Over the last 6 years or so there have been 3 major themes when it comes to people contacting me via my Facebook page, blog or Youtube. These 3 themes are 1) Support 2) Hate 3) Questions. It seems to me the best I can hope for is to help people with their questions, avoid people with hate and continue to appeal to my audience. I’ve been meaning to document my journey and position regarding the join between faith, live and ritual for a while and have decided that the best way to do that is with a series of blogs based on my experiences, opinions and writing style. It is important to say upfront that this is in no way meant to be a list of what a person must or must not do or think. You have to come to your own conclusions via study and thought. That said.. let’s continue.

I’m not Jewish but I do build my faith life within the walls of Judaism. All too often people draw instant conclusions when the word ‘Judaism’ is mentioned. Using their pre-existing thoughts and feelings about Jews and Judaism and about me they will decide straight away if they are for ‘me’ or against ‘me’.  The reasoning behind my choices is never glanced on, no questions asked. But that is human nature and it’s something I’ll touch on later on in this series.

My plan for this collection of blogs is to cover the basics that I have conformed to, not to tell people what they should do, but to give a guide to what some people do do. (Ha, I said do do)

You are responsible for your walk but I think it could prove a valuable thing for you to see how some people deal with the tug of war that occurs when you aren’t Jewish but seek Jewish answers and guidance regarding your walk with your Creator and the place the Torah has in your day to day life.

I’ll be covering some obvious themes, themes that may be broken down into more defined areas. Some examples might be Food, Wardrobe, Ritual items, High Holidays and Language.

If you have a specific question then please leave it for me in the comments section and don’t forget to sign up in the box to make sure you get future blogs straight into your email.

I have to stress this again, this isn’t designed as a rule book. One of the types of question I often get is this..

‘My Christian friend says, ‘<<insert question>>’, and I don’t know what to say? What should I answer?’
– then, I’ll send on a super short list of verses and a line or two about why they are important in answering. The person says, ‘Great! Thank you!’ and leaves… happy in the knowledge they will give an answer but not actually any more sure why they believe what they believe and totally in the dark as to if my reply actually was valid. When, sometimes, I try to get the questioner into a dialogue in which I can talk through the question, hoping they come to a conclusion that that can share they sometimes get frustrated.. they just want the answer.. not the reason.

This will not be that. This is about my path. My journey. About why I came to my choices. It’s here to show that you can reach your own answers, find comfort in your own conclusions.

One more thing before I sign off on this blog.

The practice of Judaism doesn’t turn a non-Jew into a Jew. If you are not Jewish then ‘doing’ something doesn’t make you so. More importantly, you do not have to be Jewish to have an amazingly rewarding life, a wonderful relationship with your Creator and a fulfilling and joyous prayer time. Jew’s aren’t more loved than non-Jews. We are all born equal. We are all given the same air to breath. We all are uniquely chosen to live our lives.. so imbrace YOU and get on with the task at hand.

What would you like first? Tell me in the comments on the blog.

Food
or Prayer
or Clothing

🙂 see you soon!