Do you need to learn about Judaism?

I know of three kinds of people who need to learn about Judaism.

Jews who didn't learn Judaism as kids

It may surprise you, but I was in this group. My Hebrew school experience was pretty typical, and disappointing. For the first several years, classes were really a waste of time. Someone's dad, who didn't know much himself, taught...well, pretty much nothing. I can remember word games that had nothing to do with anything Jewish. A few years later, a revolution began, and we got college students as teachers. They actually knew Hebrew and taught us. One taught us Torah, in English, which was the first time we had opened the book and looked at the text, even in translation.

Well, as I grew up, and especially after visiting Israel for the first time, I realized how little I knew. I did Jewish Studies in college, then a Master's at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, and later five years of rabbinical school at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York. Plus another Master's there on top of my rabbinical studies.

So I know what if feels like. As a (young) adult, I was able to get the Jewish learning I had missed, and I've been adding to it ever since.

If you're in this group - if you're a Jewish adult and you feel like you didn't get much of a Jewish education as a kid, you'll feel a lot better about yourself if you begin filling in those gaps now.

Non-Jews who want to convert to Judaism

As a rabbi, I began to see more and more non-Jews who wanted to convert to Judaism. Some had grown up in religious homes as Christians but either no longer believed in Jesus or never did, even as small kids. Others grew up without religion and found something lacking in their lives. Often they would explore various religions in their young adult years, and the ones who came to me had decided upon Judaism. (I don't know how many chose other religions.)

In the old days, most converts to Judaism were people who wanted to marry someone Jewish. There are still some like this today, but in my experience, today's converts to Judaism are more likely to be searching for religion and a way of life that Judaism offers, instead of converting to marry. As a rabbi, I love working with these sincere searchers.

Non-Jews who want to learn Judaism without converting

This is a very special group of people who either don't want to convert, or can't for various reasons, but yearn to know about Judaism. Especially for Christians, learning Judaism helps them understand early Christianity and even current beliefs and practices. They believe that God's covenant with the Jewish people remains in place, and feel no need to negate Judaism in order to be Christian. On the contrary, they find that their Christian belief is strengthened by their understanding of Judaism.

These kinds of students, each with their own perspectives, have made my Judaism classes fun to teach. And if you fall into one of these categories, you might just find it fun, not to mention rewarding and fulfilling, to give our courses a try.