Steve grew up attending church and celebrating Christian holidays. But he felt that he never really fit in. For some reason, the worship seemed foreign and hollow. But everyone went to church in Jacksonville, MS, so he did too.
One day, his mother told him something he never knew: she and her entire family were Jewish. "By extension," she explained, "that means that you are Jewish as well!"
Excited with this new revelation, Steve began searching the internet trying to learn what Judaism was all about. He also took to visiting the local temple. Many of his google searches took him to Chabad.org. One day, he decided to take advantage of the Ask the Rabbi service to make sure that he was really a bona fide Jew in spite of his father's not being Jewish and the fact that he grew up going to church.
Rabbi Yisroel Cotlar, of Chabad.org, and Steve became good friends. Yisroel suggested that since we would be in town, Steve should take advantage of the opportunity to meet with us in person, so that we could answer some of his many questions about his new-found faith.
We met Steve, his parents, and a friend. They proudly displayed Steve's grandma's ketubah and other evidence of their Jewish background. Our conversation ranged from why Jews wear tzitizit to the meaning of Jewish identity and the rudimentary concepts of Chassidic philosophy.
With regret, our meeting ended all too soon as we left for our next appointment.
