Choosing Judaism

I Am A Jew

I am a Jew
I am a Jew because my faith demands of me no abdication of the mind.
I am a Jew because my faith requires of me all the devotion of my heart.
I am a Jew because in every place where suffering weeps, I weep.
I am a Jew because at every time when despair cries out, I hope.
I am a Jew because the word of the people Israel is the oldest and the newest.
I am a Jew because the promise of Israel is the universal promise.
I am a Jew because, for Israel, the world is not completed; we are completing it.
I am a Jew because, for Israel, humanity is not created; we are creating it.
I am a Jew because Israel places humanity and its unity above the nations and above Israel itself.
I am a Jew because, above humanity, image of the divine Unity, Israel places the unity which is divine.

Edmond Fleg, a French Jew, wrote this poem in 1927.  His short statement encompasses the personal, the ethnic, and universal connections of every Jew.  The Jewish religion has ancient roots, yet has grown and adapted to every age and every place the Jewish people have been.  Some of us are born as Jews, some of us choose Judaism.  Every one of us comes together as  the Jewish people. 

Contrary to popular belief, since the days of Abraham and Sarah the Jewish people have  welcomed conversion.  If you are interested in learning more about how to embrace the Jewish faith as your own, please get in contact with Rabbi Freelund.   Please be ready to speak and write about your spiritual and religious journey from childhood to the present.  Each of us walks a different path which determines which steps should be next.

We are an affirming and inclusive community and welcome all those engage with ernest intention, as described by the ancient psalmist.