that is not how i was (barely) brought up. cultural identity was strong in my family but not religion itself. now that i am an adult and free to decide whether or not i want to go to shul (we didn't) i find that the emphasis is not on rules, and there is no shaming or fire and brimstone (well, i knew that, actually). i like most of the tenets of judaism (i'm not talking about what we can or can't eat, or stuff like that; i'm talking about the social justice bit). it's just that there isn't any god. i'm not mad at him. there just isn't any such thing as him. i still like the "if one person isn't free, no one is free" thing. as i say, i still like the emphasis on social justice. i was at second-night seder tonight and i enjoyed myself thoroughly (the new cantor had a great voice, the parody songs were hysterical, the food was fabulous and the company friendly) but the god stuff used to hang me up. i felt like a hypocrite. lately i came to realize that we're just telling stories. i wouldn't feel funny talking about what oliver twist means, or moby dick, and everyone knows they're fictional, so why not treat god that way too? it's just a story. i don't know if i could do that if i'd been raised christian. religious christians tend to be cray-cray and i do NOT like all that fire and brimstone. besides, bunnies don't lay eggs!

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