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Question

Hello! I am 13 years old, and have recently decided that I would like to explore Judaism. My grandmother is Jewish, although from my understanding she doesn’t practice much anymore. My parents however, raised me to just not have a religion at all. Anyways, I have a few Jewish friends at school who try to help me, but, frankly, I’m lost. I want to have a relationship with G-d, and I have been reciting the morning, afternoon, and evening prayer, along with some prayers for family and praying when I’m anxious/nervous etc., but I don’t know how to pray, if there’s a limit to how many times a day I can pray, if there’s things that I should be praying before (such as eating) etc., so I really just don’t know what to do. On top of all this, I haven’t told my parents, and I’m really, really scared of how they’ll react, or if they’ll just think it’s a phase of some sort. I don’t really know what my plan is, but right now I guess I would just like to be a reform. Also, since my parents don’t know, I can’t go to a Synagogue or anything.

 

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Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    I truly empathize with your feelings about not wanting to tell your parents. However, it is the only correct thing to do. My hope is that your parents will be able to accept your desire to understand more about your Jewish heritage and that they will help you find resources online that will help you become better acquainted with Judaism and with being Jewish.

    There are a few resources that I can recommend that are full of Jewish content such as:
    Aish HaTorah: www.aish.com
    Ohr Somayach: www.ohr.edu
    Chabad: www.chabad.org
    Torah Anytime: www.torahanytime.com
    Even if you choose not to include your parents for the moment, the sites I have suggested are all wonderful sites and easy to navigate.

    Please allow me to add one last detail. In Jewish Law a person is defined as being Jewish if their mother is Jewish. That means that if your mother’s mother (your maternal grandmother) is Jewish, then you are also Jewish even if your grandmother does not lead a particularly Jewish lifestyle. If your father’s mother is Jewish but your mother is not Jewish, it would mean that your father is Jewish but you are not.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team