Where do I belong?

I have often felt that maybe I don’t belong in the Reform Movement. I like more Hebrew in my service than most and I find that I tend to enjoy conservative services. I have always enjoyed keeping Shabbat with my friends and keeping kosher is a very important part of my life, however I always get the best feeling when I pray at my home synagogue or at camp. I love being apart of the reform movement and I have realized by having people in my life that are “more religious” or feel that they are more religious because of the movement that they affiliate with that I am proud to be and affiliate with the reform movement!

Reform Judaism is often stereotyped as Jews who don’t practice and aren’t religious and in some movements they do not consider reform Jews as Jewish. I believe that the way I express my Jewish identity must be defined by what I do as a Jew and not what movement I affiliate with. It often makes me mad that when people who are orthodox Jews meet me, and I tell them that I am a reform Jew, they don’t take me seriously as a practicing Jew. But I am a more active Jew in the reform movement than some people are in the conservative or orthodox movement.

As a reform Jew I am free to show my Jewish identity however I want because I have studied the texts and have learned the rules. I attend services every Friday night and Saturday morning, I observe all the Jewish holidays, I am committed to lifelong learning and teaching, but more importantly I live my life by the core values that Jewish people live by: trying to make our world a better place by Tikkun Olam, the repairing of our world, and caring for others. My identity as a Jew is not defined by the movement I affiliate with but all of the things I do and say that make me a Jew.

On a daily basis, I try to make sure that all of the decisions I make and the things that I say reflect the kind of Jew I am. I aspire to be a rabbi so that I can carry on the traditions of the Jewish people and continue with Tikkun Olam. My Jewish identity is clearly defined as how I identify myself as a Jew. I agree with the statement that Jewish Identity must be defined by the way people identify themselves however, I think that the movement that Jews “identify with” is not enough to make their Jewish identity, they must define themselves by what they do as Jews.