Thread: Seminal Moments in Life

Responding to Nightblade's query about Passover and kosher food brought my mind around to my far, dim past and reminded me of a moment in life that really was a change in how I saw the world, and me in it. I need to set the stage: Born into an observant, but not overly religious conservative Jewish family. My mother's father was a Kosher butcher for 40 years and then a meat inspector for one of the strictest kosher packing houses in the country and work till he was 83. Because of him his four daughters, though married, kept Kosher homes so he and my grandmother could visit. I grew up in a small neighborhood family run grocery store open 16 hours a day, 7 days a week. Closed only for family emergencies and Jewish holidays.

There was an evening during my sixteenth year where it was my mother and me manning the store. Dad was in the hospital recovering from a broken heel bone. Mid evening, slow to no customers, mother's quirky sense of humor surfacing (picture a 4' 11-1/2" tall, strong red hair, feisty woman who took no crap from anyone) deciding to have a little fun with her somewhat shy son who stood in fear and awe of her, suddenly asking me if I had ever eaten ham. Know that up to this point in my life I had never, ever, had anything but Kosher prepared food. "Mother!", I exclaimed. "Well", she said, "have you?" You know I haven't," I retorted. "Would you eat a ham sandwich if I made you one?", she asked. At this point I was my mother's child and a bit of her suddenly took over and I blurted out, "Yes I will!", just to meet her dare with one of my own. I think she was so taken back by my defiant response that she actually made me a ham on white, no mustard, sandwich and put it in front of me, with a look of 'I dare you' on her face. What could I do, give in? Admit I was only joking? No, I picked up the sandwich and ate the damn thing while watching the expression on my mother's face go from astonishment to horror at what she had done. After I finished it (and enjoyed it) and a moment of silence from her, in a quiet "I win this battle yet" voice asked if I wanted a second sandwich. Ah, those famous words from literature, and I used them that night, "Please, may I have more?"

It was that night that the world opened up for me from that of a life restricted by a single religion and it's specific restrictions into a world where I saw many religions and their restrictions and deciding that above all these was the Universe and it's basic belief, corny as this may sound right now, YMMV and everyone is neither right or wrong. I went on to defy my upbringing and be the only one in the family to leave the fold and pursue my desire to become an artist and live life on my terms (not easy for first generation Americans). I may have had a few sorrows because of it but never one regret. This was my first seminal moment of life.

I'm not understanding something here. A very observant family would never have ham in the house and certainly not in a jewish store. So I take it you really were not all that observant. Just an observation on my part and nothing more.

My father was raised in a very observant family and he tells the story of when he was dating my mom who didn't come from an observant family and she fixed him a ham sandwich and when he decided to eat it he truly thought a bolt of lightning would come down and strike him dead right there. That is what he had always been taught. Of course nothing happened and he never look back.

thebigspendur, sorry, I should have made it clearer. The store was located in a German, Italian, Polish mixed neighborhood. The predominant Jewish neighborhood at that time was about 12 blocks away. We had a full meat case of ham, headcheese and the like as well as a barrel of kosher dills and a side of lox at all times for the various customers we catered too.

Also, I should have made it clearer the difference, as I saw it, between being observant and practicing the religion. We were observant in that we kept Kosher, observed the holidays but rarely went to the synagogue as opposed to my grandfather who was an Orthodox Jew, said daily prayers, wore tefillin, made a minyan every day and was an elder in the synagogue. I guess a more accurate term today would be that I was raised as a cultural Jew as opposed to a religious Jew.

And, I too thought I would be hit with a bolt of lightning, but I had to answer my mother's dare.

I tip my hat to both of you gentlemen.
I was raised devout Roman Catholic, my mother still does the rosary daily.
No meats on Friday and none at all during lent, catechism classes until 10th grade.
I do feel and believe that you do not have to lose yourself to a religion in order to lead a spiritual life.
Good people are good people no matter their back ground.

Thank you for sharing the introspect, things like this always get me thinking.

Interesting. I teach a mythology and religious lit. survey elective course. We spend about three weeks looking at the different sections of the bible. When looking at the Levitical laws, I always tell students that if we truly tried to live them all literally, we would have all been stoned to death long ago.

I find it intriguing. I was raised in a home of no religion. I struggle to follow these stories sometimes, but am very interested. I know little to nothing of any of the religions, from any part of the world.

Ultimately each person has to decide for themselves what they believe. If you were raised in a Jewish or Christian or Muslim home (as examples not by any means all inclusive) you must reach a place where you decide for yourself "Are my parents correct in this belief about God, Christ, or Mohammad/Allah true?" From there you have to understand what each religion requires of you. Some require you follow a very strict set of rules others strict behaviors, and still others just that you believe in a guy that lived and died then came back to life some 2000 years ago. Also you have to look at what does each religion/set of beliefs give you? Or you have to decide for yourself if you're going to believe that none of these are true and correct.

These are the questions that are being answered by these Seminal moments guys are talking about. I enjoy reading about these moments in life and enjoy learning about many different aspects of different religions.

All that said mine was as a kid 9 years old I knew that there is a God in control of everything. I realized that he made a way for us to spend an eternity in a paradise, but it requires dealing with the times that we "break the rules" or mess up. He provided a way for that to be dealt with in sending His son to be a sacrifice for our faults/mistakes/failures. All it takes to get to the paradise is a belief in His son. As a kid I realized this and when I made the choice that I believed that, it changed my life.

Good luck to everyone in your choices and paths!

By no means an I running anyone down, but when I hear of people saying they chose early in life what they were going to believe... I give pause.

When we are young, we are only exposed to a very little bit of diversity, and our brains aren't developed enough to be critical. I think this is why the story of Malcolm X is so powerful.... Or even Jesus himself. Neither were born to the faiths they ultimately chose.

I struggle with this not because I care what others think or do, but because I have children.

Though my childhood education saw me in a boarding school which made me go to church every day, no savure called out to me. Later in life, I sought out faith visiting every other faith I could, if only to see if there was a calling... Alas, as I called out, only I responded. Hence, I only believe in myself and humanity.

But!!! When I was a kid, religion helped fill in the blanks until I became comfortable in the notion of random. But should I now only expose my children to random?

Anyway, my seminal moment came then. When I was able to give up looking for answers that I know I'll never find. If I am wrong, I hope the concept of mercy is paramount and that god isn't a capitalist that'll toss me out for the better models.

I don't recall a seminal moment only that as I aged and got a few of life's lessons served to me I came the realization that a blind faith in anything created by humans was disappointing at best. Be it organized religions, politicians, forms of governance/political systems and the like can all be and are perverted for self interest by people to nurture hatred and intolerance. Call me a cynic but not a faithless one.

Bob

Originally Posted by earcutter

By no means an I running anyone down, but when I hear of people saying they chose early in life what they were going to believe... I give pause.

When we are young, we are only exposed to a very little bit of diversity, and our brains aren't developed enough to be critical. I think this is why the story of Malcolm X is so powerful.... Or even Jesus himself. Neither were born to the faiths they ultimately chose.

I struggle with this not because I care what others think or do, but because I have children.

Though my childhood education saw me in a boarding school which made me go to church every day, no savure called out to me. Later in life, I sought out faith visiting every other faith I could, if only to see if there was a calling... Alas, as I called out, only I responded. Hence, I only believe in myself and humanity.

But!!! When I was a kid, religion helped fill in the blanks until I became comfortable in the notion of random. But should I now only expose my children to random?

Anyway, my seminal moment came then. When I was able to give up looking for answers that I know I'll never find. If I am wrong, I hope the concept of mercy is paramount and that god isn't a capitalist that'll toss me out for the better models.

Actually my buddy Mr L. says he's the one who shows mercy. He says if the big guy doesn't want you and he doesn't want you where do you go?

He says you don't want to know cause it makes his place look like well.....