A very "religious" weekend

I am currently sitting in the living room of my cousin's house in New York, gorging myself on bagels and lox and pretty much any other food you could possibly think of, all in the name of the Jewish tradition called a "Bar Mitzvah". While sitting in synagogue bright and early this morning, wrapped in my prayer shawl (tallit) and holding a Hebrew prayer book, I found my mind wandering to our discussions of religion in our class. I began to look around at the 100 faces in the sanctuary, some who hadn't been in a synagogue since our last Jewish family event, my own sister's Bat Mitzvah last fall. Why were we all here? And why did I feel so comforted as I glanced around the room at people I knew, and many that I didn't? I reflected back to our idea of community and social identity that religious groups create. Many of the short sermons that were given in the 2 hour service focused on this particular synagogue's quest to create a comfortable relgious family for members. There were many references to the specific role that my uncle, aunt and cousins have played in the community. It seems like each of my relatives have found a place in this community and in particular, my cousin's really identify with this group of people. The walk around the synagogue like it is their own home. I think this is a really great example of how we as human beings strive to find this sense of identity in a community and many find it in their religious group, as my relatives have.

I also noticed that there was a very strong emphasis on the Jewish community as a whole, not just the individual synagogue you are affiliated with. One of the big ideas of the Bar Mitzvah celebration is the pre-teens transition to an adult member of the Jewish community. After your bar mitzvah, you are considered an adult in the eyes of the Jewish religion and you take on new responsibilities, as well as privileges. There was a lot of discussion of how to become this "good" jewish community member, which basically focuses on your sense of helping/giving to others (mitzvot). I really began to see how much religion in general focuses on finding your identity within your specific religion this weekend.