|
The Choice of
Being Jewish
by: Reb Yosef
- Want to
learn more about your Jewish heritage?
- Want to
uncover the human side of Judaism?
- Thinking
about converting?
- Just want
to ask a question or two?
-
Q&A with Reb Yosef
Have a question? So ask already . . . .
100 years ago, my great-grandmother assimilated and attempted
to leave her Jewish heritage behind. This resulted in my grandmother and mother both
inter-marrying. As well, my grandmother only spoke once to my mother about her Jewish
heritage. Baruch Hashem, my mother told me and I had an opportunity, albeit a number of
years later, to find out what it means to be a Jew. Today, I am Torah observant
(Orthodox). Although I put my story to paper three years ago, and had it published, it
needs to be brought up to date. At some point, I hope to be able to do that and will make
it available for download here.
One of the greatest challenges I faced, as I attempted to
connect with my Jewish life, was finding people who had answers beyond the obvious.
Certainly, a challenge for me was not wanting to feel embarrassed for not knowing some of
the hows and whys. There was, however, an ever greater challenge, the first one that I had
to deal with. I could not prove that I was Jewish. Likewise, I could not prove that I
wasn't Jewish. A non-Jew can convert. A Jew cannot convert. A person who cannot prove
either is somewhere in between. Four years ago, this was a major problem because there
were only a handful of known cases like mine. We are called Saffek Yisrael. The word
"saffek" means doubt. The phrase means, "There is evidence to conclude that
this person is Jewish, though there may be a doubt." With a Saffek Yisrael, it is
incumbent upon a Bait Din (Jewish court) to do everything possible to facilitate that
person's return to Judaism. Today, there are a few Jewish courts that have a better
understanding of this difficult issue. If you are in this predicament and would like some
assistance, I have resources for you.
With all of this said, I volunteered to assist Jewish
Celebrations' visitors when they have questions. If I can find answers, I will certainly
share them. And if I can't find answers, I will ask others. If there are no answers, and
that does sometimes happen, I will say so. Mostly, I would like to offer myself as an
avenue for seeing the human side of Judaism, something beyond what books can offer.
If you are searching for your Jewish roots; if you are trying
to find out what it means to live a more traditional or observant life; or, if you are
thinking about conversion, I would consider it an honor to help you find an answer or two.
Email your questions or comments to
RebYosef@mazornet.com
In addition, I would be happy to recommend some of the books
that helped me learn more about traditional Judaism. They are:
- The Sabbath
: A Guide to Its Understanding and Observance ~ Dayan Dr. I Grunfeld
The
Complete Artscroll Siddur ~Rabbi Nosson Scherman
The
Chumash : Stone Edition of the Artscroll Chumash ~ Nosson Scherman Editor
The Stone
Edition Tanach - Black : The Torah - Prophets - Writings : The
Twenty-Four Books of the Bible Newly Translated & Annotated (The
Artscroll series) ~ Nosson
Scherman Editor
As well, I can recommend two courses sponsored by National
Jewish Outreach http://www.njop.org/.
They are: "Hebrew Reading Crash Course"
"Crash Course In Basic Judaism"
|
