My mom is way more detailed that my dad so I just asked her to give me a quick run down on her Jewish upbringing and she just started, "I don't know if I grew up with an intentional jewish upbringing. Don't get me wrong, we celebrated most major holidays and my parents were both first generation and my immigrant grandparents had been raised with orthodox families. My memories of early family gatherings were focused on the Jewish holidays. Unlike my grandparents, my parents were not students of The Torah and in lieu of being steeped in religious ritual we celebrated the traditions and customs of the holidays. Those times were sacred---families just got together regardless of kid's schedules, or parent's work schedules. Everything was set aside for the holidays. And somewhere along the way, I felt a true affinity with my Jewish identity."
When I asked her some more questions about more pressing issues, she wasn't afraid to tackle them, "I heard countless stories around the seder table about my grandparent's experiences of persecution in Russia and the other grandparent's family Holocaust stories. My grandmother lost her mother, father, a sister and two brothers. A younger sister posed as a nun in a convent and her 3 year old daughter was hidden by the nuns. My uncle and his son served in the resistance and their family was lost for some time after the war. Who know what stuck with me but I'm certain all these things combined left an imprint on me. My dad was also an only child and as he got older, he became the glue of his very large extended family. We had cousins in every city across the states. We (or he and my mom) went to every bar/bat mitzvah, wedding and funeral. They made "staying connected" a priority." This is what I was talking about when you read my "Jewish Values" slide. Family comes top priority in Jewish culture and remaining close to them not only geographically, but also for special holidays, is important. |
Mom then elaborated on my upbringing and deciding to raise me Jewish, "When we were thinking of starting a family, my Jewish roots kicked in. Having experienced how much traditions kept families connected, I knew that I wanted our children to share my traditions and upbringing and wanted to pass this on to them. My husband agreed and we also wrapped his traditions in with mine."
She then elaborated on the impact having kids has on her religion, her roots and her beliefs, "Having children probably gives you much more focus on your roots. You want to pass something on to them --you want them to identify with your past, where you came from. I felt my family had a rich past of survival and connectedness. I wanted my kids to share in that. So we made a point to honor the holidays and celebrate with family and friend's families." A part I haven't covered yet, but that my mom elaborated on, was the impact of sunday school: "The kids went to sunday school but we also celebrated Christmas (we just didn't celebrate the religious significance). Then when my daughter was nearing her bat mitzvah, I realized I didn't have much religious education to pass on nor share. So at the age of 44, I joined a group of women and we studied for a year and became b'nai mitzvah. Judaism became more than just shared values, and traditions, I now had a broader perspective and understanding and I could more intimately experience my daughter's special milestone. " My mom had a much closer relationship to Judaism than my dad did to Christianity. She feels now more close to her religion than ever, and my dad is hardly involved with the Church. The bat-mitzvah she had probably was the main cause for this strengthening of her relationship with her religion and I am proud of her for accomplishing that feat. |