A First Jewish Spiritual Moment

There have been deep spiritual moments in my life, but I would like to share my earliest memory of a Jewish one.

Growing up, my family didn't belong to a synagogue. Being Jewish meant celebrating Chanukah instead of Christmas, and Passover instead of Easter, and eating strange foods which disgusted my friends. There were usually no more than three of us in my elementary school classes at a time each year, and when I occasionally went to church with my friend on Sundays, I tried to "look Christian" and prayed that the protestants in the room falled for my disguise. For the most part, being jewish meant being different and feeling like an outsider.

Thankfully, things changed at the age of eight, when I set foot in a synagogue for the first time to attend a Jewish wedding. I kept looking around, amazed that there could be that many Jews all together in the same room, and repeatedly asked my parents, "Are all these people really Jewish?". I instantly felt a spiritual connection to every Jew there, and remember getting goose bumps (the good kind). It felt new and familiar at the same time. It was a profound moment that I remember vividly, and is that same feeling I get to this day, when I feel closer to God. It was the very beginning of my longing and curiosity to to find spiritual connections, and I still get goose bumps participating with our congregation.