why are you religious?

amother

Sat, Jan 17 2015, 10:08 pm

I'm BT. It was a long, gradual process becoming frum. I love Hashem with all my heart and with all my soul. The single biggest gift that has ever been given to me in my life is my Jewish neshoma. I thank Hashem each day for allowing me to have been born a Jew. So where do I begin....It was very difficult for me to cover my hair with a sheitel the first few years of marriage as people always complimented my hair so I could'nt see covering it. I took baby steps. First wore hats, then a yamulka fall and then gravitated towards a full sheitel to see if it would work for me. Love wearing a sheitel! Sounds crazy, no? But makes me feel so connected to Hashem.
Shabbos. I LOVE SHABBOS! I love shopping for Shabbos. I love cooking for Shabbos. I feel elevated on Shabbos.(I hate washing dishes after Shabbos)
O.K., now mikvah. I don't like the preparation for mikvah, but when I come out of the water and the ML says, "kosherrr!", I feel so connected . Amazing, before I became frum, mikvah and wigs so turned me off, but now my feelings are so different. Who would've thought! I have so much to say, I don't know where to begin. I have my difficulties in some areas but I'm still working on them. I guess I'm a work in progress, but aren't we all?
Oy! I hope I'm not coming off sounding all spacey and corny, but that's just how I feel. I posted Amother for this reason, but if ur kind to me I'll give my sn. Wink

amother

Sat, Jan 17 2015, 11:43 pm

Is it by rote? Mostly. But happily.

Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go? I do believe it.

Is it because you were raised this way? Yes. If I were not born Jewish I would not have converted. If I were not born Orthodox I would not have become a Baalat Teshuva.

What keeps you going? Enjoying the life I lead b"h with all the traditions, activities, seasons...

Is your community a factor? Sure. I love all the communities I have ever lived in.

What areas do you struggle with? Um. Thinking. I have some shortcomings religiously, but I don't struggle with them. I have made my peace and do better as I can.

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism? Yes.

Do you have questions you can't find answers to? Of course. Mostly about the world's mysterious hatred of Jews. Specifically about the Shoah where I lost most of my family and the current anti-semitic state of the world.

How do you feel about being frum? Very proud to belong to an amazing group of people and happy to be shomeret mitzvot.

Ruchel

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 4:38 am

Is it by rote? some yes some no

Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go? yes I believe so

Is it because you were raised this way? I'm ftb

What keeps you going? Thinking it's the right way, seeing the hardship of non-frum life

Is your community a factor? It's nice but my velt is mostly family oriented

What areas do you struggle with? long shabbes, stuff like that

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism? that's an odd question.

Do you have questions you can't find answers to? I'm mostly ok with waiting 120 to ask some questions

How do you feel about being frum? GREAT

amother

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 6:17 am

amother wrote:

Is it by rote? Not exactly...

Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go? Yes. I am a BT so I chose to live a life this way because I actively believe that...well, I believe Judaism is the way to go. Do I believe that all the minor details and chumrot we have created that deviate so far from the torah she'bichtav and even Torah she'beal peh are what Gd wants? THAT I'm still not sure of. But I DO believe that Gd wants us to actively elevate ourselves and think of Him in everything we do (I.e, that's why we need to have laws around what we eat, how we have families, etc.)

Is it because you were raised this way? Nope, though I was raised with a strong pride in my Judaism as a cultural and traditional way of life. But not as a Orthodox Jew.

What keeps you going? My husband. I have maintained many of my friends from before I became religious so I need to be able to hold strong to my beliefs. My husband is a wonderful influence and is a great role model in terms of how to happily live a religiously life, while questioning, yes, but to love it all the while.

Is your community a factor? Somewhat. I admire the Judaism of my immediate community. There are many communities in my surrounding area that I think would make me question everything altogether...

What areas do you struggle with? Tznius... and davening.

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism? I don't really understand what you mean by that but I think we are or should be all constantly in flux. We should be continually striving to grow and understand.

Also I think you have to be able to be open to growth with each new life cycle - marriage, children, their bar mitzvahs, their marriages, etc. or you'll fall off the wagon.

Do you have questions you can't find answers to? Why do bad things happen to good people? How does free will work exactly if Gd runs the world? Are we doing everything exactly according to His will? And how come I can't lose weight??? LOL

(Sorry needed some comic relief after this serious post)

How do you feel about being frum? I do not regret choosing to live this life. On a day to day basis, I have my struggles but the pros outweigh the cons.

omega3

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 6:22 am

Lots of what I do is by rote, unfortunately, and it's something I actively work on.

I do it and try harder because I actively believe that there is a G-d, that He created the Torah and so it is our instruction manual.

I was raised this way. I'm lucky to be born to parents who are baalei teshuva so they, as people who had delved into Torah deeply before embracing it, brought me up in a similarly thoughtful way.

What keeps me going is the knowledge that I'm doing what G-d wants me to do and fulfilling my mission.

I suppose my community is a factor simply because nobody is free from peer pressure. Also because there are so many positive role models for me.

I struggle with emunah and with making my time meaningful instead of killing it on the Internet. I struggle with many many things but I do believe that they are all challenges and that I am growing from all my efforts to become better.

I don't really understand the next question. Could you elaborate please?

Yes, plenty of questions. Most I know I could find answers to and I do ask them to knowledgeable people. Some I know I will never find the answers to because my intellect is simply not as much as G-d's. They don't bother me - I have enough proof to base my beliefs on that I don't need to know them.

I like being frum, but most definitely do not find it easy or like it all the time. That's the thing with Judaism - it is not about feeling good. Some people may find Shabbos uplifting etc. I don't. It's a shame that I'm not sensitive enough to really connect through it, but it's not so relevant. I do the halacha anyway because I believe G-d wants me to. I believe my soul is being refined even though I can't feel that, and I will feel it in the next World.

Hope that helps!!

PinkFridge

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 6:38 am

Is it by rote[b]? ]Sometimes.
[b]
Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go? Even though I'm FFB I'd like to think I own it. I do actively learn and I try to make my belief real. E.g. when I daven I really try to believe yes, Hashem is the one who encourages widows and orphans, heals the broken-hearted, etc. And Shira Smiles has spoken about the simcha we should say shiras hayam with, that we should really feel the joy and miracles. So I try to smile when I say Az Yashir and Ezras.

Is it because you were raised this way? I wonder if I would have found my way back had I not been FFB. I would like to think so.

What keeps you going? Really good stories about really good people. Very sweet stories about people like Rabbi Grossman shlita of Migdal HaEmek. And a charming story about a talmid chochom Rav Yitzchak Nosson Kupershtock that R' Yom Tov Glaser told: their chatzer became a stop for walking tours during Chanuka and Rav Kuppershtock shlepped up five lbs. of candy to give out to the people who would stop by so they could make a bracha. He wanted to toss it out his window but worried it might not be safe so he asked R' Glaser to distribute it, IIRC. As time goes by it's harder to stay uncynical but I try.
And other stories of spiritual greatness during difficult times. Stories about incredible actions and stories about the ideas that kept people going. I think, if this worked for them in their circumstances maybe I can tap into that.
Shiurim from people who don't know it but have come to be my teachers and have given me a way to think.

Is your community a factor? Yes. I can't say it's perfect and I'm sure that there's stuff I don't have a clue about. But it's a fairly sane place, with really good people.

What areas do you struggle with? My big struggles aren't the spiritual type but stuff like will-power, using my time better.

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism? No. I'm really happy that I can feel that I've grown in certain in ways. I'm nowhere near arrived and don't expect to be before 120. But I can endorse myself for my accomplishments.

Do you have questions you can't find answers to? Yes but either I know re some questions that in this world we can't understand, and re others, maybe one day if I really need the answer there are people I know who might have the answers.

How do you feel about being frum?Good. Proud. Like I heard Aliza Bulow say, we should be making our community (the global sense, not my personal corner) a place that people will want to join and no one will want to leave. I think that if we ever get there, Moshiach will be here. We do have a long way to go. But I'm happy to be here.[b]

amother

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 7:17 am

amother wrote:

Is it by rote?

Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go?

Is it because you were raised this way?

What keeps you going?

Is your community a factor?

What areas do you struggle with?

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism?

Do you have questions you can't find answers to?

How do you feel about being frum?

yes most of what I do is by rote. I was born into it and I will die in it. That sort of thing Sad

I do believe that judaism is the way to live, but sometimes it is just hard to find reasons to do everything that we need to do.
My community thank g-d is not a factor in my relationship with judaism. We have people of all walks of life here and levels of judaism.
I am very comfortable with not going anywhere with my judaism.
I have had in the past many questions and have found answers, not always what I wanted to hear and not always good answers, but answers.
There was a time when I was angry at g-d that I actively stopped doing certain mitzvos, but that time has passed.
Now it just me being able to do the thigns that I feel I can do right now in my life. And that definitely is not everything at all.
I have had a lot of tests in my life and not an easy life either. I dont knowwhy hashem "picked" me for all of these hardships, but that has made a big impression on me and my avoda towards judaism. It has not made it stronger but rather much much weaker.

mommy3b2c

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 8:10 am

I was born religious so I guess certain things are by rote- like keeping shabbos, and saying brachos, but that doesn't mean I don't believe in them as well.

I love being religious because I believe with all my heart that the Torah is the truth and Judaism is truth. I see from real examples that people who follow the WHOLE Torah are true tzadikim that reach amazingly high levels.

I see that the frum world has plenty of issues, but as compared to the rest of society as a whole, is much more functional and stable.

I see that a lot of things bother people like polygamy and slavery that are discussed in the Torah, (or beating a student from love) but they don't bother me at all because not everything is supposed to be taken so literally. There are rabbinim that are smart enough to change the norms when appropriate and there is an explanation for everything. The Torah actually has the most just system and laws for every detail of living.

Judaism is also the only religion that doesn't try to convert people and believes that all humans have a right to heaven no matter their religion.

Judaism also encourages questions which most other religions don't.

Do I struggle with things? Sure. I'm human. A big struggle of mine is tznius and watching movies/shows.

amother

Sun, Jan 18 2015, 9:47 am

]Is it by rote? No

Is it because you actively learn/believe that Judaism is the way to go? Yes

Is it because you were raised this way? No, I was raised frum, went OTD and came back finding my own path.

What keeps you going? Hashem, my beloved father, the connection I have with him. Also my family.

Is your community a factor? No.

What areas do you struggle with? Being a roman while living in Rome. Conforming to certain community standards.

Are you comfortable not really going anywhere with your Judaism? I have taken the path I wanted to take. It only gets better from here.

Do you have questions you can't find answers to? No. There are answers to everything. You just have to find the right people for it. ( Rabbi Eliyahu Bergstien was a lifesaver for me with my emuna questions.)

How do you feel about being frum] loving it and proud!