Exploring Jewish Roots - 2012

With the Jewish Roots Project, I will spend 2012 pursuing a wide and comprehensive view of Jewish life and how it affects me. This subject has come up periodically throughout my life, and I want to devote focus and energy to finding out not only what Judaism is and has been, but how I want to relate to my inherited culture for the rest of my life.

This will involve many processes.

1. Interviewing rabbis, Jewish writers and artists, and anyone else who may have a perspective from which I can learn something.
2. Reading a wide range of materials from novels to histories to religious books as well as periodicals, websites, and whatever else seems relevant.
3. Practicing at least some aspects of the religion, including attending various synagogues, celebrating holidays, exploring Kosher food and wrapping tefillin.
4. Blogging about the experience, while keeping my research findings and project diary private.
5. Growing a nice Jewish beard (my usual length is number 2 on the clipper, but that will be changing).
6. Adding to and changing the project over time as I learn more and get more ideas, but always aiming for daily involvement in some way.
7. Making an assessment on January 1, 2013 as to the next step(s).

Thank you for joining me in this process. Please comment if you have anything you think I should investigate. Shalom and toda raba (thank you).