What made you become religious?

amother

Gold

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 3:55 am

The vapidness/emptiness of secular life. I actually found Gd in 12 step programs and from there went to shul....Chabad. That was 25 years ago. I met frum people and was astonished that they had this beautiful thing called shabbes with the whole family. It was shabbes too. I wanted that and I wanted a family like that. B"H, there aren't many days I don't thank Hashem for being frum.

Debbie

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 4:10 am

I grew up in a very decent and moral non religious home, but at some point I realised that I believed in G-d and I wanted to practice that belief.
I was raised with many of the ideals that are part of being a Frum Jew but without keeping Shabbos, or kashrus etc... And that wasn't enough for me.
The problem was that I was in my late teens and a bit naive and got myself mixed up in a born again Christian group, I left it after a short while when my mum pointed out to me that whilst we were not Orthodox we were still Jewish.
Some while later I made the choice to volunteer on a religious Kibbutz and there I saw Judaism in practice, it awakened in me a desire to learn more,so when I went back to England I started going to Seed learning sessions and started to take on mitzvos, a year later I put the last piece in the puzzle and committed myself to a Frum life.
I am so grateful to my mum for her intervention.
The one thing that bothered me for a few years was that I had attended church services,but I felt cleansed of it 6 years later when I immersed in the mikva before my wedding.
I made my absolute commitment to being Frum on Shabbos Shuva 1989, two years later on that same Shabbos my husband and I were blessed with our first daughter.
Apologies for going a bit off tangent and the length of the post.

amother

Sapphire

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 5:01 am

I found tznius (in the true sense, not when it's about inches) to be very empowering. I had just had a shallow relationship that I felt was all about fun and not about anything deeper than that, and I felt tznius was a way to lift myself out of that shallow world of just looks and fun.

I also overheard a family conversation where the father was stopped mid sentence for almost speaking lashon hara. I'd never met anyone who cared about/respected other people enough to not talk about them and I found it really moving.

As time went on, obviously more things resinated.

Debbie

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 5:35 am

I just want to add one negative experience I had on my path to the Frum life; I was attending a learning session and I had on a dress that had long sleeves and a decent neckline, but lengthwise it just skimmed my knees; anyway I took a drink made a blessing ( not sure if it was an official shehakol or just a thankyou in my own words) and the lady I was learning with said to me "Your Brocha is not valid because you're not dressed modesty."
I was so upset, and I still wonder why she thought it was ok to say that in such an abrupt manner.

amother

Rose

Sun, Mar 05 2017, 6:53 am

As a child I went to Hebrew School and I really loved it. By the time I was sixteen I started to keep Shabbos. Religion gave me such meaning in life, I felt so supported by Hashem and close with him. I was a deep person, a thinker.
Wondering why you were asking this question OP.