The first time ever I'd seen a blog was when my friend Darisa (now a Jewish woman named Aliza) told me about hers in 2005. We met each other at K.J. (the Modern Orthodox synagogue) on the Upper East Side of Manhattan while we attended classes together there in the evenings. Darisa and I became instant friends. She was born Catholic and I was born Jewish, yet despite being Jewish my whole life, I was only coming into Judaism at the same time she was. As I read her blog about her daily adventures, I thought that I could never have a blog for myself because my life was not nearly as interesting. Mind you, I was discovering New York City every day as a newcomer and working in the entertainment industry there at the time! In hindsight I can only guess that I found my work to be not such a big deal AND, most of all, I was probably trying to be discreet about what celebrities I was interacting with. To this day nothing makes me as uncomfortable as when someone asks which celebrities I know / met / worked with.
Needless to say, that period of time when Darisa was blogging and I wasn't was probably the most intensely growth-oriented stage of my life. To get back into my head from that time would be priceless now. I was growing as a human being in the most remarkable leaps and bounds as I came into my own religiously. Ten years earlier I'd been an Atheist and self-hating Jew. But I was always a searcher and my junior year in college I learned with conviction that there truly is a G-d. I continued searching for what that meant once I realized it. A long and slow journey brought me to 2005, K.J., and, subsequently, Darisa. After 10 years of exploring Judaism and what Jews do to practice it, I suddenly committed myself to becoming an Orthodox Jewess. No one was more surprised than me!
And it didn't occur to me to blog or document my colorful journey back then. I don't even feel that my journey now is quite as fascinating, but I am definitely still on a journey of a sort. I am still learning about Judaism and what wisdom is hidden and waiting to be discovered. Lazy people don't get to that place, only truth seekers who are willing to investigate and allow themselves to learn! I've encountered my share of intelligent people who doubt the truth of Judaism. They stunt their own growth by refusing to open their minds for a minute to another option besides what they have preconceived. And, G-d forbid, we should never stop growing as people and become complacent and force those around us to take it or leave it. To me that is like driving up a dead-end street and staying there. Another of the many wonderful things my husband and I strongly agree upon is that people always have room for growth, self-improvement, and getting better with age. I'm on that part of the journey now.
Hi Allyson, my journey began in early '70s and I wound up in Crown Heights/Lubavitch for 13 years. http://cominghomebh.blogspot.com/ is my blog, I hope you might stop by-I cant explain what it is to read of other women going through what I thought was a very lonely trip..G-d bless.
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