Here We Go Again With Another Guest Post

"Shifra," one of several DovBear commentators, par excellence, has submitted a new guest post, one I look forward to discussing. Here it is:

Keeping Up Appearances

Judaism has a somewhat unique distinction of being both a religion and a culture. This begs the question: How much of our Jewish lifestyle is substance and how much is form? Sometimes I ask myself: Do I dress the way I do because I believe it is right, or do I do it to identify myself as part a group? How much of what I do is really what G-d wants from me and how much is just keeping up appearances? Does this make me a fake or am I more “me” than I need to be already? How important is a person’s individuality to their Judaism anyway? Then I get dizzy and need to lie down.

Torah living and community go hand-in-hand, it is certainly much more difficult to keep up your spirit and your observance if you are alone in your efforts. On the other hand, how much of our torah observance is merely social pressure to conform?