Comments on: The Choice

By: Dr. G

Dr. G — Thu, 07 Sep 2006 07:55:54 +0000

the reason why you went to Gan israel was because you cried when mom and dad would say they wanted to send you to camp rama sleep away camp. LOL
Just being honest,
your bro

By: Martin Fleischer

Martin Fleischer — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 22:54:41 +0000

Susanne,

What you say is true….you may have been uneducated, but not stupid, because Hashem knows you have the potential to learn all you can..like a seed that just has to grow!

By: Susanne Goldstone

Susanne Goldstone — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 16:44:53 +0000

Thanks everyone for the encouragement!

The camp I attended was a Gan Israel run by Chabad (in case you didn’t already guess). One reason I attended was that my parents had become “Chabad Friendly” when I was young and the other is that their day camp was the best camp around. This is after considering Jewish camps and non-Jewish camps alike. They have an absolutely incredible network of camps around the country.I hope to iy”H send my kids to them one day.

In response to what YM mentioned, I have this memory, from camp actually, when I was discussing with my counselor, a Lubavitch girl from Crown Heights, about how stupid I felt because I didn’t have a Jewish education like all my camp friends. She told me “being uneducated does not mean you’re stupid”. This conversation was probably around 15 years ago as we sat across from each other in a booth at a bowling alley. And I’ll never forget it. I would consider it one of the markers that made me come to realize that I could better myself and educate myself. Good times!

By: Ilanit

Ilanit — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 03:17:28 +0000

Thank you for sharing. Good luck on your endeavors at YU and beyond. Please keep us posted! If you ever run into Keren Simon at YU or Washington Heights, please tell her hi from me!

By: Neil Harris

Neil Harris — Wed, 06 Sep 2006 02:29:45 +0000

Great post, Susanne.
One question…you wrote, “The camp I attended every summer in Southern California was run by an Orthodox group.” Was the choice to attend this camp due to your parents or other factors? Either way, it must have helped to build a foundation. Thanks for sharing.

By: YM

YM — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 17:39:59 +0000

Susanne, you are very privileged to have had the zchus to have made such a wise decision. It is a real tragedy when so many Jews “choose” not to be observant because of a lack of Jewish education.

By: Jacob Haller

Jacob Haller — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 16:22:59 +0000

Beautifully written.

The more evidence the better to prove that a BT experience can be heavily nuanced and colored by possibly endless factors and variables and not subject to static templates.

By: Bob Miller

Bob Miller — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 13:09:38 +0000

There are those who need to travel a long and winding road toward teshuva, and those who need something shorter or more direct.

I never experienced any magical transformative moment, but a succession of incremental changes and decisions. These were often prompted by unexpected or undesired events, or by my finally concluding that certain ideas, practices, or people were phony.

HaShem’s planning for me has always been far better than my own.

By: Martin Fleischer

Martin Fleischer — Tue, 05 Sep 2006 11:38:22 +0000

Susanne,

I understand exactly what you are saying…as, while I didn’t have your exact experience, I have grown more Frum over the last 17 years than ever before. I now wear Tzitzis, and my youngest is starting Bais Yaakov HS in 2 days, after spending all her schooling in PS up till now. I agree with “slow and steady” instead of rushing into things..that would be too much, too soon. I have a post on this site that deals with whether I’m a Baal Teshuva or not, written earlier this year. Have a look at it!

May you grow and grow, and never stop!

Martin Fleischer