First, an apology to our faithful readers (and by “faithful readers” I obviously mean Lauren’s friends that she pressures into reading the blog and Lauren’s family members who read the blog because they love her) for the HUGE delay between posts.  It’s 100%, totally and completely my fault.  I don’t even have a good excuse; I’ve just been lazy.  But, with Passover fast approaching, I thought I’d revisit my Jewish roots, my “joots” (I wish that worked better!), and write something.

Second, a second apology.  This time for the weight of this post.  I usually try to keep it lighter than the alcohol content in a shot of Manischewitz, and talk about something like summer camp, which is at the same time, fun, light and Jewish!  I had a thought today, however, that seemed to be relevant and interesting (at least to me), but not super light.  For that reason, this entry simply shall not be numbered — it shant — but hopefully still will be appreciated by the aforementioned faithful readers.

Third, the entry.  I was having lunch with a gentile coworker today, and for whatever reason — I honestly cannot remember what led up to it — she told me about one of her girlfriends, a black woman, who is married to a Jewish man with two Jewish kids and a VERY Jewish mother-in-law (note: the mother-in-law is a red herron and will not reappear in this entry).  My coworker’s girlfriend complained to my coworker that she, the black wife in the Jewish family, was more Jewish than the rest of ‘em.  I jokingly replied, “Well, it’s more important to us that our kids be bad Jews than good Christians.”

Then I thought about what I just uttered, and it struck me as not only funny, but also true.  The things I value about being Jewish aren’t those things that make someone a good Jew.  (In fact, I think “being a bad Jew” was one of my pervious reasons why I love being Jewish.)  The things I value are spending time with family and friends around the holidays, the food, (sadly) the songs, summer camp (added because it’s true not just for levity), and all the other things this blog discusses.  Ultimately, it’s the common experience I enjoy, not the religious component (although the magic of miracles — see the story of Hannukah or Passover — is kind of engaging).  Even if ignoring the religious component makes me a bad Jew, and even though I actively avoid the religious component of being Jewish (e.g., I will not be keeping Passover this year), I really appreciate sharing the common Jewish experience with all my other Jews.

All that said, I don’t really care what any yet unborn children of mine will believe, but I do hope that they share in and enjoy the Jewish culture.  While all I wanted out of lunch today was a delicious sandwich/salad combo, I nonetheless learned something about myself.  How wonderful!

(Also, for the most part, good Christians can be SUPER annoying!  I mean, I get it: you think Jesus is neat!  Leave me alone about it.)