Rabbi Naftali Citron
Carlebach Synagogue
New York, NY
Q.1 Where should a person, who has Jewish roots yet little to no Jewish knowledge/identity, begin in their search to connect with yiddishkeit/Judaism? Given that Jewish history/culture/philosophy/spiritual approach is so vast- what’s the starting point?
In terms of what to start with for someone who has little or no background in Judaism:
Of course it has a lot to do with the temperament of each individual. I think the first thing a person has to do is recognize that Judaism isn’t foreign to them. Even if it seems foreign and unintelligible that is because there needs to be a period where you adjust your eyes and ears to this way of being. For some people a simple book like Herman Woulks This is my G-d. or Haim Halevy Donens book to be a Jew; is a good beginning other people may need one of Rabbi Joseph Telushkins book like Jewish Wisdom and I like all the writings of rabbi Aryeh Kaplan and many of the writings of Adin Stienzaltz. I love the weekly Torah reading with the commentaries but I think someone who has no background and just reads the Chumach (torah) with out the commentaries will get confused and upset by the many things that are not supposed to be taken at Face Value.
When a person gets comfortable with these readings they may want to graduate to The teachings of Reb Nachman of Breslov the Likutai Morahn has been translated and while it isn’t easy its very deep and poetic. There also great story books like Shlomo Stories and Lamed Vav that are based on the stories of Shlomo Carlebach they are inspiring and easy to access.
