First topic message reminder :

I think "religious" in the Jewish world can be somewhat difficult to define. If I tell one person I keep kosher, don't cook or spend money on Shabbat, attend services on Saturday mornings, say a few blessings during the day and study Hebrew they think I'm super religious. The next person thinks I'm totally secular. Today I was reading something on a forum where a parent said..

However, even though I'm Jewish, raising the kids Jewish, we belong to a synagogue and celebrate Shabbat and holidays, etc. -- I don't think of myself as a religious person.

Now, I know people who won't step foot into a synagogue and haven't so much as attended a seder in years. They would probably view the above as at least slightly religious. So what do you think? What does it mean to you to be religious?

I'm living in a Catholic neighborhood with an atheist husband. The fact I keep kosher at all, have separate dishes, buy kosher meat and attempt not to cook or spend money on Shabbat is probably pretty good for my particular circumstances. I could do a little bit better if I gave it more effort. The no cooking on Shabbat thing does not come naturally to me. I'm used to being the person who cooks in the house and I've yet to learn how to plan ahead accordingly.

Sitting at home all day every Shabbat would not work for us. It would only serve to make my husband angry, my family alienated and me miserable. Hence why I don't do it. Except very often in the winter when it's super cold or snowing because I loath leaving the house anyway. I think it would be great to have family/friends within walking distance. I may change my mind on that it it were a reality.

So, being religious, in judaism, is first and formost acting religious. I get that. Z
And I like it, because I do believe we are living in THIS world, and not another, higher or more spiritual one (like 'heaven') for a good reason, and have to produce ourselves and build our spiritual lives in the here and now, rather than focus on afterlife as much of christianity does.

I am cutting porc and dairy/meat combi's from my diet for exactly this reason, actually. I haven't studied enough of judaism to know WHY exactly is forbidden, but the Torah has it it is so, so I believe that in following this ruling I am approaching myself to the Divine, in showing my goodwill to coopoerate with it and at least trying to keep Its rules.
Religious acts, in my understanding, are things that one does, not (only) because there is a rational reason one does so, but because it serves to strengthen the bond with the Divine. So being religious is consciously working on the personal bond with the Divine?

My take on being religious/religiosity as I live it:
Actually my own religiosity isn't just all practice. Of course doing good deeds is important. The Divine is omnipresent and thus present in all what lives, therefore one has to respect all living being and be good to others. "Don't do to other what you don't want to be done to you" is the universal rule all religions subscribe, I believe.

But there is more. To me, being religious is in the first place a deep-rooted FAITH that everything will come out allright. That everything happens for a reason. G-d is omnipresent and ever-watching so we can have faith... Of course, if we take needless risks these are for our own account (yes, I thought the idea needed a disclaimer ).

I'm thinking much about my future these days and try to be receptive' to 'signs' of which step I should take next. I believe the Universe/G-d DOES give us hints to gently push us in the right direction, if we care to listen. And I believe that if you honestly try to follow your destiny, to fulfill your own personal task in life, you can count on divine protection. G-d is with those that try to fulfill their mission, and even if everything goes wrong, in the end things will come out allright.

My faith is a very abstract one and my G-d is a very abstract G-d. That doesn't mean my faith isn't the fundament of my life. It is.
Marley over Murphy: "everything's gonna be allright" over "all that can go wrong, will go wrong".
I think that Murphy's law apllies a lot to my life, but I trust in Bob Marley's rule to count more;)
Because I trust in G-d and Him wanting to fulfill the mission I have to fulfill in life.

Superstition? Maybe. But whatever course my life takes and whether I'll ever become Jewish or not, my faith in the goodness of Life, of G-d is fundamental. Even when all goes wrong. Which it seems to do right now. I just wait for the hints for the next step to take: I keep my spiritual ears wide open.

Link with the topic: this is my personal answer on what it means for ME to be religious. I wonder whether it fits in Judaism....

Psalm 91 says it all, those that call on G-d won't bedisappointed:
1 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almight
2. I will say of the LORD, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust.
3 Surely he shall deliver thee from the snare of the fowler, and from the noisome pestilence.
4 He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler
. 5 Thou shalt not be afraid for the terror by night; nor for the arrow that flieth by day;
6 Nor for the pestilence that walketh in darkness; nor for the destruction that wasteth at noonday.
7 A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee.
8 Only with thine eyes shalt thou behold and see the reward of the wicked.
9 Because thou hast made the LORD, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation;
10 There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling.
11 For he shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways. 12 They shall bear thee up in their hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone.
13 Thou shalt tread upon the lion and adder: the young lion and the dragon shalt thou trample under feet.
14 Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him: I will set him on high, because he hath known my name.
15 He shall call upon me, and I will answer him: I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him, and honour him.
16 With long life will I satisfy him, and shew him my salvation.

It is a psalm I read a lot these days - even more than usual. It is my favourite, the psalm of adventurers in life and those that are in need of Divine protection..basically everybody?

From a practical standpoint, most communities I've lived in would probably define the terms "religious" and "spiritual" as two different things, with the word religious being applied more to one's observances and practices and spiritual referring to something less tangible and observable, such as emunah.

In Israel as well, I saw the term "religious" being used to define someone who was observant or a neighborhood in which the families were all observant. This had everything to do with the practices of those living there or the person and was not meant as a measurement of their faith or relationship with G-d.

Like a lot of things, I think I've taken on the definitions of these terms as they've been used around me. I have met people who were "religious," but not terribly "spiritual" and I've met people who were incredibly spiritual without being religious.

emunah...that's a word I love a lot. It is the essence of religion to me.
Practice is the other side - I try to practice within my limited means, but I can't be called religious on account of that, I think. Still, if people'd say I am NOT religous I'd take offence because I believe...

argghh semantics...

It also is a matter of degrees, too. As a friend was always fond of saying, "Anyone less observant than you is a slacker and anyone more observant than you is shtark." Essentially this means that we tend to view others in terms of our own observance, something that it's important and difficult to let go of.

The way I like to think of it, is that we are all on paths made uniquely for us. While from my path it might look like someone is closer or further from their destination than I think I am, since all these paths wind and turn, it's impossible to really know. That person who seems less observant might be further along in G-d's eyes than I am and the person who seems to be further along than I am may have a much longer way to go. We aren't measured against each other, but against our own potential. As long as you are doing what you need to be doing, it doesn't matter how you might measure yourself against what anyone else is doing.

I just found this blogpost about emunah, and was reminded of the conversation we had here...
I share because I stumbled on this blog today and I really like it :)
http://www.jewinthecity.com/2013/04/you-gotta-have-faith-faith-faith/