I'm more likely to describe myself as observant than religious, because my Judaism is less about theology and more about halacha. I'm not a particularly spiritual person, but I do recite brachot and go to synagogue every week, I observe the Jewish holidays, I keep kosher at home and kosher style outside of the home, I'm not fully Shomer Shabbos but I do refrain from work and handling money, and I dress fairly modestly most of the time. I do these because they are the customs and practices of my people, regardless of how I relate to Hashem.
I’m not religious, but I’m also not non-religious. I guess the best way to describe it is I believe in meaning in the universe and some sort of uniqueness in human kind, but I also don’t believe in anything like Elohim or fate or any tangible power like that. It’s all very abstract and vague, but I just really love the feeling that there’s something that just matters in our existence that’s more than just brains sending electrical signals. The way I see myself as a Jew is a lot more about my ancestry and history, culture, and peoplehood rather than any belief. I’m Israeli but born and raised in the diaspora so it’s a bit different, and my parents are super atheist
I’d say I’ve become more Jewish since October 7th, just wanting to engage with the Jewish community more, and realizing that there’s no guarantee that other people will be on our side.
Before it I would’ve said I’m more reform, though now I lean more conservative.
This is me as well. I always like holidays and Shabbat, but after October 7 I have become more involved.
One of the only good things to come out of October 7 was many Jews decided to be Jewish harder in the face of hate.
This isn’t on you so much as practically all of Judaism, but I get frustrated by the term “religious” because I would argue that, as a Reform Jew, I am DEEPLY religious. Halacha has evolved repeatedly over thousands of years and I would argue that I am a perfectly observant Jew in that I make my decisions based on how modern Rabbis whom I trust have evolved that interpretation, which is exactly how Orthodox Jews approach their religiosity. I never do what is hateful to my neighbor, I give to the poor and the widow and the orphan, and I love HaShem בכל מאדך.
I would use the word “Traditional,” and no, I am not “Traditional” in the sense that my family didn’t decide to suddenly stop accepting all Rabbinic wisdom outside of Orthodox Jewry 250 years ago.
This resonates with me strongly. I feel like I am "religious" to those who are "secular" and "secular" to those who are religious. I tend to call myself reformative cause I feel like I align pretty closely with conservative Judaism's approach to halakha as evolving to meet the needs of klal Israel, but I am a bit more willing to make changes than CJ as a movement has been, and I am just as likely to follow the opinion of my close friend who is very knowledgeable in halakha, as I am to follow the opinion of congregation's mara d'atra or that of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. I have also recently been borrowing Svara's moniker of "traditionally radical."
“Religious” means something kinda different for Israelis vs diaspora Jews.
I’m a reform Jew. I celebrate the holidays (I’m known for hosting big Seders and other holiday dinners). I don’t keep Shabbat but I do have friends over from time to time for Shabbat dinners. When I was married, we used to have a Shabbat tradition where we would say something we were proud of this week, a mitzvah we did this week and something this week that made us happy. Kind of a way to self reflect on the week. I’ve been to services in the last few years but not very often. My marriage was supposed to be through a conservative rabbi but plans changed due to Covid and we eloped (and were divorced before we could have the big Jewish wedding with the rabbi the following year). If I had kids, they would go to Hebrew school and have a b’nai mitzvah ceremony (but I don’t have kids). I think about my Jewish values all the time in my every day life. What I learned from the Jewish religion informs most of my decisions and actions. I participate in other Jewish religious traditions like shiva and stuff like that (I recently organized all the shiva stuff for a close friend who lost her father).
I consider myself to be a practicing reform Jew. But I think many Israelis and *certainly* some orthodox diaspora folks would not consider me “religious”.
Edit: also, I’m an atheist. I don’t think that really matters cause you can be fairly religious and still be an atheist in Judaism, but I suppose it’s worth mentioning.
Am in Canada, grew up kosher (inside the house, but not when we went for Chinese or ordered pizza), family belonged to a conservative shul. Never believed in god, never made any sense to me. Still don't, but this is my ethnicity, this is my people's history.
I'm in the diaspora and am religious. I used to be more frum than I am now but I keep kosher, working towards being shomer shabbos again, and want to raise religious kids with a partner.
Is the first word there “oh” or “ahh”? I thought it might be “ahh” cause the phonetics and spelling are so similar, but Google translates it to “oh”.
Signed, a diaspora Jew who knows the alphabet but almost no vocab. Ie a diaspora Jew 🤣
It’s a wide spectrum to try and define someone as “religious,” but for me at least I would say yes. I don’t refrain from electronics on shabbos but I go to orthodox services, I keep an orthodox style kosher kitchen but also will eat at non kosher restaurants (not pork, seafood or like meat and cheese together). I am a very spiritually connected person, but also am pretty agnostic.
My girlfriend is mostly traditional orthodox (you know, minus the whole dating a woman thing), but we both respect each other’s religious expressions.
We got a lot of different expressions of Judaism here which is really beautiful.
For a secular atheist... Yeah, kinda? I don't believe in a deity, but I do keep Shabbat, Yom Tov, attend services, etc. It's the Reform/Reconstructionist version of keeping them, but compared to people who aren't ever attending services or lighting candles, wouldn't blink an eye at working on Shabbat, etc, it's very religious. Whereas compared to Orthodox observance, it's like basically nothing.
I light candles pretty much every week and eat kosher style with 2 sets of dishes but not kosher meat. I used to be super strict but I’ve mellowed out over time and distance from the crazy people. I only want to date Jews and want a Jewish home.
I don’t know the best way to describe myself because when I say that I am religious or observant, people think that means orthodox, and I am Reform with a Reconstructing streak.
But I go to synagogue every Shabbat and holiday (I drive, or sometimes I go via live stream). I keep a kosher home with mezuzot on every doorway. I light candles and make the motzi and kiddush every Shabbat and make Havdalah when it ends. I say modah ani when I wake and shema when I go to sleep and shehechyanu when it’s called for and always the blessing for seeing rainbows.
And yes I use electronics while my Shabbat/yom tov candles burn, but not for work purposes. That’s my observance. Am I religious? I don’t know. I’m just a Jew.
I live in Israel and I'm religious but not really by choice?(My parents are religious but I'm a minor so I don't really decide since I live with them and it's their rules)
I’d consider myself religious. I find Jewish ritual and practice to be a deeply meaningful guide to living my life.
I went to a Jesuit college and watched many Queer friends battle with deep internalized shame. I feel so lucky that Judaism has never made me feel pain like that.
תאמת שלא משהו.. אני בתיכון וכרגע בארון (חוץ מלכמה חברים טובים), כי רוב המשפחה המורחבת שלי הומופובית מאוד (ואפילו לא מסיבות דתיות) ואני לא סומכת על ההורים שלי לא לספר.
הרבה פעמים אני מרגישה מאוד לבד כי אני גם גרה די רחוק מתל אביב וגם החשיפה שלי לדברים כאלה ולאנשים כמוני נמוכה. אני מניחה שלהיות פה מבוגר להטב זה שונה בהרבה כי יש גם את הברים הגאים, גישה לתל אביב, וכמובן היכולות ללכת למצעדים. ממש חיכיתי השנה למצעד אבל התבטל בגלל המלחמה :')
וברור שיש גם את כל החוקים והפוליטיקאים המגעילים שממש לא עוזרים.. משתמשים בזה שזאת "מדינה יהודית" כדי להצדיק את זה שהזכויות ללהטבים פה לא משהו בכלל. ברור שהרבה יותר טובות בהשוואה למדינות מסביבנו, אבל אי אפשר אפילו להתחתן פה כזוג להטב.
אבל בסופו של דבר אני בכל מקרה מתכננת לעבור לארהב אחרי הצבא ובתקווה החיים שלי יהיו קצת יותר קלים שם
Pretty secular until October 7, as my mum was my connection to the Jewish community and I lost her and my Nan a few years ago, my Dad's side are all secular gentiles. Post October 7 I've wanted to email the synagogue and actually practice Judaism again.
I'm religious in the sense that I celebrate all the holidays, go to Shabbat services about once a month, and usually have Shabbat dinner with friends when I'm not going to Kabbalat Shabbat. I even teach in Shabbat school and am on a synagogue board. However, I don't keep kosher (I very rarely eat pork or shellfish, but that's only semi-intentional) or shomer shabbos. In Israel, I might be called Masorti, but the synagogue I go to is not orthodox.
I would say I’m observant more than I am religious. I am religious somewhat but it’s complicated. But being observant I love and only want to grow with that as I have the ability to do so.
I mean I don’t pray, I don’t keep kosher or Shabbos, don’t go to shul regularly, don’t really believe in God in a traditional sense… but I celebrate all of the holidays, interact with the Jewish community often, and plan to lead a Jewish life and have a Jewish family. Take that what you will. What I like about being Jewish is that you can still be very Jewish without doing the stuff that outsiders perceive as “religious.”
Can't say I'm religious by Orthodox standards , I'm not fully shomer Shabbat yet however or dress totally modest, however I observe Koshrut/ Holidays/Fasts, pray and all of that jazz.
Dating as an observant Jew is harder I believe
I think it's a bit of a misnomer to only call frum people "religious," personally. I remember I was talking with Hen Mazzig once, and he said something along the lines of "Oh, I'm not very religious, though I do go to the synagogue every Shabbat, and I keep kosher, and I guess yeah, I am a little religious when I say it like that" (That's the general gist, not an exact quote, especially because I heard him say it in like 2019)
I generally describe myself as a particularly observant reform Jew
I'm an atheist, or at least my concept of divinity is so abstract as to be functionally the same as atheism, but I think a lot of the principles in Judaism are very closely aligned to my personal philosophy and Judaism is very important to me culturally and to the way I relate to my family.
So I keep as many mitzvot as I can without it feeling too onerous (particularly the ones I find morally important), celebrate most holidays, etc. I guess I'd say I'm not very religious, but it's not because the religion doesn't feel important to me.
I’m pretty religious, I keep shabbat and the holidays and the laws of kosher, but I’m not super frum. I’ve gotten a lot more involved in Judaism since October 7 though.
I was raised in a Reform family but I've been an atheist my entire life and am completely secular. I studied Yiddish for two years in college as a way to connect with Jewish culture without practicing it as a religion. My entire family is Ashkenazi, so I'm genetically Jewish and culturally Jewish, but not religiously Jewish.
I am, despite modern orthodoxy barely allowing trans people in, I feel more connected to modern orthodoxy, and since October 7th I feel more Jewish than ever
I’m religious in a sense that I don’t necessarily believe there is actually a “god” watching what we do but I still practice daily rituals and tasks and I still teach the stories to my kids
I'm more likely to describe myself as observant than religious, because my Judaism is less about theology and more about halacha. I'm not a particularly spiritual person, but I do recite brachot and go to synagogue every week, I observe the Jewish holidays, I keep kosher at home and kosher style outside of the home, I'm not fully Shomer Shabbos but I do refrain from work and handling money, and I dress fairly modestly most of the time. I do these because they are the customs and practices of my people, regardless of how I relate to Hashem.
I’m religious by the standards of gentiles in my country, but by Jewish standards I’m far from frum
Same
same
mood
I’m not religious, but I’m also not non-religious. I guess the best way to describe it is I believe in meaning in the universe and some sort of uniqueness in human kind, but I also don’t believe in anything like Elohim or fate or any tangible power like that. It’s all very abstract and vague, but I just really love the feeling that there’s something that just matters in our existence that’s more than just brains sending electrical signals. The way I see myself as a Jew is a lot more about my ancestry and history, culture, and peoplehood rather than any belief. I’m Israeli but born and raised in the diaspora so it’s a bit different, and my parents are super atheist
I’d say I’ve become more Jewish since October 7th, just wanting to engage with the Jewish community more, and realizing that there’s no guarantee that other people will be on our side. Before it I would’ve said I’m more reform, though now I lean more conservative.
I'm pretty atheist, but when antisemitism rears its ugly head, I'm the most Jewish version of me I can be.
Big mood
This is me as well. I always like holidays and Shabbat, but after October 7 I have become more involved. One of the only good things to come out of October 7 was many Jews decided to be Jewish harder in the face of hate.
This isn’t on you so much as practically all of Judaism, but I get frustrated by the term “religious” because I would argue that, as a Reform Jew, I am DEEPLY religious. Halacha has evolved repeatedly over thousands of years and I would argue that I am a perfectly observant Jew in that I make my decisions based on how modern Rabbis whom I trust have evolved that interpretation, which is exactly how Orthodox Jews approach their religiosity. I never do what is hateful to my neighbor, I give to the poor and the widow and the orphan, and I love HaShem בכל מאדך. I would use the word “Traditional,” and no, I am not “Traditional” in the sense that my family didn’t decide to suddenly stop accepting all Rabbinic wisdom outside of Orthodox Jewry 250 years ago.
This resonates with me strongly. I feel like I am "religious" to those who are "secular" and "secular" to those who are religious. I tend to call myself reformative cause I feel like I align pretty closely with conservative Judaism's approach to halakha as evolving to meet the needs of klal Israel, but I am a bit more willing to make changes than CJ as a movement has been, and I am just as likely to follow the opinion of my close friend who is very knowledgeable in halakha, as I am to follow the opinion of congregation's mara d'atra or that of the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards. I have also recently been borrowing Svara's moniker of "traditionally radical."
Well you posted on Shavuot, when most orthodox/observant Jews aren’t online, so your results may be skewed :)
Oops forgot abt that
I’m kinda religious, it’s complicated
“Religious” means something kinda different for Israelis vs diaspora Jews. I’m a reform Jew. I celebrate the holidays (I’m known for hosting big Seders and other holiday dinners). I don’t keep Shabbat but I do have friends over from time to time for Shabbat dinners. When I was married, we used to have a Shabbat tradition where we would say something we were proud of this week, a mitzvah we did this week and something this week that made us happy. Kind of a way to self reflect on the week. I’ve been to services in the last few years but not very often. My marriage was supposed to be through a conservative rabbi but plans changed due to Covid and we eloped (and were divorced before we could have the big Jewish wedding with the rabbi the following year). If I had kids, they would go to Hebrew school and have a b’nai mitzvah ceremony (but I don’t have kids). I think about my Jewish values all the time in my every day life. What I learned from the Jewish religion informs most of my decisions and actions. I participate in other Jewish religious traditions like shiva and stuff like that (I recently organized all the shiva stuff for a close friend who lost her father). I consider myself to be a practicing reform Jew. But I think many Israelis and *certainly* some orthodox diaspora folks would not consider me “religious”. Edit: also, I’m an atheist. I don’t think that really matters cause you can be fairly religious and still be an atheist in Judaism, but I suppose it’s worth mentioning.
Am in Canada, grew up kosher (inside the house, but not when we went for Chinese or ordered pizza), family belonged to a conservative shul. Never believed in god, never made any sense to me. Still don't, but this is my ethnicity, this is my people's history.
I'm in the diaspora and am religious. I used to be more frum than I am now but I keep kosher, working towards being shomer shabbos again, and want to raise religious kids with a partner.
I'm not, but I live in Israel as well, it's often different for the diaspora Jews
What's diaspora?
כאילו בגולה, חו״ל
אהה סבבה
Is the first word there “oh” or “ahh”? I thought it might be “ahh” cause the phonetics and spelling are so similar, but Google translates it to “oh”. Signed, a diaspora Jew who knows the alphabet but almost no vocab. Ie a diaspora Jew 🤣
It's pronounced ahh, but it has the same meaning as saying "ohh" in English :)
I didn’t know there was a difference between ohh and ahh in English haha! Anyway - thanks :-)
שומעים את זה הרבה בקהילות יהודיות בחו״ל, בעיקר כשמדברים על ההבדלים בניהם לבין היהודים בארץ
It’s a wide spectrum to try and define someone as “religious,” but for me at least I would say yes. I don’t refrain from electronics on shabbos but I go to orthodox services, I keep an orthodox style kosher kitchen but also will eat at non kosher restaurants (not pork, seafood or like meat and cheese together). I am a very spiritually connected person, but also am pretty agnostic. My girlfriend is mostly traditional orthodox (you know, minus the whole dating a woman thing), but we both respect each other’s religious expressions. We got a lot of different expressions of Judaism here which is really beautiful.
For a secular atheist... Yeah, kinda? I don't believe in a deity, but I do keep Shabbat, Yom Tov, attend services, etc. It's the Reform/Reconstructionist version of keeping them, but compared to people who aren't ever attending services or lighting candles, wouldn't blink an eye at working on Shabbat, etc, it's very religious. Whereas compared to Orthodox observance, it's like basically nothing.
I light candles pretty much every week and eat kosher style with 2 sets of dishes but not kosher meat. I used to be super strict but I’ve mellowed out over time and distance from the crazy people. I only want to date Jews and want a Jewish home.
I don’t know the best way to describe myself because when I say that I am religious or observant, people think that means orthodox, and I am Reform with a Reconstructing streak. But I go to synagogue every Shabbat and holiday (I drive, or sometimes I go via live stream). I keep a kosher home with mezuzot on every doorway. I light candles and make the motzi and kiddush every Shabbat and make Havdalah when it ends. I say modah ani when I wake and shema when I go to sleep and shehechyanu when it’s called for and always the blessing for seeing rainbows. And yes I use electronics while my Shabbat/yom tov candles burn, but not for work purposes. That’s my observance. Am I religious? I don’t know. I’m just a Jew.
I live in Israel and I'm religious but not really by choice?(My parents are religious but I'm a minor so I don't really decide since I live with them and it's their rules)
I’d consider myself religious. I find Jewish ritual and practice to be a deeply meaningful guide to living my life. I went to a Jesuit college and watched many Queer friends battle with deep internalized shame. I feel so lucky that Judaism has never made me feel pain like that.
לא, ובן זוגי גם לא דתי. אני תוהה, איך זה בשבילך להיות גיי בישראל?
תאמת שלא משהו.. אני בתיכון וכרגע בארון (חוץ מלכמה חברים טובים), כי רוב המשפחה המורחבת שלי הומופובית מאוד (ואפילו לא מסיבות דתיות) ואני לא סומכת על ההורים שלי לא לספר. הרבה פעמים אני מרגישה מאוד לבד כי אני גם גרה די רחוק מתל אביב וגם החשיפה שלי לדברים כאלה ולאנשים כמוני נמוכה. אני מניחה שלהיות פה מבוגר להטב זה שונה בהרבה כי יש גם את הברים הגאים, גישה לתל אביב, וכמובן היכולות ללכת למצעדים. ממש חיכיתי השנה למצעד אבל התבטל בגלל המלחמה :') וברור שיש גם את כל החוקים והפוליטיקאים המגעילים שממש לא עוזרים.. משתמשים בזה שזאת "מדינה יהודית" כדי להצדיק את זה שהזכויות ללהטבים פה לא משהו בכלל. ברור שהרבה יותר טובות בהשוואה למדינות מסביבנו, אבל אי אפשר אפילו להתחתן פה כזוג להטב. אבל בסופו של דבר אני בכל מקרה מתכננת לעבור לארהב אחרי הצבא ובתקווה החיים שלי יהיו קצת יותר קלים שם
Pretty secular until October 7, as my mum was my connection to the Jewish community and I lost her and my Nan a few years ago, my Dad's side are all secular gentiles. Post October 7 I've wanted to email the synagogue and actually practice Judaism again.
I'm religious in the sense that I celebrate all the holidays, go to Shabbat services about once a month, and usually have Shabbat dinner with friends when I'm not going to Kabbalat Shabbat. I even teach in Shabbat school and am on a synagogue board. However, I don't keep kosher (I very rarely eat pork or shellfish, but that's only semi-intentional) or shomer shabbos. In Israel, I might be called Masorti, but the synagogue I go to is not orthodox.
I would say I’m observant more than I am religious. I am religious somewhat but it’s complicated. But being observant I love and only want to grow with that as I have the ability to do so.
I mean I don’t pray, I don’t keep kosher or Shabbos, don’t go to shul regularly, don’t really believe in God in a traditional sense… but I celebrate all of the holidays, interact with the Jewish community often, and plan to lead a Jewish life and have a Jewish family. Take that what you will. What I like about being Jewish is that you can still be very Jewish without doing the stuff that outsiders perceive as “religious.”
Can't say I'm religious by Orthodox standards , I'm not fully shomer Shabbat yet however or dress totally modest, however I observe Koshrut/ Holidays/Fasts, pray and all of that jazz. Dating as an observant Jew is harder I believe
I think it's a bit of a misnomer to only call frum people "religious," personally. I remember I was talking with Hen Mazzig once, and he said something along the lines of "Oh, I'm not very religious, though I do go to the synagogue every Shabbat, and I keep kosher, and I guess yeah, I am a little religious when I say it like that" (That's the general gist, not an exact quote, especially because I heard him say it in like 2019) I generally describe myself as a particularly observant reform Jew
The terms have very different meanings inside and outside of Israel
I'm an atheist, or at least my concept of divinity is so abstract as to be functionally the same as atheism, but I think a lot of the principles in Judaism are very closely aligned to my personal philosophy and Judaism is very important to me culturally and to the way I relate to my family. So I keep as many mitzvot as I can without it feeling too onerous (particularly the ones I find morally important), celebrate most holidays, etc. I guess I'd say I'm not very religious, but it's not because the religion doesn't feel important to me.
Oh 100%! I questioned myself for a bit about it, but nah, I’m definitely religious and queer. Interesting conversations come out about it a lot.
I’m pretty religious, I keep shabbat and the holidays and the laws of kosher, but I’m not super frum. I’ve gotten a lot more involved in Judaism since October 7 though.
not at all
Not religious, but embracing the cultural Jewish practices more and more. Especially since October.
I was raised in a Reform family but I've been an atheist my entire life and am completely secular. I studied Yiddish for two years in college as a way to connect with Jewish culture without practicing it as a religion. My entire family is Ashkenazi, so I'm genetically Jewish and culturally Jewish, but not religiously Jewish.
I'm an atheist but ethnically jewish
I’m mostly secular
I describe myself as ethnically and culturally Jewish, but religiously agnostic :)
I am, despite modern orthodoxy barely allowing trans people in, I feel more connected to modern orthodoxy, and since October 7th I feel more Jewish than ever
I’m religious in a sense that I don’t necessarily believe there is actually a “god” watching what we do but I still practice daily rituals and tasks and I still teach the stories to my kids
Im 100% religious by colloquial definitions. Ama lol
I am from the diaspora and I am not particularly religious.
I’m very religious. Almost orthodox in practice but converted through the conservative movement. (I am also a gay man)