April 13, 2018 28 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS FOURTEEN DAYS, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS, OF THE OMER
My response when people ask me what kind of Jew I am is, “I’m a mutt!” While I worked in a (mostly) Reform (but also Conservative) congregation, I sent my kids to Solomon Schechter day school, a hallmark of the Conservative movement. Growing up, I went to an Orthodox day school and attended a Reconstructionist synagogue on the Upper West Side. A large dose of Reform, a healthy heaping of Orthodox, a few cups of Conservative and a dash of Reconstructionist – you can see why “mutt” seems like the right answer.
At the end of the day, I don’t believe my denomination of Judaism matters. As an adult, my idea of being Jewish is to pull from all of these traditions in order to make a Judaism that is personal, relevant, and meaningful to my family and me. This often entails creating my own version of things.
Judaism is not just about following the rules in an old set of books. It is about helping us answer the most fundamental questions about our lives, and we are entitled to draw on every part of our rich tradition to do so.
Pamela Barkley
April 14, 2018 29 Nisan, 5778
TONIGHT IS FIFTEEN DAYS, WHICH IS TWO WEEKS AND ONE DAY, OF THE OMER
*We are posting this response today, so you do not have to use your computer/phone on Shabbat.
