Living Jewishly in Uncertain Times
Living our most authentic Jewish lives, or as I like to call it, Jewishly, is no longer things like your usual Shabbat dinner and grandma’s matzo ball soup. Long gone are the days where living Jewishly meant being your family’s designated carrier of recipes and holiday traditions, wearing the Jewish star you received for your Bat Mitzvah, discussing that youth group and camp life, and playing an unexpected game of Jewish geography. Nowadays, to live Jewishly involves layers of complexity. We are often asked our level of practice; do we live by halakha (Jewish law)? Is there room for flexibility there? What about social justice? Where do we land on interfaith marriage? What about traditional ritual practices? Are we being too liberal or not traditional enough? And a current favorite, are you a zionist?! Take a deep breath and let's unpack this or, in my case, at least take out the stuff you immediately need and leave the rest for the next round of laundry (let’s be honest here, unp