For a long time I was very confused about my Jewish identity. Having gone to Jewish day school most of my life I felt sometimes that Judaism was shoved in my face and I wasn't sure how I felt about that. I always loved the high holidays and celebrating Shabbat but more for the relaxed family time and delicious food than for the prayers. When I did my first yoga training, there was a huge spiritual focus. However, it was spirituality without dogma. There was talk of a divine presence, of omnipotent energies, of universal union, but the word God was rarely brought up. Through this experience I realized that I am in fact a highly spiritual person, but also that spirituality and connection with a higher power is at the level of individual understanding. It is for each of us to decide how and what we believe in when it comes to a force that is greater than ourselves. It is not for me or anyone to decide what proper religious devotion looks like, nor is it my place to judge others who are more or less observant than myself. This actually made me feel closer to my Jewish roots, as I was able to separate which aspects of Judaism I connected with and which areas of my spiritual beliefs were unrelated to religion. Today I celebrate the pieces of Judaism that shape my identity. I also honour the spiritual side of me that is unrelated to religion.

“For a long time I was very confused about my Jewish identity. Having gone to Jewish day school most of my life I felt sometimes that Judaism was shoved in my face and I wasn’t sure how I felt about that. I always loved the high holidays and celebrating Shabbat but more for the relaxed family time and delicious food than for the prayers. When I did my first yoga training, there was a huge spiritual focus. However, it was spirituality without dogma. There was talk of a divine presence, of omnipotent energies, of universal union, but the word “God” was rarely brought up. Through this experience I realized that I am in fact a highly spiritual person, but also that spirituality and connection with a higher power is at the level of individual understanding. It is for each of us to decide how and what we believe in when it comes to a force that is greater than ourselves. It is not for me or anyone to decide what proper religious devotion looks like, nor is it my place to judge others who are more or less observant than myself. This actually made me feel closer to my Jewish roots, as I was able to separate which aspects of Judaism I connected with and which areas of my spiritual beliefs were unrelated to religion. Today I celebrate the pieces of Judaism that shape my identity. I also honour the spiritual side of me that is unrelated to religion.”

Category: People