Jewish Girls.

by

Subtitle: I cant lie. Ive been jealous.

Green with envy.

NOT our *healthy living tribe's* version of a GREEN MONSTER.

not our *good* version of GREEN MONSTER!

For a while Ive coveted what it seemed others had.

I was envious of the FUN I perceived happened when my Catholic friends skipped off to CCD together.

I longed for the unity I thought friends possessed as they giggled together on Monday over Sunday’s happenings at church.

Ive watched bloggers go on mission trips and thought:

oooh Id love to do that if it weren’t for the faith piece.  I, too, am committed to doing unto others and would love to be a part of that blogger community.

What felt as though it held me back was this:

it's positioned here because it's the core of who I am.

it’s positioned here because it’s the core of who I am.

Less than a barrier-to-entry for these situations (I love my faith & that affection has only deepened as Ive gotten older) I began to wonder if it simply wasnt an option for us Jews.

If what united us was merely a shared experience of persecution (for lack of a better word. those more articulate than I possess better words Im certain.).

And then I blogged for a billion more years and grew older still.

And then I spied the SHE READS TRUTH hashtag.

Initially on Twitter.  And then on Instagram.  And then mentioned in blog posts across varying genres.

Finally it hit me like a ton of bricks matzo balls:

That’s it.  That’s what Im seeking.  That’s what I do, already, alone in my domicile when I meditate/write in the mornings. 

Im indebted to our Healthy Living Tribe for making this could-be-isolating fitness life feel easy and frequently FUN.

youve helped me become ME!

Finally. Fitness’y UNAPOLOGETICALLY MYSELF!

I felt solo as I journaled about trying to live my best spiritual life and sought a way to stay connected to blogger/social media friends who share this same pursuit.

And the hashtag JEWISHGIRLS was born (mazel. I know. finally. it has been a 44 year gestation period.).

Born for twitter.

Created for Instagram and the book of the FACE.

And yes, sometimes, for the blog as well.

For me it feels like a final piece in my healthy living puzzle.

One last muscle Im focusing on strengthening with the help of BLENDS and the power of social media.

hgjg

it’s all about finding our strength.

And you?

  • Whatever your approach to zen or faith: have you created your community on or offline?

 

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Comments

  3. Mazel to you indeed–well done! I’m glad you feel more complete, now. I’ve been feeling the need to be more in touch with my church and my community as a whole…trying to figure out what that means for me.

  4. Oh yes. Offline, online, everywhere….I’m surrounded by “the church.” By that I mean, it’s the people and not the building that make up the family of God. 🙂

  6. I’m still trying to find a spiritual community that “fits”. I love my church but since I don’t live nearby anymore, I don’t feel as much a part of that community. Recently I’ve found several priest writer-bloggers who really inspire and reading Nadia Bolz-Weber’s book has my mind full of God’s love and wanting to do more somehow … I may have to eavesdrop on your hashtag!

  8. I don’t know if I would call myself a religious person. But I would say spiritual. I don’t belong to a church because I don’t enjoy organized religion. Years ago a bad taste was left in my mouth by a church I was attending. You can’t be nice and proper on a Sunday morning and then walk on people that afternoon. So I choose to not be around it any longer.

    With that being said– my daughter is her own person. So I’m not going to lay my opinions on her. She goes to church every Sunday with her Nana. My goal is to give her the exposure, and let her decide things for herself.

    I love, fear and respect God, but choose to praise him in the comfort of my own home.

    • Hi Jenny,

      I completely respect where you are coming from and agree that it is all about faith over religion and some churches forget that…leading to the bad church experience you mentioned. I do hope that you can find a place that fits you where you are and loves like God calls us to love. I say this because I can relate to feeling the hypocrisy (it came from my own home and pushed me away HARD for a long time) but have seen how the community aspect has added so much to my life as I’ve grown and experienced more on the love and relationship aspect. Keep your heart and mind open. Also, your comment reminded me of a recent series my own church did actually called My Bad Church Experience if you’re interested – http://northpoint.org/messages/my-bad-church-experience/

      Sorry Carla for the hijacked comment! It just touched close to home. 🙂

  9. I’m more of a spiritual person, but consider myself a solid Christian girl when it comes to values and morals – any level of faith is just what’s needed in today’s craziness!

  10. I am a man of Christian faith and found a great church here in San Diego to call home. It’s unfortunate that some have experienced bad churches but that’s definitely no excuse to avoid worshiping God in an “organized” fashion. If you dig deep, we were created to worship in number. It’s also good to have a great support system for your faith.

  11. Carla,

    You know I have much love for you and much love for the faith aspect of our health. Part of that is hands down community because we are called to love and share that love. Most of my faith community does come from personal relationships through the small groups I participate in and help lead and from my closest friendships and family. But friends I have known through blogging are definitely part of my faith community too. We’ll share prayer requests and inspirations and it is a little light adding to my own faith often.

    We may be of differing faith systems, but I still support showing a love for God (we do after all worship the same God). It adds so much to life and wellness and wholeness and I always hope for people to know that. They can only know if people share openly and honestly. I shared my baptism because I am so thankful for the grace that came from God giving Jesus. You share how your faith and values add to your life and your personal experience. But what matters to me is that a world that has more and more people turning from religion may find that just what FAITH can do in a life.

  12. hi Carla.. title caught my eye b/c it’s such a part of my interior identity. I practice religion almost not at all.. For many reasons, the earliest separations occurring when my Dad died over 30 yrs ago.. seeing that he was so much of my link to those traditions. But then finding some of the community in religious context wasn’t where I felt at home. So I slowly created my own practices. Spiritual, fairly consistent, deeply held and solid now in my 50’s. Being a Jewish Girl is part of that but less in practice than in the ease of connection with other JG’s.. who speak from a common context and understanding that at times can bring such ease, such warmth and comfort.
    I love how you pursue everything with such clarity and passion. And… is that a real tattoo (of course I want to know.)
    Love to you..
    Lisa

  14. Interesting post. I won’t go into all my pursuits to find “my community” but what loops in my brain on the subject.

    Under god, indivisible, for truth and justice for all.

    our allegiance …but the meaning and the origin may surprise many…the under god was added by Roosevelt

    and the for all simply meant….EVERY AMERICAN, regardless of race, religion, color, creed, or any other criteria.

    The further times progresses the farther away from allegiance we seem to move…..its hard to find one single community that falls under ….for all!

  15. i enjoy the idea of the she reads truth movement. however, trying to reflect on religious texts would be really overwhelming and confusing for me so i just pretend i’m unitarian because they’re basically not religious but have a strong social justice component. kind of weird, but it works for me. i really wish there was a #shereadsmotivationalstuff movement, because religions (my own and everyone else’s, haha) make me so uncomfortable.

  16. Interesting. I’ve often complained to the husband that my friends either have the same faith beliefs as myself or the same fitness pursuits, but have yet to find a group of people that think you can focus on both God and fitness. It seems like, at times, fitness is it’s own religion.

  19. That’s interesting — I’m a bit of a Judaeophile myself, and while I certainly don’t wish to have been treated as they have been treated through the ages, I’ve always admired the Jewish response to such treatment: to band together, support one another, and grow stronger in reaction to it. (Plus the food. The food’s AWESOME.)

    I guess we all assume that the grass is greener over the fence.

  20. I LOVE this. I grew up in the only Jewish family on a Christian block. I was asked why I killed Christ, in school, I was given a test on Jesus and the apostles, which I flunked. In High School, I was kept out of the National Junior Honor society because, “We don’t really consider Jews.” Ah, but I found my tribe when I grew up, (and I wrote about my experiences in my latest novel, Is This Tomorrow). I’m so happy to see this group.

  21. Interesting, if you talk to enough of us Jewish Girls you’ll find that we didn’t find out community in our physical neighborhood. We found our community in a spiritual neighborhood with girls from different schools and cities when we went to religious school as kids or camps or joined BBYO or other youth organizations. Jewish Girls are a global community not defined by physical boundaries but brought together by a belief that together we are Tikkun Olam!

  22. I’m not a particularly religious person but I often see the She Reads the Truth stuff too and what I do like about it is the sense of community, support, and friendship that comes with a group.
    I love that you created your own hashtag and before to long I imagine you’ll have a large group using it too!

  24. Only since moving to my semi-small town outside of LA with a small child(after living most of my childhood and adult life in NYC), do I feel a need to assert my Judiaism.

    Everyone in NY is Jewish even if they’re not and now living in a town with very few Jewish people, I feel an overwhelming need to give my own child some Jewish identity and education. We joined a temple not far away (no temples in my ‘hood) and while it is extremely liberal and and as reform as you can get, I felt strange in temple on the High Holy Days. I felt like an absolute fraud. I believe that I’m more spiritual than religious and want my child to know he’s Jewish but I don’t want to force him into something that I’m not sure I even am comfortable with.

    I find my spirituality more on a yoga mat than in a temple but that doesn’t mean I’m not open to learn more. I’m trying to deal with these feelings of dissonance. I have always felt a cultural pride in being Jewish and feel a deeper motivation to convey that to my child and with that effort I believe that I will learn and grow as well.

  26. This is something I have struggled with for years. I grew up being told what to believe and how to do it. As an adult I have had to come to my own terms with things (I have always believed in God) – the problem for me is in saying that I am ___________ (any specific religion) – now I prefer to just say I am a Christian but not tied to any other specific. The community part – lacking on my end.

  27. I love that people find what is right for them. As you know, I am “Jewish” & grew up in a reformed household – almost more free as I got older… I found the older I got, the more religions separated people of different faiths. – it bothered me… still does especially in this divided world right now.

    I know plenty come together but many do not…

    I say I am Jewish but I live my life for what I think is right for me & just treat people of all faiths & beliefs with respect. I do not practice anything – I think I am almost agnostic these days… I do not believe in God but in some other thing I can’t put into words – just my own feeling of what is right for me… maybe my own special awareness – not sure.. 🙂

  28. For me faith has always very personal. Not something I am likely to share very freely. Perhaps because I have often found it to be more of a barrier than something that expands your community.

    This is obviously not true of all people or all religions, but sometimes religion as you mention can be “something I am, that you are not”. It is not always so inclusive or welcome – which I believe is how it is meant to be. So I choose to embrace all faiths, respect all religions, and keep my own ideas as my own.

  29. I love this Carla. I was brought up with some good morals but was never a religious person. However, the last few years have definitely shown me how important faith is, and now I’d consider myself very spiritual 🙂

  30. Another fantastic post Carla. I love She Reads Truth, and I love that you were inspired to create Jewish Girls! Without faith, I’m not sure life would mean very much. Faith has to be in every choice I make, for without it I am lost. Thank you for sharing this!

  32. I *love* this! #jewishgirls unite, I’m totally in the tribe. In any case, I try not to talk about religion too much on my blog, but for me, Judaism was a HUGE part of my upbringing. I went to Jewish day school for 10 years, although even now I don’t really know what I believe in.

    I have the utmost respect for all religion and spirituality, but have often felt left out in the blog world only because I do not have a concrete sense of religion. Also, not a ton of people are familiar with Jewish culture (let’s change that!). Since I blog mostly about food, I try to make it a point to share traditions and meals and family recipes as well.

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