I'm not a big fan of the whole blogging phenomena that has swept the internet over the past few years. However, I have decided to give into my narcissistic tendencies and finally create one regardless of whether or not my thoughts generate a readership or not. The fact is that I am simply a person with a lot of weird ideas when it comes to just about any subject, be it politics, film, or religion, and I have finally come to peace with the fact that there are so few people out there willing to hear me out on them. So now I have decided to turn to the internet, which in some respects fills my emotional need of being heard because I suppose it is theoretically possible that someone out there is reading this and that makes me feel pretty good in a pathetic sort of way.
So the purpose of this blog is, in short, to give me a place for me to write down my own ideas about life. I will also use this blog as an open forum to allow me to discuss and question traditional beliefs in Jewish thought and philosophy. I have a lot of questions and a lot of ideas on how to resolve many of my questions in light of modernity, but I am by no means an expert on the subject. I am merely a laymen who seeks to grasp a more complete understanding of life's purpose, which is by no means an easy or simple task.
Let me begin by giving a brief biography of myself. I am male, currently 21 years old, and I am from the United States. I am currently studying in an Israeli yeshiva and will be continuing to do so for the remainder of 2010. Upon my return to the States I will be attending university where I plan to major in computer science. I was not raised as an observant Jew or involved with a Jewish community growing up, I attended a public high school, and no, I was not convinced by Chabad or other kiruv organizations to embrace my Jewish heritage. Rather, my return to traditional Jewish observance was sparked by my interest in socialism in high school. I became familiar with the history of Labor Zionism and was specifically enthralled by the writings of Moses Hess. In time, I began that to truly appreciate my Jewish heritage and in doing so became ritually observant. As even more time went on I searched for answers to my questions on reconciling faith in Judaism with a scientifically grounded naturalistic worldview and I still have a lot of questions. I believe that about does it for my inaugural post, I shall return soon with more!
