Ain’t life grand? As soon as you think you cannot stand another day of snowbergs under your car and icy sidewalks, we are reminded of Easter Bunnies and Ramadan! There is so much to rejoice about at last. In addition to these reminders, we offer Passover, May Day, Purim, Carnival, spring cleaning, the Equinox, rebirth, rejuvenation and more. The decorations are everywhere – a wee bit early, but that’s retail for you. I can’t help myself from buying silly gifts for the Littles’ Easter Baskets, but my life was not always like this.
As a child, I had a rather confusing and multi-faceted religious upbringing. My father was Jewish and my mother was Irish Catholic, two cultures that feature similarities such as guilt, cooking, and family holidays. As a surprise for my dad, my mom decided to convert to Judaism, and went through all the steps including the ritual bath, the Mikvah. When she sprung (spring, sprung…) this on him, all gussied up and ready to go to shul one Friday night, he proclaimed, “Shul? I’m not Jewish! I’m American!” I don’t know the rest of the details, but after my brother and I came along we were raised in the Catholic church, with baptism, First Communion, catechism class, the whole nine yards. Of course, this did not discourage our family from celebrating ALL the holidays, as my paternal relatives still considered themselves to be Jewish as usual. We had Passover Seder with one set of family members, and Easter egg hunts with the rest. Once my Jewish cousins heard of this bounty, they joined in, and together we celebrated Christmas with menorahs, Passover with colored eggs and hidden candy (AKA afikomen?), along with all the secular holidays (Fourth of July, New Years Eve, Halloween…). So many celebrations! So many get-togethers! So much guilt – enough for everyone!
Fast forward to family planning with my late husband, Stephan. I felt very strongly that we needed a unified front so that our kids would not be as confused as I had been. Although he had been born and raised as Jewish, he was not observant and left it up to me to decide. I proceeded to visit different churches, mosques, and temples to do my research and see what seemed to fit me. I came to the conclusion that I felt most familiar with Jewish traditions and forms of celebration, so that was my solution. We met Jewish friends in Los Angeles and Santa Barbara and eventually found ourselves amidst the Jewish Underground – those like-minded individuals that were not orthodox, conservative, or any particular religious sect. I learned that in Judaism, actions are far more important than beliefs. This made sense to me, as my core belief has always been to practice the Golden Rule and you can’t go too far wrong. We enjoyed potlucks, softball games, loose and loving get-togethers and we proceeded to start our families. It was around this time that we met an amazing and wonderful man – Rabbi Josef Loshak, the head rabbi of the local Chabad/Lubavitch community. Rabbi Loshak was the final connection to my birthright – he was the first person that did not make me feel that I was not “Jewish enough.” With his guidance, we welcomed our newborn sons into the covenant through the rite of circumcision on their eighth day of life during their brit milah, commonly referred to as a bris. Our daughter attended the yeshiva, spending her preschool years at the day school and learning everything she could about Judaism and life in general. It was a great choice for her, and she has stayed in contact with her roots to this day, teaching her daughters along the way.
Meanwhile I came to realize that the “Christian” holidays had become secular or social customs more than anything. I attended church with my mother and brother, although I did not feel any connection to Catholicism. When I was five I whispered to my mom, “You know why all these women come here? To show off their hats!” “Shhhh,” was her reply. After this when friends would ask me “what” I was, I would answer ½ Russian, ¼ Irish, and ¼ English. It was just easier.
In other news, I have been painting quite a bit and having Art Salad get-togethers here at the new place while waiting for spring to arrive. I will be teaching a couple of upcoming art classes at the White Bear Center for the Arts Here are a few images of my recent work:
