Surprised by God (14)

Title: Surprised by God: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Religion
Author: Danya Ruttenberg
Genre: Judaism, Memoir

It’s been almost a month since I finished a book. To those who know me in real life that’s what is known as a “red flag.” I’m better now. Mostly. Not reading a book for a month has also put me way, way behind on my reading schedule for the year. Lots of catch up reading in front of me.

When I first started my conversion path a friend of a friend put me in touch with Rabbi Danya Ruttenberg. I wanted a woman I could speak with about feminist issues in Judaism, conservative Judaism and finding the personally right level of observance. She was very kind to chat with me and answer my questions. I owe her a great debt. I’m ashamed to admit that I have only now read her spiritual memoir but better late than never yes?

I enjoyed the book very much, particularly her trials and errors finding the right level of observance for herself after she embraced God & Judaism. Trying on kippot, stepping up observance of kashrut, total observance of shabbat, etc. I am still trying to find the exact right level of observance for myself and I very much enjoyed reading about how she tried on things until she found the right fit for herself. While I don’t see donning tefillin in my future I’m not shutting any doors and it was really nice seeing how far she came in her spiritual journey.