Introduction

I was born to a Jewish family that migrated from Eastern culture to Western culture. My parents were labeled by some as not religious and by others as religious. They had a firm belief in God; that he chose us from all other nations and gave us his Law through his prophet who acted as a secretary;  that God will punish the wicked and reward the righteous; that God promised us through his prophets that one day an anointed king from the children of David will arise and restore the Jewish nation to its former glory;  and that God will one day resurrect the righteous dead.

When they arrived to their new home did they invite two hundred Jewish community members to a trefa banquet (a famous event in American Jewish history)? No.
Did they eat any forbidden food? No.
Were they experts in points and details of the Law? No.
Were the people who treated them as non religious experts in the points and details of the Law? No.

Why then were they treated as non religious by some? I till today do not know the answer. Yet, I see the same events being repeated to other Jews. Sometimes it is their own family. Other times it is the community. More often it is both.

In my next blog post I will share some halakhot related to the questions I asked.

Signed,
ben Simpleton.