Comments on: In Which I Discover My Fences

By: Mike Doyle

Mike Doyle — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:55:43 +0000

A comment you won’t see here–one of several messages left for me here and on Facebook and witnessed by Ryan from a pair of individuals who attend my synagogue laced with profanity and harassing language, ridiculing my right to call myself Jewish, calling me names, and urging me never to return to my shul. It’s not the first time this has happened. This time, however, I reported their comments to Facebook and to my Rabbi. If you want to have a psychotic screaming and as I suspect drug-induced meltdown, do it on your own time on your own blog. Doing so in person will make it a legal matter. ‘Nuff said.

By: Mike Doyle

Mike Doyle — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 06:44:06 +0000

And as I told you Friday night, I’m honored to have helped inspire your own Jewish journey. And I’m overjoyed that you found such meaning in your tefillin, especially, since they have such a special place in your family history.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Mon, 04 Jun 2012 22:15:39 +0000

As I told you on Friday night, you’ve inspired me to think more about how I define my Judaism. I never would have thought of exploring tefillin if it weren’t for you, and I surprised myself with how meaningful I found it. It was the same when I thought about covering my head, something I’m still giving a lot of thought to. I think a lot of Jews-by-birth also undergo a “finding” of Judaism but have a hard time giving voice to it and that’s what inspires me about reading your blog. It helps me give words to my own journey, even though it may be different than yours.