Ethics Key Assignment

The traditions in my family are somewhat unconventional, due to my cultural background and family structure. My father immigrated to the United States from Israel, and my mother from Russia. My parents have also been divorced for the majority of my life, hence the traditions differ between their two households.

For my father, his jewish background has always been very important, and he's made sure his children carry on the customary traditions; my brother and I speak hebrew, spent our childhoods going to synagouge, and celebrated all the major holidays. Every friday night we would sit down as a family for shabbat dinner and we both had traditional bar and bat mitzvahs.

For a while, this pushed me away from my religious identity. I felt frustrated will all the rules, the long services, and being forced to participate and attend. The idea that one must do a certain thing or act a certain way because of some mystical being and the ancient writings in a scroll didn't make sense to me, and I began to resent the entire concept of organized reigion. As I've matured, I've come to realize my religious identity is my own, as opposed to the one I grew up with. Through my own personal expereinces, I now define my identity with judaism as a cultural practice as opposed to spiritual one. I've learned appreciation for the traditions and writings passed down from my ancestors as a relic of the past I continue to remember and practice, as opposed to a tradition based in beleif. This way, I can and will continue to develop my own spiritual and ethical ideas but remember and memorialize my culture. 

My mother, however, was not as religious as my father growing up. She often encouraged us to celebrate jewish holdiays but was much more relaxed with the proceedings. She out much more emphasis on spending time outside, going on hikes and camping, learning to love the earth. This is what prompted me to always be mindful of my environmental impact and to love the outdoors. My love for rock climbing and passion for geology stems from her. 

Both my parents always emphasized hard work and intellect. This tradition I've carried with me my entire life, always trying to put my best foot forward, academically or otherwise. I dream of being a geologist, of developing into a knowledgeable and considerate person, of making a life for myself. These dreams are of my own volition, but are, at their core, encouraged and shaped by the ideas and beliefs of my parents.