I am Jewish, yet my sense of Jewishness is puzzling even to me. I am historically and traditionally of the Jewish faith, yet religiously I am an agnostic at best. The words of the prayers we say in temple on the High Holy Days don’t mean much to me. Yet being part of the Jewish community means everything. I observe the major holidays by gathering my family around me and eating more than we need to. (What else do you do during holidays with families?)
Most Israeli Jews do not believe in God. They are atheists. Yet our heritage provides such a unity, such a strong bond! We Jews relive and retell the story of our ancestors over and over again, year in and year out.
Regarding the traditions, I pick and choose what makes sense to me. I am an adult, and I’ve earned the right to believe in what makes sense to me. I don’t have to prove that I am Jewish. I know I am. As Albert Einstein said in his book, The World as I See It, “The pursuit of knowledge for its own sake, an almost fanatical love of justice and the desire for personal independence—these are the features of the Jewish tradition which make me thank my lucky stars that I belong to it.”