Question

[shockozulu]

My mother converted to Judaism at a Conservative temple although she has since returned to the Catholic church she still has the paperwork. That makes me a religious "mutt" too. Chardoll, welcome to the group!

Although I am a practicing Catholic, there are some parts of the Jewish faith I will never let go. I'm mentioning this here because some of the practices have really helped me keep my center. When I've been in situations where I'm the only one keeping Shabbat, even a few hours helps me put my whole week in order. There is nothing like a prohibition on working to help me keep in touch with the important things in my life.

At times of stress, my roommate and I keep the Sabbath. That means no work, no electronics and a lot of reading under the lights we turned on before the sun went down Friday night. It also leads to many interesting discussions and family time (my roommate is also my sister). Even the short period of time while we light the Shabbat candles is calming. The fact we are forbidden to discuss finances and money for the twenty-five hours from Friday night to Saturday at sundown is also helpful to have time to enjoy some calm time in the house. There have been times when I celebrated alone. It also gives me time to do simple things I forget in the normal week that calm me down, such as reading a novel. I don't obey the entire Orthodox Shabbat as I simply don't know all of the rules (such as those on Selection).

Sorry for the long post, but your story inspired me and reminded me of some of the wonderful things I have gained through my multi-religious background.

[Isaiah]

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[historyteach]

How ya doing, Char?

Shalom!

[HLBlue]

Hanging in there. I think if I could get just one good nights sleep it would be a miracle.

[HLBlue]

good lord, i i keep typing and then hit backspace.....go figure, I can run my mouth nonstop and then hit a spot like this and just don't wanna talk at all.