Posted by Simcha on August 30, 2001, at 9:32:56
In reply to Re: Simcha - more questions » Simcha, posted by Mair on August 29, 2001, at 20:43:40
> Did you read "After Long Silence" by Helen Fremont? It's written by a jew who was raised as a catholic by parents who hid their jewish background. I found it fascinating.
Mair,
No I haven't read this. Maybe I should pick up a copy. I had no clue that we were Jewish until High School when we were on a family vacation and it leaked out. My father made some joke about my mother and said, "that's because you're Jewish." I asked about what Dad meant and both of them curtly explained that Mom was Jewish and Grandma was too but that Mom is now Catholic.
My mother converted to Catholicism two weeks before I was born. According to Jewish law, she is still Jewish and so am I. Jewish law does not recognize conversion. I learned that our Jewishness was not something that was to be talked about. It was like the Cherokee blood on my Mom's side of the family which wasn't talked about either. (That's another story, let's just say that the last time I filled out paperwork for a federal application they marked me down as "Native American." It was a complete surprise to me!)
So I can relate with other Jews who have found out that they were Jewish later in life because "Jewishness" was a family secret to avoid persecution. I learned that my Grandmother was forbidden to mention that she was Jewish by her brother who converted to Christian Scientism. They lived in Cicero at the time and Jews were very unpopular in Cicero way back when.
So that book might be a good read for me... I'll check into it... Thanks!!!
poster:Simcha
thread:10346
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20010825/msgs/10480.html