rituals - shul on shabbas and holidays, candles on shabbas and yom tov, my shul had separate seating, we went to cheder (hebrew school) from grade one onwards... I even taught Hebrew school for a couple of years as a part-time job. I was in every way the Good Jewish Girl.
At some point in my mid-teens (15-ish?) I decided that Judaism didn't really apply anymore; I'd been taught the rites and rituals, the prayers and services, I knew that a bunch of old, dead, men had set down rules 600 + years ago in the Shulchan Aruch that didn't seem to apply to modern problems in any real way. We learned about how devoting yourself to G-d meant being willing to your son on a mountain, but nothing about how G-d could be of any use in, say, getting out of an abusive relationship or dealing with coming out as bisexual - two issues I felt I had to cope with alone as a teen.
And then I found out that my mother doesn't believe in G-d - that she thnks the universe is so cruel that there couldn't possibly
be a compassionate G-d in it, and that shook me to the core.
So since G-d was inapplicable, I thought, I may as well stop giving the old codger lip service.
I was 19 or so when I hit what I consider rock bottom - I'd been involved in the goth scene, which I still love, but it meant I had access to a lot of drugs and partying I wasn't emotionally equipped to handle. I had a hole in the middle of myself that I tried to fill with alcohol and random hookups, and after a memorable breakdown at a friend's Yule party, I realized I was in serious danger of falling apart for real. So I went back to shul, I started doing more readings for myself, and I discovered that Judaism really was a living, breathing faith with room for me inside of it. And I came back, on my own terms this time.
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| Do you and your DH/DP share similar religious leanings? |
Sort of. In terms of actual faith, no - he's a practicing Christian (Presbyterian). In terms of core values, yes. We have the same views on the place of religion in our lives, we go to services with the same frequency, have agreed on how to run this household as a Jewish one.
His church taught that Jews have our own Covenant with G-d that was not changed by what they consider the New Covenant of Jesus. They see it as two different paths ending up in the same place at the end - the old one that we accepted, and the new one that was offered up as a second chance to the non-Jews later on. I can't quite get behind the whole 'new convenant' idea, of course, but if his faith leads him to be a righteous gentile, fulfilling the Noahide commandments, then who am I to say boo?
His family is British and he's intact (hoo boy was THAT interesting to encounter the first time we messed around seriously... this Nice Jewish Girl had no clue how to work the extra bits!
) but one of the things we discussed at length before getting engaged was the bris. It simply wasn't a negotiable matter for me; any sons from my body must be circumcised; it was up to him to decide if he could live with that or not. Thankfully, he eventually decided that, since G-d commanded me to do it, it would have to be done. He's still not comfortable with the thought, but he's well aware that it's a commandment for me, not a choice. If I wasn't Jewish, there's no way he'd consent.
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| And, totally on a different tack, what region 16th C do you play in the SCA? (Late 13th/early 14th Jew in Spain here -- much easier to sew!) |
British, always!
I love the politics of Tudor England, and the clothing fascinates me. I'm applying to go back to school for an MA in early modern European history, actually (prob. Sept 2008, if we can make the finances work), and my thesis will be on Elizabeth 1 and the political effect of the construct of the Faerie Queene.
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| I've always wanted to visit Nova Scotia--no idea why. DH thinks that's a crazy vacation idea! (I've only visited BC, nowhere in eastern Canada.) Where should I go? |
Oh man! Plan a couple of weeks and a road trip, because this province is stunningly beautiful everywhere. You'll want to start by taking the catamaran ferry across from Bar Harbour, in Maine, and that'll drop you off in Yarmouth on the south shore. Drive up along the north shore, and you can stop in at Annapolis Royal, the first English colony in North America (1602 or so - rebuilt). Come east along the Evangaline trail and learn about the Acadian expulsion, visit the gardens at Annapolis and take the ghost tour.
Go to Grand Pre and unless you're teetotallers, do the winery tour. TRUST ME on this one. Bay of Fundy to watch the deepest tides in the world. Come down through Truro (don't bother stopping - it's the armpit of Nova Scotia), and spend an afternoon at Peggy's Cove. Best ice cream ever.
Drive down and spend a few days in Halifax, preferably for canada Day (July 1st) and through early July. That's when the highland games take place, and this year (every three years) the Tall Ships Challenge is in town - galleons, schooners, sloops and brigs line the waterfront, pirates storm the boardwalks, there's beer tents and music festivals and all kinds of glorious things. Go see the Nova Scotia International Tattoo. Go deep-sea fishing or whale-watching.
Get back in the car and drive norh again, this time turning left at Truro. Take the northern roads along the best beaches in Canada, stop for a swim and a bbq. Overnight in Antigonish, at one of the B&Bs or take a dorm room at St. FX university, and go to the theatre - it's Nova Scotia's only summer rep theatre, and it's phenomenal.
Keep going until you hit Cape Breton. Luxuriate in the awesome. Eat fresh lobster, go to a kitchen party and try the local whiskey.
If you still have time, on your way back, drive across the Confederation bridge and visit Prince Edward Island for a day or two. Go to Green Gables, and the Charlottetown summer theatre festival. Eat more seafood. Roll home.
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| Have you lived elsewhere (than Montreal and Nova Scotia?) |
I grew up in Toronto, moved at 17 years old to Montreal, and then moved to Halifax three years ago at 24. I love Nova Scotia, but Montreal will always, funnily enough, be home.
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: I'm useless at anything 2d - drawing or painting - it's gotta be something tactile!
I'm so embarassed! I'm so used to being one of the only Jews around (my town is extremely Christian) that I've started assuming that anyone who asks me any kind of related question needs the basics.
Tell me you love your name, pretty please? 
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: We tend to buy 'kosher style,' alas, since I know what cuts are ok and I can salt them myself. There's all of two synagogues in Halifax, plus a tiny Chabad, maybe 1000 Jewish families in the province, total.
